Newsletter for Members and Supporters of the Alliance for Rural Electrification
CONTENT
- 12-14 October 2010: Solar Power International, Anaheim, California
- 27-29 October 2010: Delhi Renewable Energy Conference, Delhi, India
- 31 October – 4 November 2010: Access to Energy Mission to the World Bank and IDB, Washington, DC
- 22 – 24 November 2010: 5th International Renewable Energy Storage (IRES 2010), Berlin, Germany
- 23-25 November 2010: Nigeria Infrastructure Conference and Exhibition, Lagos Nigeria
- 29 November – 10 December, UNFCCC (COP 16), Cancun, Mexico
- 1-2 December, 2nd Asian Solar Forum, Tokyo, Japan
RURAL ELECTRIFICATION'S ACTORS, RURAL ELECTRIFICATION'S STORIES
NEWS FROM THE RURAL ELECTRIFICATION WORLD
NEW PUBLICATIONS ON RURAL ELECTRIFICATION
RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AND RENEWABLE ENERGY EVENTS: Incoming appointments
EDITORIAL
Targeting rural women to expand social marketing and capacity building for rural electrification
Prometheus may have brought fire to mankind, but in developing countries, women are the ones who stoke it.
When it comes to accessing rural markets, promoting and marketing products and services are essential to broadening support for renewables. Therefore, creating opportunities for women in the electrical field is crucial for development, alleviating poverty, and from a business point of view – expanding markets. Promoting to women will stimulate demand and turn ‘ability to pay’ into ‘willingness to pay’. Product feedback is most likely to be given by the female users, as they traditionally are the procurers of energy. For example, in Tamil Nadu, India, rural women are far more likely to use the energy services at night for feeding livestock and basic agriculture, while using it for cooking and lighting at home. As daily users, when they are happy with the service, they are more likely to tell their friends, who will tell their friends in neighboring villages, thus furthering the implementing company’s market base. Companies should therefore aim for proactive feedback on their products from their users, especially women. Renewable energy manufacturers that do not pay attention to female users would thus be missing a huge potential market, explains Ms. Elizabeth Cecelski of ENERGIA, a non-profit that works on capacity building and gender mainstreaming for energy projects. “Energy policymakers who ignore women’s needs will be failing to make use of a powerful force for renewable energy development. Energy researchers who leave women out of energy research and analysis will be failing to understand a large part of energy consumption and production. Donors who do not support gender-sensitive energy assistance will be overlooking one of their primary target groups.”
As understood with rural electrification, capacity building is absolutely necessary to ensuring renewable project success. But it is false to believe that an uneducated rural woman is incapable of understanding this technology. As developing countries and especially rural areas generally have high male/female inequality gaps, project developers should not assume that this inequality is simply a condition of the local culture and that the inequalities must be accepted to work in and be accepted by the local community. If capacity building is specifically targeted towards women for Operations and Maintenance, the end result is that the men in the village will have to request the trained woman for electrical maintenance, hereby granting her with more status, education, and decreasing the inequality gap. For example, in rural Muslim societies, women at home alone are not allowed to let in male technicians; Grameen Shakti, the renewable energy arm of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh eliminated this problem by training female technicians. It is the perfect sidelined outcome of renewable energy for rural electrification.
Aneri Patel
Alliance for Rural Electrification
- Rural female technicians at Grameen Shakti, assembling Solar Home Systems
News from the Alliance
New members in the Alliance for Rural Electrification:
Bergey Windpower Co. is the oldest and most experienced manufacturer of residential-sized wind turbines in the world; BWC provides complete design, supply, and installation services for hybrid power systems utilizing wind turbines, diesel generators and photovoltaic arrays. Bergey wind turbines have now been installed in all 50 U.S. States and more than 100 countries. In 1992 BWC was recognized by the American Wind Energy Association "for outstanding accomplishment in developing international markets for small wind turbine technology”, and have completed a considerable amount of rural electrification work in years past. They have joined ARE to assist efforts to increase the use of decentralized electrification with hybrid renewable energy systems.
