SolarAid is quite possibly one of the best social entrepreneurial models out there when it comes to bringing clean energy to Africa. Their own summary of their overarching strategy describes it better than I ever could --
give it a good look.
I found them through a simple Google search for "bringing clean energy to Africa," hoping to find some organization that was somewhat close to my original idea of bringing fuel cell technology to bring power-on-demand to remote developing areas, without the need for a massive (and massively expensive) power grid. However, when I came across SolarAid via repeated mentions of their work in rural African communities, I was intrigued, found their website, and started folllowing them on Twitter, where they link to updates on their efforts across the continent. (
I sent them a message on Twitter already, and will provide an update if I get a response.)
As I mentioned in my previous post on the Bloom Energy Server, solar energy could linked with Energy Servers to provide the electricity in order to convert surplus electricity in a community's Server into usable fuels for vehicles. While solar energy has its own issues, solar cell technology is improving, and SolarAid's targeted "microbusiness" format helps to build a grassroots entrepreneurial movement around green technology and sustainable energy. Empowering people with both direct technological aid and remote financial assistance for entrepreneurial ventures is the key to bringing clean energy to the developing world in a self-sustaining manner.
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