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Washington International Renewable Energy Conference
March 3, 2008
By Matthew Plocher
An international conference on renewable energy was held March 3-6 at the Washington Convention Center. It brought together industry leaders and innovators, government representatives and many non-profit organizations to discuss and disseminate information about the emerging field of renewable energy. LCHR attended two events at the conference: Biomass heating fuels: Low hanging fruit for carbon emissions and energy independence, and Solar cooking: Renewable energy at home for a greener, healthier, and wealthier world.
The Biomass heating fuels event was organized by the Pellet Fuels Institute and was primarily directed towards industry investors, both private and governmental, but not nonprofit organizations. The speakers were John Strimling, Dan Henry, and Steve Tate, representing different portions of the pellet industry (pellet production, pellet retail, pellet stoves). The presentation focused on pellet fuels as a heating alternative for individual homes, and its eventual application in large scale industries. The pellets in question are “densified,” or condensed woodstuff that burns more efficiently and at a higher temperature than normal wood and many other fuel alternatives. Additionally, pellet stoves offer improved burning, through a process called “secondary combustion.” The speakers said there was a 13 to 1 financial return from production to use.
During the question and answer portion of the event, an audience member from Kenya asked if the ovens described would be available in a cheaper version to developing countries where fuel shortages are a constant problem. The speakers unanimously asserted that a stripped-down oven could be produced at less cost, and pellets could be made out of almost anything, anywhere, so they believe their industry could be applicable in developing nations. Whether it is appropriate to refugee situations may be another question, though, as the stove’s size, technological intricacies, and cost would make its transport and production near camps difficult.
The Solar cooking event was organized by Solar Household Energy Inc., Solar Cookers International Association, Sun BD Corporation, Solar Oven Society, and Sun Ovens International Inc. Of the several organizations featured, three stood out for their commitment to applying their solar cooking devices in developing worlds, Solar Household Energy Inc.(SHE), Solar Oven Society (in partnership with Persons Helping People), and Sun Ovens International Inc.
Marie-Ange Bingawaho and Louise Meyer of SHE both spoke very passionately of the myriad of health problems people of developing nations face that stem from long-term smoke inhalation and exposure. They also said that women and children who depend on wood-burning ovens spend one-third of their time collecting wood. SHE has been able to distribute between 800 and 2,000 cooking devices a year depending on location and is exclusively committed to humanitarian efforts – the devices are not produced for retail. While Bingawaho and Meyer acknowledge facing cultural obstacles initially, they claim to have a great success rate and lasting programs. Their product is also the cheapest of the ones showcased.
Bill Potts of the Solar Oven Society was at the event primarily to promote his solar oven for use in the U.S. market, but he did mention the extraordinary success his product had in Afghanistan. Unlike in Africa, the Afghan women immediately took to the idea of solar powered cooking, he said. Relative to the other devises featured, Potts’s ovens are slightly more substantial and look to be a more permanent investment, and have also faired better in windy climates. Potts’s ovens are slightly more expensive than the others, however.
Paul Munsun’s Sun Ovens International, like SHE, is totally oriented towards the humanitarian aspect of solar power cooking. Munsun began by explaining that cultural challenges are the greatest impediments for humanitarian efforts looking to establish solar cooking as a viable alternative to wood burning. Promoting solar cooking simply requires more initial time and energy on the part of the aid worker. More teaching and demonstration is required, and people are going to be hesitant to experiment with their own food. However, these problems are all surmountable, he said. Munsun claimed he has faced every argument and obstacle to solar cooking, and has been able to adapt to them all. His oven looks to be the largest and most substantial of the group; he clamed it lasts for 15 years. It also evidently produces the highest temperatures. However, it is, without a doubt, the most expensive. His oven comes in two sizes: family, and village. The Villager Sun Oven was designed to provide a small institution, like a hospital or orphanage, with a mobile, solar bakery. As such, Munsun’s was the only organization to also offer an alternative income-generating activity, something that is often critical for refugees and other vulnerable individuals in precarious situations. Additionally, his ovens can be assembled on location, providing some wage labor depending on the size of the order.
Munsun acknowledged that his oven’s price is steeper than most. But he claimed that his oven still sells because his organization distributes basic solar cookers, low-cost reflecting panels of tinfoil, to locals for free. According to Munsun, while watching the aid workers demonstrate with the real model, the locals would still experience the primary advantage of solar power saving money normally spent on firewood. Over time, the money locals saved from using a free model would be enough to purchase the real oven. Encouraging them to save and buy the oven ensures that solar cooking will register in a community and last longer after the aid workers leave, he said. Munsun also promoted the idea of incorporating a micro-loan initiative in tandem with the solar oven program.
While Munsun is generally able to implement the delayed purchasing procedure described above, he acknowledged that it doesn’t always work when the population is able to gather wood freely. In these circumstances, the savings component would no longer be evident. The situation in the refugee camps in Darfur would seemingly fall into this category, however, regrettably, continued violence and deforestation could reduce the availability of free firewood there. |