The Sun and Wind Factory are international companies specialized in developing and installing grid-connected and autonomous solar and wind energy systems, and provide system house and service centres. Based in the Netherlands, they operate in Kenya, Madagascar, and Gambia. They joined ARE to get a wider network of customers, suppliers, and institutions to execute more off-grid projects in Africa.
Kyoto Energy is a Kenyan company working to make solar energy the most cost effective form of energy through its array of low-cost solar products for rural needs, namely solar cookers, solar lights, and solar heating. They joined ARE because it is the core audience for their products, and because of its emphasis on the commercial sector.
Solarmate Engineering Limited is a Nigerian engineering firm and power solutions provider that designs, supplies, and installs renewable energy system packages (inverter/chargers, solar home systems, solar water pumping, and solar lighting) for the various industrial sectors of the Nigerian economy. The company is managed and directed by professional engineers who share nearly 60 years experience in the power engineering and energy systems industry. They joined ARE because they want to be part of empowering the rural community by providing basic infrastructure such as power, lighting, and water and to network with other members.
The Alliance is proud to have two new small wind energy companies as members, which is important for showcasingthe massive contribution that small wind can have in developing countries . ARE is also pleased to welcome two new African companies, which further enhances international membership and brings valuable input from the field itself. By gathering these actors and the many pieces involved in the rural electrification process, ARE will keep pushing forward to meet its ambitious objectives.
If you would also like to become a member of the Alliance please contact us.
ARE ACTIVITIES
12-14 October 2010: Solar Power International, Anaheim, California
Solar Power International has been established as the only "must attend" solar event in the US. It is the largest solar conference and expo in North America, currently by a factor of more than 5, and attracts the widest range of professional attendees.
ARE, through the participation of its board member Michael Wollny, director of off grid Sales for SMA, attended this major conference. In the future, we will increase our presence, as we have more members from the US and since our relationship with SEIA is excellent. See you next year in Dallas!
For more information and details, click here.
27-29 October 2010: Delhi Renewable Energy Conference, Delhi, India
The Government of India hosted the Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference (DIREC) 2010 from October 27-29, 2010 on the theme of 'Up-scaling and Mainstreaming Renewables for Energy Security, Climate Change and Economic Development’. DIREC 2010 is an international platform for government, private sector, and civil society leaders to jointly address the goal of advancing renewable energy. It built upon the success and outcomes of the previous events in Washington in 2008, Beijing in 2005 and Bonn in 2004. With more than 9,000 delegates, over 250 speakers and 600 exhibitors from 50 countries, DIREC was the most significant event on renewable energy ever held in India.
ARE President Ernesto Macías was a panelist for the topic on off-grid policy support along with Sunlabob, another member of the Alliance. Policy Manager Simon Rolland also represented ARE with a position within the big REN 21’s stand and networking during the conference 3 days.
For more information and details, click here.
31 October – 4 November 2010: Access to Energy Mission to the World Bank and IDB, Washington, DC
Organized by the Private Sector Liaison Officers (PSLO) network, ARE participated at a mission to the World Bank and Inter-american Development Bank which also included speakers from the Asian Development Bank and the African Development Bank. The topic of the mission was: “Access to Energy for the World: Green Solutions to Global Challenges”. The programme was designed for consulting firms, individual consultants, training institutions and universities, equipment manufacturers/suppliers, and prospective sponsors of private sector projects.
ARE Board Member Michael Wollny and Aneri Patel was in attendance; they promoted the Alliance, networked with the international institutions, and conducted outreach towards US firms. ARE also hosted a networking dinner in Washington.
For more information and presentations, please click here.
22 – 24 November 2010: 5th International Renewable Energy Storage (IRES 2010), Berlin, Germany
In 2006 EUROSOLAR and the World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE) started the IRES conference series, which intended to contribute to new developments in energy storage and to popularize the resulting applications and solutions. IRES has developed into the central platform for sharing knowledge and exchanging ideas on one of the key issues of future energy supply. Storage issues are central in the development of rural electrification with renewables in developing countries. As a sign of this, an increasing number of battery companies are willing to become a member of the Alliance; technology and policy issues link with storage are more and more present in our strategy. Therefore, we support all the initiatives which go in the direction of improving the technology and the exchange of ideas around storage.
