Programs: Solar Electric Light Fund
Announced:
January 7, 2011
Category:
Facilitating Job Training & Workforce Development
Fund Amount: $500,000
Above, solar panels and batteries power pumps that pull water from
a river and add oxygen to six, 12,000-gallon tanks filled with baby fish.
See more in the Solar Electric Light Fund photo gallery.
The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund’s $500,000 grant to the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) is electrifying the off-grid central highlands village of Boucan-Carréin the Artibonite Department and a Partners In Health (PIH) clinic in the Centre Department. The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund’s grant is joined by a $1 million grant from NRG Energy, Inc., a U.S. based energy company with expertise in alternative energy.
By tackling the key issue of Haiti's chronic energy poverty, this project could have a significant demonstration effect, creating a model of clean energy production that is cost-effective in the long-term. By providing a reliable power source, this project is in line with the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund's commitment to promote job growth and economic opportunity in Haiti.
Why We Invested in the Solar Electric Light Fund
By tackling the lack of energy access that has held back Haiti's institutions and businesses, Clinton Bush Haiti Fund's grant to S.E.L.F. reflects our commitment to creating economic opportunity and promoting job growth.
Transforming Lives and Livelihoods
- Electrify projects in the rural town of Boucan-Carré and a PIH clinic in the Centre Department.
- Provide clean-energy job training to more than 900 Haitians who install, maintain, repair, and use photovoltaic panels at the projects’ various sites.
- Reduce dependence on expensive and eco-unfriendly fuel sources such as diesel, firewood, and charcoal.
- Demonstrate the viability of solar energy to power off-grid communities such as Boucan-Carré, and attract foreign investment in the Haitian energy sector.
About The Solar Electric Light Fund
Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF, a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) committed to rural electrification) and NRG Energy Inc. (NRG, a U.S.-based, for-profit utility holding company) are working together to use solar energy to electrify the off-grid central highlands village of Boucan-Carré. NRG committed $1M at CGI 2010 to a "whole village" solar electrification project called "The Sun Lights the Way: Brightening Boucan-Carré." Learn more about SELF at www.self.org.
