Green businesses bring solar energy to Nicaragua

Portland State, Green Empowerment, New Roots Energy and Sunlight Solar energy are working together to help install solar electricity in Nicaragua.

Nicaragua is among the lowest producers of electricity in the Americas. The country relies mostly on oil and kerosene for its power, which led to an energy crisis in 2006. The country has still not fully recovered, according to New Roots co-founder Greg Pierce.

Pierce decided to focus on Nicaragua after he performed a case study in which a wind-powered turbine processed mango fruit for export products.

The idea is now offered at PSU as a capstone, “Environmental Issues in Nicaragua.”  In a three-part course, students begin by learning about technologies and economic issues in Nicaragua.

During the second part of the course, students study in Nicaragua for one week, touring sustainable energy projects and traveling around the country to see their implementation. During this week, students also help to develop the community.

The last part of the capstone is back on campus, where students create a proposal for future sustainable energy development projects based on what they’ve learned.

Sunlight Solar, a company that provides solar electric and solar thermal energy for homes in eight states across the country, loaned four solar panel electric systems to low-income Nicaraguans through a micro-finance revolving fund. They then work to pay off their debt through the profit made by the energy systems.

As the new Nicaraguan owners of these systems pay off their share, more solar electric systems will be donated—about one or two per year over the next 10 years.

“While in Nicaragua, we learned [that] the key to a successful development project is community involvement coupled with personal ownership,” said Kip Barrett, who co-founded New Roots alongside Pierce. “Selling these systems via the micro-finance revolving loan, rather than giving them away, allows the community members to own them while benefiting others in their communities as well.”

With the help of PSU students, ASO Phoenix installed the systems throughout Nicaragua in July and August.?