For more information and details, please click here.
23-25 November 2010: Nigeria Infrastructure Conference and Exhibition, Lagos Nigeria
Developed by the industry, for the industry, Nigeria Infrastructure (NIF) is the strategic business meeting that brought together the decision makers from Africa and beyond to Nigeria to find solutions, raise awareness and create the right framework for the development of much needed infrastructure in energy, rail, road transport and waterways. For the first time, renewable energies were present as a topic in the important continental event.
Several ARE members (KXN, Solarworld, Eauxwell, Trojan) and ARE Secretary General Guido Glania, were present at a fully fleshed Renewable Energy Pavilion created thanks to the special work of KXN and Mr. Anthony Ighodaro and where they could exhibit their products.
Nigeria’s new energy roadmap is rather ambitious (bringing its installed capacity from 3 GW to 40 GW by 2020), but almost completely ignores the big potential of renewable energy. Hence, there is a tremendous need to inform decision makers and the public about renewables and it was important for the Alliance to be present.
29 November – 10 December, UNFCCC (COP 16), Cancun, Mexico
The conference, officially referred to as the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 6th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties (CMP 6) to the Kyoto Protocol, was hold in Cancun in December.
ARE was present at a stand within the exhibition hall of the conference and organised a widely attended official side event jointly with the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) and the Solar Electric Industry Association (SEIA). The title of this event was “Solar Powering the Planet Fostering Sustainable Development and Creating Jobs Today”. Solar energy, the fastest growing energy source in the world, has enormous potential to create jobs and provides a clean, competitive and sustainable solution to meet the rising energy demands of developing countries.
The presence of the Alliance at COP 16 was a great success with much interest coming from the delegates and the possibility to network with environmentalist organisations from all over the world. Politically speaking, things moved forward at a global level, though not nearly as much as necessary; yet it is a clear step towards the setting up of a global movement and framework to fight climate change and consequently that will support the expansion of renewable energy markets.
For more information and details about the event of the Alliance (videos, photos, summary) and the activities of the SolarCOP16 campaign please click here.
For more information and details about the conference, please click here.
1-2 December, 2nd Asian Solar Forum, Tokyo, Japan
The Asia Solar Energy Forum, which is the knowledge management arm of the Asia Solar Energy Initiative, will be incorporated in Japan as an NGO. ARE Board Member Anjali Shanker made two presentations on the Alliance and Solar PV applications for access to electricity services.
As a follow-up, the Solar Energy Investment Forum in Gujarat, India will take place from Jan 11 – 13, with the themes: Lessons learned from policies and frameworks in IEA countries, PV in the urban environment, and Solar Park. Another follow-up meeting will occur at the end of April in Bangkok for the Solar Energy Forum’s biannual meeting.
For more information about the Asian Energy Forum please contact us.
RURAL ELECTRIFICATION'S ACTORS, RURAL ELECTRIFICATION'S STORIES
Interview with the Sund & Wind Factory
- Pieter Klimp (middle)
Raised on an arable farm in The Netherlands, Pieter Klimp’s background is in agricultural machinery. After his studies and several international projects in the field of distribution and service of agricultural and construction machinery, he shifted to mechanically ‘harvesting wind power’. For the past 5 years, he has been active as a partner and Managing Director of The Wind Factory International BV.
Could you please present shortly The Sun & Wind Factory, especially regarding your activities/projects in developing countries?
The Wind Factory and The Sun Factory are Dutch companies with over 20 years experience in Engineering, Installation, Operation & Maintenance of on- and off-grid wind and solar energy systems. Our roots are in service and maintenance, which is the key to grow a sustainable business. To become less dependent on fluctuating policies in the renewable energy sector in Europe, we have a clear strategy to use our expertise for the decentralized energy market, especially in Africa. So far we realized branches with committed staff and partners in Gambia, Senegal, Madagascar and Kenya and are expanding our activities steadily.
