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Electricity for developing countries

Barefoot Power is starting a project to help 1 million people gain access to clean, efficient electricity in developing countries. With the recent advent of white LED lighting, which requires less than 1 watt of power to produce useful light, the entry point to electricity has suddenly changed.

www.ifc.org/led estimates that the poor burn $38 billion/year in kerosene lighting, and also disposable battery  use. This almost half of all development aid, and a large portion of the $150 billion/year of "increased aid" Sachs and others suggests is required to end poverty in our lifetime.

Energy poverty is a small slice of the poverty pie, probably about 5% if measured by annual expenditure by the poor on their most pressing needs. However, it would appear the technology ($5 rechargeable LED lamps and 1W solar panels) are now affordable for electricity access to be improved in a highly distributed, disruptive but complementary manner to traditional centrally planned and financed rural electrification. This market based approach is particularly relevant of Africa, which has seen very low improvements in electricity access, compounded now by high energy prices.

We require the assistance of interested partners in many different areas:

  • investors at all levels
    • consumer financing 1 year microfinance loans  of $10-$200,
    • retailer financing of $50-$500,
    • district distributor financing of $500-$5,000 and
    • national partner financing of $10,000-$50,000
  • partners in developing countries at all levels of this distribution network, non-profit or for profit
  • ICT developers to help combine different open source software into rural energy focused development packages, probably including
    • business managment software such as opentaps or compiere
    • integrating this wit open office software and
    • GIS mapping for distribution visualization and market assessment
    • resource analysis tools for micro hydro, solar and biofuel minigrid planning
    • an ebay/proper.com type of peer-to-peer investment window for development-focused global micro investment
  • microfinance organizations, both funders and grass roots MFIs, to start focusing on rural energy as a viable entry point to microfinance expansion in rural areas
  • enthusiastic project managers who can work at low cost in developing countries to help manage the deliver of electricity to our first target of 1 million people

Please contact us at info@barefootpower.com if you can contribute to this project in any way - it may be desk-based web development, pilot project sponsorship, larger investment interest, or reducing energy poverty in your local area. This is a complicated project that requires inputs from everyone and anyone - hope to hear from you....

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Electric bill

Well I salute to Barefoot Power, since they are starting a project to help 1 million people gain access to clean, efficient electricity in developing countries. With the recent advent of white LED lighting, which requires less than 1 watt of power to produce useful light, the entry point to electricity has suddenly changed. In connection to electricity aspects, whenever the season of summer comes many of us goes to swimming pool and beaches or even go for hiking to take some off or vacation into all usual tiring days. As summer is here (unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere and North Poles) and that means that the electric bill is going up.   Air conditioning gets expensive, as is heating, as summer and winter are the seasons that send the electric bill up with abandon.   A lot of people get sent running for a payday loan to cover the utilities bill.   One of the things you can do to save money is to save electricity.   Appliances you can afford to not run all the time should be turned off or unplugged.   Turn the light off when you leave any room.   Use Energy Star rated appliances if possible.   If you follow smart energy practices, then you probably won't need installment loans for the electric bill. The things to remember on how to avoid big loans are to save more and spend your cash wisely, try to live a simple life and enjoy things that are affordable and useful every now and then.

I will admire this project

I will admire this project started by Barefoot Power. In really it is a grand and noble effort started by Barefoot Power to provide electricity to those people who really needed it. But there may some obstacles during asking for assistance  from the governing bodies of the countries.My best wishes are with this project and hope that it will be effective very soon.Steven

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Awesome ! Such a very nice

Awesome ! Such a very nice project and hope it will be useful and effective for us.Appreciable effort here.

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