The Problem

Background:
Energy contributes not only to the improvement of education, health and living, conditions especially for women, but also to the development of economic activities and the generation of wealth. In Bayonnais, nearly 80,000 Haitians live without access to any form of electricity. Because of government, budget, and operation constraints there is no policy in place to tie this community to the central grid system. However, Engineers Without Borders (EWB) recently installed a PV system supporting OFCB Ministries School of 1,450 students. It is tied to an oversized 41kW diesel generator that runs 20 computers and lights for the students. The generator’s fuel costs are expensive, estimated to be around USD $4,838 each year. Currently, the main loads for this system are computers and lighting. This system also provides some electricity to members of the community for charging cell phone batteries. However, there is no distribution system, in the form of electricity cables or battery distribution. This forces some community members to travel several kilometers to use the power supply centrally located at the school. Other community members tie into the system through a dangerous combination of ad-hoc scavenged wiring. Students wishing to study after dark must use the lights at the school.

Opportunity/Need:
A human powered, distributed battery charging station allows end-users convenient access to electricity in the form of an environmentally benign point-of-use (POU) system. Pedal power electrical generation not only reduces the load on the fuel-based generator, reducing fuel consumption, but also creates the opportunity to move the point of distribution to additional locations extending the service area to other community members. A sustainable model encourages this enterprise to be self-sufficient. A POU system brings electricity into homes for lighting, which will reduce pollution from kerosen lanterns currently used for light. Lighting will also allow students to study and thereby improve their education, and men & women to engage in other activities beneficial to the household after sunset.

Cell phone charging is also very important as revealed by the demand from community members. Cell phones allow access to markets & information encouraging enterprise development and social interaction. Digicel, a local Caribbean carrier has already signed up 1.8 million users in Haiti, and is currently exploring expanding service to remote areas not currently covered. Digicel is also offering financial transactions through their cell phones, allowing community members access to savings and other bank transactions, which will encourage savings, loans and access to credit. Finally, a POU power system will not only stimulate enterprise development directly in operations, but also indirectly in the form of repair, deliver, and other ancillary development. Potential deeper needs that could be addressed with a POU system are cooking, irrigation, water filtering, and cold storage. Informal market research has revealed a demand for cold storage throughout Haiti.