When it comes to off-grid solutions, PV is often the market leader in developing countries. However, wind also has its role to play. How is your development in this market? How do you see developing countries evolving in the future regarding small wind?
Customers see well our benefits in having both solutions available, separately or as a hybrid system. In Gambia and Senegal, we started with Solar, especially for water pumping systems. In East Africa and Madagascar on the other hand, wind is also a major source of energy. Wind can unlike solar provide 24h a day energy, which may reduce battery capacity. The consumption pattern in off-grid systems is often in line with the wind speed: higher at the end of the day when solar intensity is limited or zero. Also, the fact that wind turbines are ‘self protected’ and difficult to steal and to replace is a major advantage above the security issue of PV panels. So there are enough reasons to choose wind energy, even without mentioning the nice view of an active turbine and the exposure and community impact it has as a dynamic and visible system.
What is the The Sun & Wind Factory’s growth trajectory for the next 5 years? What are its objectives and goals in expanding your products in the off-grid market?
In the next 5 years, our focus will be on extending and upgrading our service and distribution infrastructure, especially in East and West Africa. At our branch in Madagascar, we will introduce more innovative solar and wind energy systems as well as new financial models.
How has The Sun & Wind Factory been working to change the perception of renewables as a source of energy in Madagascar? The cost of standalone systems is often presented as a major drawback, but grid extensions are also expensive. What do you think local governments, industry, and the financial community can do to accelerate these technologies in Madagascar, and in Africa as a whole?
Firstly in Madagascar the electrification rate is around 30%, with only a 5% rate in rural areas. The energy production is for over 75% based on imported fuels. This big island however has a lot of potential energy sources and can become self-sufficient on the long term. We started in Madagascar with a private Telecom provider, by replacing diesel power for wind power. This volume and references created the awareness for others that renewable energy is profitable. Adding medium sized wind turbines to existing small diesel powered IPP’s was the next step, which showed direct benefits in reduction of fuel and maintenance. Small village electrifications by wind and/or solar energy followed. To speed up this process finance solutions are required, which are able to cluster relatively small projects in order to reduce single project transaction costs. Also the CDM process for smaller projects should become more accessible and affordable, as the potential is huge. Governments can support off-grid systems by participating in initial hardware investments and reducing duties and VAT levels for renewable energy systems.
How do you ensure the maintenance of the wind and solar power systems you sell in rural markets? Do you propose capacity building/trainings actions to your clients to answer to the O&M challenges? Are they extended over time?
As we have over 400 wind turbines under maintenance contract and installed over 19.000 solar systems worldwide, Operation & Maintenance is our core business and a MUST to start activities elsewhere. For us, service becomes before sales. At our premises in Suwald, we have our own off-grid demonstration and training centre for wind and solar systems. This is a major tool for training new staff and to assure our commitment for the long term.
What was your reasoning behind joining ARE and how could ARE help promote The Wind Factory’s objectives?
Exchanging experiences and practical solutions with other ARE members’ is one of the reasons for joining the Alliance. Moreover, we feel the need to increase the political weight to see rural electrification as one of the most important solutions to reduce urbanization and create viable independent rural economies. Generally decentralization is a sustainable and committed model, which works at governments, in food production, and processing but for sure in terms of energy provision.
Visit The Sun & Wind Factory’s website here.
NEWS FROM ARE MEMBERS
Congratulations to our members!
Congratulations to Andy Schroeter of Sunlabob Renewable Energy, Laos PDR, for being one of three Social Entrepreneurs recognized as leading social innovators in Asia at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions!
Please see the press release on this award here.
Sunlabob has recently published a new movie about its activities in 3 different countries and rural electrification in general. To watch this movie please click here.
Congratulations to Kaito Energie for winning 10,000 € by the Good Energies Foundation in the Solar for All Design Competition!
Congratulations to Jon Bohmer of Kyoto Energy for his presentation at TEDxNairobi on solar power applications for rural Kenya!
Watch his speech here.
The AREA moves forward
The African Renewable Energy Alliance (AREA), which was jointly launched by the World Future Council and ARE has established a steering committee and intends to become a legal entity (non profit organisation) in 2011. It will be registered in South Africa.
