Solar Power for International Development
We changed gears somewhat this week and attended the Sixth Annual Aid and International Development Forum (AIDF) being held here in Washington D.C.
The exhibitors were as diverse in size and profile as the international development world that they aspire to serve. There was representation from the Ford Motor Company selling cars, trucks and vans, to the Female Health Company selling female condoms to protect women against HIV/AIDS. Government organizations such as the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the U.S. Agency for International Development had booths and their officials were giving presentations. Non-governmental organizations like ACDI VOCA and Save The Children came out in force.
Some of the manufacturers whose products we represent at SolarTown such as Voltaic Systems with its solar bags and Sun Danzer with its solar refrigerators were there to show how their products have an important role to play in helping countries develop and saving lives.
Sun Danzer’s solar refrigerators and freezers are a great fit for development work. We sell solar refrigerators and freezers for a wide breadth of users, from universities that have projects in Africa to folks who have cabins in the mountains and need to preserve their food (that they will no doubt prepare with one of our solar ovens).
The representative from Sun Danzer was showcasing one of the models that is not for food but for preserving vaccines. The solar direct-drive vaccine refrigerator is a great application of solar energy to solve some critical problems in the developing world. Unlike some of our other solar refrigerators, this solar vaccine refrigerator only needs the solar refrigerator and a solar panel. It does not need solar batteries or charge controllers. We can sell this solar fridge with a crystalline module and Sun Danzer recommends two relatively small solar panels that are set up facing east and west to try to capture as much sun throughout the day, or we can sell this solar fridge with a thin film module that you can simply roll out.
You don’t believe that it would keep critical medicines safe? Well, think again, as this solar vaccine refrigerator has undergone rigorous testing and has been pre-qualified by the World Health Organization.
There were other applications of solar energy to the developing world on display such as solar lights and solar battery chargers. Solar energy can provide a lifeline to those living off the grid throughout the world.