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Can Solar Power Save Lives in Haiti?

Though Haiti is running low on diesel fuel, some non-profits believe that the country can sustain itself with solar power.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on January 20 2010
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Image: iStockphoto

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According to new reports from the World Food Program, Port-au-Prince has just enough generator fuel left to last two more days. The electricity is needed to power hospital equipment, water purifiers, and hundreds of other devices necessary for the survival of the earthquake victims struggling to cope with the situation there.

But while diesel may be scarce, there’s one resource that Haitians have no shortage of: sun. As one of the world’s sunniest countries, Haiti is in a prime position to take advantage of solar power for its survival needs—and though this isn’t the greatest time for a test-launch, solar power-focused non-profits are finding that their resources can provide great benefit to the struggling country.

The non-profit group The Haitian Project operates a boarding school powered by a 22-power kilowatt solar array. Though the school building was damaged in the quake, the power supply never lapsed. While much of the country remains in turmoil, the situation is approaching normalcy there, with students returning to class.

The school is also using its solar power to help those without: “We have opened up our school to let neighbors in for food, shelter and water,” the Haitian Project’s office manager told Cosmic Log.

Other groups are focused on supplying the damaged country with solar-powered equipment like cell phones, water purification systems, streetlights, and ovens. And while the crisis is not likely to be resolved any time soon, solar power consultants believe that the earthquake may offer one promising opportunity: the chance to rebuild, and improve upon, Haiti’s infrastructure.

“Even prior to this, in Port-au-Prince, the majority of families spent 55 percent of their income just buying charcoal,” said Paul Munsen of Sun Ovens International, who is trying to get hundreds of solar ovens into Port-au-Prince. “So the issue of having fuel to cook with has been a major problem for Haiti for years before this earthquake. I can’t imagine what it’s like now. We think that using the sun is going to make a great deal of sense.”

Filed under: Green, Non-Profits,

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