Mr. Ighodaro (CEO, KXN) and the ARE Secretary General will represent ARE in the steering committee of AREA. The AREA has more than 240 members and enjoys a strong growth demonstrating the success of our approach as well as the real interest of African institutions and organizations in renewable energy (and especially in the Renewable energy Industry).
NEWS FROM THE RURAL ELECTRIFICATION WORLD
The EU-Africa Business Forum, Tripoli, Libya
Meeting for the 3rd time in Libya from 26 to 28 November, Heads of State and Government from the European and the African Unions took note of the progresses and challenges in the implementation of the Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JEAS) and had an agreement to implement an action plan for economic development and poverty reduction in Africa. The action plan aims to help Africa become economically stable, united, and able to address its own conflicts. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso identified clean energy, climate measures, improved agricultural security, and trade as the key elements needed to fuel Africa’s growth.
For more information and details, please click here.
India’s Climate Bet: An Emerging Giant’s Alternative Route to Power
The Executive Vice President of the World Resources Institute clearly outlines the Indian energy outlook and what needs to occur for sustainable development. India’s climate, population density, and non-electrified rural areas together provide ideal conditions for deploying solar-power solutions on a grand scale. In recognition of this potential, the National Solar Mission initiative lays the foundation for a clean-energy future. Its stated aim is to achieve 20 gigawatts of solar power by 2022, mostly via large photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal power plants as well as rooftop PV systems.
To read the full article, please click here.
Clean Energy Poised for Strong Growth in sub-Saharan Africa
Global research consultancy Frost & Sullivan (F&S) says that the sub-Saharan African renewable energy market is expected to triple in investment value between 2010 and 2015, driven by the need for energy diversification and security of energy supply. One reason is through increased awareness of the role that renewable energy projects could play in energy security and rural electrification.
To read the full article, please click here.
Asian Development Bank loans $21.6 million to Bhutan for Rural Electrification
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a grant of $ 21.6 million for the Bhutan Rural Renewable Energy De¬velopment Project. At present, the government has provided electricity to around 60 percent of rural households, and the figure is expected to reach 84 percent by 2012. The project assistance is aimed at providing on-grid electricity to more than 5,000 households and solar power packs for 1,900 homes that are located in remote areas. It will also help upgrade systems for the existing 2,500 solar power users. The grant will also fund pilot projects for wind power and biogas fuel derived from cattle dung.
To read the full article, please click here.
Vietnam Likely to Reach Target of 100% Rural Electrification
Vietnam is likely to reach the target of 100 percent of rural households getting access to electricity, reports Vietnam News Agency (VNA). World Bank Country Director for Vietnam Victoria Kwakwa made the statement at a seminar to assess the impact of Vietnam's rural electrification (RE). All of the nation's districts have been connected to the national grid and had on-the-spot electricity and 97.78 percent of communes and 95.4 percent of rural families now have electricity, Kwakwa said.
To read the full article, please click here.
NEW PUBLICATIONS ON RURAL ELECTRIFICATION
(copy 1)
International Energy Agency’s 2010 World Outlook Report
New publication from the International Energy Agency, in which ARE provided consultation is now out, with a stronger emphasis on rural electrification and energy access. Updated projections of energy demand, production, trade and investment, fuel by fuel and region by region to 2035 are provided in the 2010 edition of the World Energy Outlook (WEO). It includes, for the first time, a new scenario that anticipates future actions by governments to meet the commitments they have made to tackle climate change and growing energy insecurity.
To obtain the report, please click here.
Poor People's Energy Outlook 2010
New publication from Practical Action, an NGO that delivers modern energy for people in the developing world, is proposing the concept of total energy access with its report – the minimum standard of energy access that needs to be in place for essentials such as cooking, lighting, healthcare, livelihoods and education. ARE Secretary General Guido Glania also contributed to the report on it’s chapter on off-grid rural electrification. The report proposes an ecosystem of government, civil society and private organisations working together towards creation of universal energy access by 2030. ARE is strongly supporting the campaign of Practical Action regarding access to energy.
