Tufts Energy Conference Blog

This article discusses a recent announcement by the government of Haiti of the “Give me light, give me life,’ program, which will provide funding, in the form of loans for rural Haitians to buy small solar kits. These kits may not provide large amounts of electricity, but can be used for items like computers and cell phones. Currently only 30% of Haitians have access to electricity.

http://articles.boston.com/2012-01-23/news/30656224_1_president-michel-martelly-solar-kits-electricity

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Is investing in distributed generation a good idea for the government of Haiti? It has been said that parts of the developing world are technologically “leapfrogging” in areas like communications, skipping the step of landlines in favor of mobile phones – does distributed generation offer the same opportunity for energy, or will challenges like intermittent electricity from renewables, lack of maintenance funding, and other problems be too daunting? Should governments work to provide energy services a bit at a time, or would resources be better spent developing a more extensive, more efficient grid that serves more people?

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