Micro-hydro electrifies remote South American communities

A Peruvian project sponsored by Practical Action has transformed the lives of communities living in remote Andean villages through the installation of micro-hydro plants providing electricity to over 30,000 people, and won second prize in the 2007 Ashden Awards for Light and Power for its achievements.

The Eastern slopes of the Andes in North Peru are among the least developed parts of the country with the majority of people living in remote villages with little or no access to grid electricity. Whilst high rainfall supports a diverse range of agricultural activities, the lack of access to grid electricity makes life a daily struggle for survival and severely restricts economic development of the region. As a result a high proportion of the population leave the area in search of better opportunities. Extending the national grid is an unrealistic option when five million people in the Andean regions of Peru are without electricity, so effective alternatives were needed.

Posted to YouTube by Ashden Awards Feb. 26, 2008.

Since 1992, Practical Action's Renewable Energy Promotion Fund has been actively promoting micro hydro-power as the most effective source of electricity for the region, given the high rainfall and the extensive network of rivers and streams. To date the scheme has installed 47 micro-hydro stations producing a combined capacity of 1568 kW of electricity. This provides metered electricity to an estimated 5,044 families (30,000 people). Practical Action hopes to extend the scheme to eventually include parts of Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia where lack of access to essential electricity is a daily reality for many.

Since the arrival of micro-hydro, the area is thriving. Those who had left are returning, bringing their businesses with them, and others are also migrating to the area. Some villages, such as Tamborapa, have doubled in size and surveys suggest that about 25% of households have started or expanded businesses as a direct result of access to electricity. Earnings have also increased for 60% of those targeted by the scheme.

The educational and health benefits are myriad. Schools can use computers, photo-copiers and audio-visual equipment. Children can study at home in the evenings and, crucially, teachers are more likely to live in communities where there is access to electricity. Health centres can now operate vaccine refrigerators, maintain computer records and use radio links for vital communication. People are no longer exposed to the toxic fumes produced by kerosene lighting that cause breathing problems and eye irritations. In their homes people can also enjoy television, radio and DVD players.

The micro-hydro projects are installed only with the full involvement of the community who pay for 40% of the capital cost as well as deciding on the best payment structures for the electricity supplied. A village micro-enterprise is also set up and technicians are trained to take responsibility for the day to day running of the micro-hydro plants. As one teacher put it: "Electricity has made everyone in the village an engineer."

UPDATE: Practical Action (Peru) wins UNEP Sasakawa Prize 2008

The United Nations Environment Programme announced June 4, 2008, that the 2008 Sasakawa Prize was being awarded to projects bringing renewable energy to villages in Peru and Lao People's Democratic republic. The two winning projects are Sunlabob Rural Energy Ltd (Lao PDR) and Practical Action (Peru). Both projects are bringing clean power - solar and hydro - to remote rural communities that do not have access to grid electricity, on the Eastern slopes of the Andes and in the farthest-flung regions of Lao PDR. The UNEP Sasakawa prize, worth $200,000, is awarded yearly to individuals or institutions who have made a substantial contribution to the protection and management of the environment. The winners, who will each receive $100,000, were chosen by a five-member jury from a shortlist of six projects at a meeting in Tokyo.

The Prize recognizes extraordinary initiatives from around the world that make use of innovation and groundbreaking research and ideas and empower people at the local level. This year's theme was 'Moving towards a low carbon economy', the theme of World Environment Day 2008. The shortlist included four other outstanding projects bringing clean energy to thousands of people, from families in the Philippines to rural households in South India and prisons in Rwanda.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "Addressing the monumental energy challenge of the 21st century involves practical projects at ground level that bring tangible changes to the way people live. Sunlabob and Practical Action are showing tremendous leadership in bringing clean energy to remote communities in Peru and Lao PDR, and in doing so they are setting further examples of the energy alternatives available to the developing but also the developed world."

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