To read the full report, please click here.
To learn more the campaign of Practical Action and to support it please click here.
Unlocking the Sunbelt Potential of Photovoltaics
New publication from the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA), a member of ARE, called “Unlocking the Sunbelt potential of photovoltaics” analyzes 66 out of the 148 countries potential for solar energy in the Sunbelt, representing over 5 billion inhabitants and 95% of the region’s total population. Despite the exceptional solar irradiation registered in these countries, at present they represent only 9% of the global installed PV capacity.
The study shows that the PV potential of the Sunbelt countries could range, depending on the scenario, from 60 to 250 GW by 2020, and from 260 to 1,100 GW in 2030, representing 27-58% of the forecasted global installed PV capacity by then. Under these three potential scenarios (base, advanced and paradigm shift) and through the global scale effect, prices of PV systems by 2030 are expected to decrease by up to 66% compared to their current levels.
To read the full publication, please click here.
Asian Development Bank's Assistance for Rural Electrification in Bhutan -Does Electrification Improve Quality of Rural Life?
New publication from the Asian Development Bank evaluates the impact of two ADB-funded rural electrification projects in Bhutan. The study aimed to (i) evaluate the performance of the two projects based on relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and likely sustainability; and (ii) conduct a rigorous quantitative evaluation of the projects impact, focusing on three broad areas influencing quality of life (economic, social, and environmental) and their sustainability. It also identifies key lessons and offers recommendations for considerations by ADB management in enhancing development effectiveness of rural electrification in Bhutan.
To read the full publication, please click here.
Solar Lighting for the Base of the Pyramid – Overview of an Emerging Market that is Lighting Africa
New publication by the World Bank’s ESMAP (Energy Sector Management Assistance Program) states that about 65 million people in Africa will gain access to safe and clean lighting using solar by 2015. The increase in the use of solar portable lights will make Africa the world’s largest market for this kind of lighting.
To read the full publication, please click here.
Energy Poverty in Rural and Urban India: Are the Energy Poor Also Income Poor?
New publication by the World Bank seeks to define an ‘energy poverty line’ as the minimum quantity of physical energy needed to perform basic tasks such as cooking and lighting. This paper proposes an alternative measure that is based on energy demand. The energy poverty line is thus defined as the threshold point at which energy consumption begins to rise with increases in household income.
To read the full publication, please click here.
UPCOMING RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AND RENEWABLE ENERGY EVENTS
Events with ARE participation
17-18 February 2011, ARE Annual General Assembly, Networking Dinner, and ARE Symposium "Merging Off-Grid Research and Business”
In the coming years, technical innovation and advanced know how about sustainable business and financial models will dramatically spur the development of the international off-grid markets. Companies which operate on the cutting edge of these trends will have a clear competitive advantage. Research institutes are well advised to concentrate on central topics which can have a substantial impact in the field. Therefore, a close exchange and cooperation between academics and off-grid practitioners is of high value for both sides.
This symposium is designed to bring together leading off-grid researchers and seasoned professionals from the private sector. It gives an overview about hot research topics and the latest field experience and offers ample networking opportunities. Do not miss this unique event which will merge research and companies. Save the date!
This symposium is designed by the ARE Research Members Working Group comprising leading off-grid reseachers from Fraunhofer ISE, INES, Technical University of Delft, University of Twente and University of Southampton.
Participation fee: 150 €, students 80 €, free for ARE members and individuals based in developing countries. Please register by 4 February 2011 by email to a.patel(at)ruralelec.org. Registrations are processed on a first come first serve basis.
The event is organised in conjunction with our Annual General Assembly (17 February 2011, 15.00-18.00 h, Renewable Energy House, Brussels) and our Networking Dinner (17 February 2011, 20.00-23.00 h, Restaurant L’Atelier Européen, Brussels). The companies and organisations interested in participating to these events as observers are welcomed. Please contact us.
TO SEE AND DOWNLOAD THE AGENDA PLEASE CLICK HERE
Call for Posters!
