Eradicating Energy Poverty in Haiti

Over the past quarter EarthSpark International has made exciting progress in two of our major initiatives to eradicate energy poverty in Haiti.  Our clean energy retail initiative, Enji Pwòp, continues to grow.  During the past three months almost 1,700 clean energy products, such as solar lamps, energy efficient stoves and solar home systems were purchased making the quarter Enji Pwòp’s most successful to date.  These products will assist thousands of families and businesses by providing safe and healthy light sources and save money by eliminating the need to purchase kerosene.  Enji Pwòp’s growing network of local clean energy entrepreneurs stands at 60 active entrepreneurs and now spans across most of Haiti.  In this way, Enji Pwòp is helping local entrepreneurs expand their businesses and deliver clean energy to their communities. Enji Pwòp also refined its e-commerce site, www.enejipwop.com, for members of the Diaspora community to purchase clean energy products for their friends and family in Haiti.

EarthSpark’s other major initiative, the Les Anglais micro-grid, is about to complete its Phase II stage which will provide pole and wire electricity service to 50 households.  EarthSpark’s micro-grid service, called EKo Pwòp (short for “Clean Community Electricity” in Haitian Creole) allows customers or their families to pre-pay for electricity service, similar to how they pay for their cell phone service.  The electricity provided by the micro-grid will help Les Anglais residents, such as Kris Jean Charles do his homework into the evening and local entrepreneur Gardy to keep his hardware store open later.  On August 15^th Phase II will go online and EarthSpark plans to celebrate this milestone with the rest of the Les Anglais community during their annual patron saint festival.  Phase III of the project will expand the micro-grid to all of downtown, ~400 households, and is planned to be completed by the summer of 2014.  The expansion will also include an upgrade to solar energy, ensuring long-term sustainability of the grid operations. Beyond Les Anglais, EarthSpark is working in conjunction with local organizations and the Haitian government to plan solar-powered ‘smart’ microgrids in other small towns in the region.

We at EarthSpark would like to offer a tremendous “Thank You!” to all of our supporters.  Without your contributions none of this would be possible and thousands of Haitians would be without dependable access to clean, efficient electricity that we help to provide. 

EarthSpark is always looking for ways to get more people involved in their work and increasing energy access in Haiti.  What do you think are the best ways to engage people interested in the issues of sustainable development and energy access?