ARE invites practitioners, consultants and academic researchers to present their research on and experience with rural electrification via a poster presentation. The poster's content should comply with one of the three main themes of the symposium: technological innovations, business & financial models and field experience. The format of the submitted file should be A3-size, full colour and pdf-format, accepted posters will be presented at the mini-symposium in A0-size. From the submitted posters a selection will be made according to their relevance, quality and originality. Advertisements will not be accepted. During the mini-symposium you will have the opportunity to present your work to the participants in five minutes followed by questions and discussions. Poster presenters will be notified about their participation before 21 January 2011.
Please e-mail a copy of the poster that you would like to present in the framework of the mini-symposium together with your contact information by 24 December 2010 to a.patel(at)ruralelec.org.
10-12 January 2011, Beyond the Grid (GTZ), Bonn, Germany
Secretary General Guido Glania will be present at this meeting, which will discuss German opportunities for off-grid rural electrification.
For more information, please contact Anke Raemisch
6 – 7 June 2011: 2nd Symposium Small PV Applications, Ulm, Germany
The Ostbayerisches Technologie-Transfer-Institut e.V. (OTTI) is hosting a symposium, supported by the Alliance for Rural Electrification, designed to bring together manufacturers, suppliers, installers of small PV systems for remote industrial use and rural electrification, energy consultants, politicians, financiers from banks and foundations, scientists, engineers, and students.
Topics of the conference are: description of existing markets and the state of art technology, successful and unsuccessful examples of systems and distribution strategies, and development of a vision for small PV applications, their technologies, and their markets. The symposium aims for an open discussion on all aspects of these small PV applications, from the components, including the batteries or other alternatives for energy sto- rage, to the systems, from market development and distribution channels to the avenues of financing.
For more information and to register, please click here.
Other Renewable and Rural Electrification Events
Submit Ideas Now for HydroVision Brazil 2011
Join hundreds of colleagues and exhibiting companies for HydroVision Brazil, Latin America's newest event focused on advancing the development of the region's hydroelectric power and dams/civil structures sectors. With more than 31,000 MW of new projects scheduled for completion by 2017, HydroVision Brazil provides a strategic, solutions-oriented platform for introducing the region's wealth of development opportunities and expertise to the rest of the world's hydropower market. Be a part of HydroVision Brazil's inaugural conference programme and share your ideas, insights and perspectives with hundreds of influential colleagues. Submit your abstract by JANUARY 3, 2011 for consideration!
To submit, please click here.
5-6 April 2011, RenewableUK International Small Wind Conference, Gateshead, UK
The conference will address the latest international policy and technical developments in small wind systems. The programme is designed by the RenewableUK Small Wind System Strategy Group, ensuring the most up to date and topical content possible. If you would like to speak in one of the sessions, please submit an abstract online by 14 January 2011. Abstracts must be submitted online and you must state which session you would like to speak in at the top of your entry. Abstracts must be no more than 500 words long. Abstracts will be reviewed by the RenewableUK Small Wind Systems Manager and /or the Small Wind Systems Strategy Group.
EU Sustainable Energy Week 2011
Between 11 and 15 April 2011, hundreds of events organised in all parts of Europe will show, promote, discuss and celebrate energy efficiency and renewable energy. Register your interest to stay tuned. You can register your Energy Day on www.eusew.eu. For any immediate questions, do not hesitate to contact the EUSEW secretariat on eusew(at)sustenergy.org. In addition to the Energy Days organised across Europe, the EU Sustainable Energy Week will also feature a series of events in Brussels, including: A 3-day policy conference organised by the European Commission from 12-14 April 2011.
Call for Nominations for Excellence in Renewable Energy for North American Companies
Renewable Energy World is now calling for nominations in the categories ranging from "Project of the Year" to "Innovation" to "Leadership" for renewable energy projects completed within North America. Nominations will remain open until December 31, after which the 16 editors of the Renewable Energy World Media Network will select the winners in each category. In addition the 5 finalists in each category will be released in January so our readers -- 25,000 votes last year -- can vote for the 2011 Reader's Choice Award.
For further information and to apply, please click here.