Transcript No more surgeries by flashlight solar power for jungle clinics in Burma and other tales of green energy from South East Asia. Palang.

No more surgeries by flashlight
solar power for jungle clinics in Burma and other
tales of green energy from South East Asia.
Palang Thai
Green Empowerment
Chris & Chom Sangarasri Greacen
Lopez Library
12 May, 2005
[ E MP O WE R M E N T F O R G R E E N S E L F - R E L I A N C E ]
Palang Thai
พลังไท
พลัง (palang): n 1. Power. 2. Empowerment.
ไท (thai): adj. 1. Independence. 2. Self-reliance
We are a small Thailand-based non-profit organization
dedicated to empowering grassroots communities and small
entrepreneurs to use environmentally responsible energy in
ways that support sustainable development and participatory
democracy.
Geograhic area: Mekong region (Thailand, Burma, Laos,
Cambodia, Vietnam)
[ E MP O WE R M E N T F O R G R E E N S E L F - R E L I A N C E ]
Palang Thai
พลังไท
•Public interest energy policy analysis
– Critical appraisal of large electricity
infrastructure plans
– Political economy of energy sector
•Grid connected renewable energy
– Thai net metering project
•Community energy
– Burma sustainable energy project (including
medical clinics for IDPs)
– Thai village micro-hydro
Green Empowerment
• Portland Oregon-based non-governmental
organizations (NGO)
• Works with local and international NGOs and
rural communities to implement community-based
renewable energy
• Provides training, technical, organizational, public
relations, and fundraising support
• Works in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru,
Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Philippines
Outline
• “No more surgeries by flashlight”: solar
electricity for Karen clinics on Burma side
of border (2003-present)
• Micro-hydro for Karen villages in Thailand
(2002-present)
• Border Green Energy Team (2005-)
“No more
surgeries by
flashlight”:
solar
electricity
for Karen
clinics on
Burma side
of border
1 minute political history of
contemporary Burma
• Independence in 1947
• 15 years of elected parliament and democracy hampered by
ethnic unrest, lack of unity and economic troubles
• 1962 Burmese military coup staged by General Ne Win.
• Ne Win creates policy to wipe out the ethnic opposition groups
that were in conflict with the central government, and were
struggling to assert their own identities and cultures.
• 1970s Ne Win introduces the 'Four Cuts' program: Cut off food,
information, recruits and financial support to armed ethnic
opposition groups. The policy has mostly affected the villagers
that live in the ethnic border areas.
Internally Displaced Persons
(IDPs) in Burma
• Driven from their homes by the actions of the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC – Burma’s
military government) yet still living within the borders
of Burma.
• SPDC inflicts forced relocations, extrajudicial killings,
arbitrary detention, rape, village destruction, forced
labor and portering.
• Victims are generally ethnic minorities (Karen,
Karenni, Shan, etc.)
• Up to 2 million IDPs in Burma
• Little access to heath care, education, peace of mind
They came and destroyed our rice paddies and properties, and in the
rainy season they killed one of my nieces on the hill. They came to ask
us to be porters, and if you don't want to do it, you have to run away
and they destroy your things.
-- IDP interviewed in documentary, "No Place to Go"
The SPDC soldiers entered and destroyed everything and burned down the village.
They burned down all the houses in the village and ate all the chickens, pigs and
goats.
-- Internally displaced man interviewed in "No Place to Go"
It's getting more and more difficult. Last year, we were living somewhere else and this year we
are living here... I just want to live in my own place and have my own lands... I used to have my
own home and live my own life with my family.
--- Old man interviewed in "No Place to Go"
Ruggedized solar electric systems built by
medics in 3-5 day hands-on trainings
Thus far…
• 3 trainings (2003, 2004, 2005)
• 18 clinics
• 40 medics trained
Micro-hydro for Karen villages in
Thailand
Micro-hydroelectricity
Source: Inversin, A. R. (1986). Micro-Hydropower Sourcebook.
Kre Khi village micro-hydro
2003
20 liters/second
8 meters head
110 meter of 6” pipe
Kre Khi village Microhydro
Estimated power: 500 Watts
Head: 8 meters
Flow: 20 liters/second
Total Installed cost: $2500
E Wi Jo village
micro-hydro
2004
E Wi Jo village microhydro
Estimated power: 750 Watts
Head: 20 meters
Flow: 20 liters/second
Total installed cost: <$2000
Border Green Energy Team
2005 onward
Thai government solar
home program
14:00 Sa Ke Kla village
Thai government solar home
program
• 205,000 solar home systems installed by 2006
• Budget at least US$200,000,000 (taxpayer funded)
• No program to address sustainability
– No trainings for villagers on how to use solar home
systems
– No information provided to villagers about equipment
warranty
– Nowhere to turn to if there are problems
Problems observed
(n=105 systems, 3-5 months after installation 7% failure)
• Manufacturing defect
– Missing connector in module junction box (1 system)
– Diode with wrong polarity in module j-box (1 system)
– Controller/inverter early failure (2 systems)
• Installation defect
– PV installed in shaded location (several systems)
– Controller installed under leaky roof (1 systems)
• User error
– Bypass broken controller (several systems)
• Bypassed wrong -- reverse polarity burns diode (1 system)
– Inverter destroyed by paralleling output of 2 inverters (2 systems)
• Difficulty making warranty claim
– Villagers do not know who to contact when system breaks under
warranty
Solar electric training 17-23 Feb, 2005
Mae Sa Pau village, Tak Province
Training: solar site selection
Training: operations and
maintenance
Retrofit/repair broken PEA
SHS
Repair broken DEDE battery
charging station
Border Green Energy Team
• Hire & train local technicians
– Teach Thai villagers how to keep solar electric systems from failing
early
– Battery recycling program
– System repair
– Warranty service
• Use Thai solar home systems as hands-on classroom
– Thai technicians
– refugee vocational students
– medics from inside Burma
• Community systems
–
–
–
–
microhydro
solar
clinics, schools, community centers
both sides of the border.
Border Green Energy Team
• Green Empowerment
• International Institute for Energy
Conservation (IIEC)
• Karen Health and Welfare Department
• Karen Network
• Palang Thai
• Taipei Oversees Peace Service
• ZOA refugee vocational training
We’re able to do this through
generosity of our donors…
• Individual Donors
– Contributions directly to Palang Thai
– Contributions to Green Empowerment
(501.c3)
• Foundations
– Heinrich Boll Foundation (German Green
Party)
– The Ashden Trust for Renewable Energy
– Switzer Environmental Foundation (USA)
– Bangkok American Women’s Club
Thank you!
For more information contact:
Tel. (+011) 662-674-2533
[email protected]
www.palangthai.org
Download presentation slides& documents at:
http://www.palangthai.org/docs/index
Renewables account for very little of
Thailands’ installed generating capacity
0.6% grid-connected renewables
Big
hydro
lignite
พลังน้ ำ
ก๊ำซธรรมชำติ
Fuel oil
น้ ำมันเตำ
ดีเซล
Natural gas
ลิกไนต์
ถ่ำนหินนำเข ้ำ
พลังงำนหมุนเวียน
ื่ มไทย-มำเลเซย
ี
สำยสง่ เชอ
TOTAL: 26,000 MW
Source: EGAT (2003). Power Development Plan
Estimated renewable energy
potential in Thailand
Resource
Biomass Solar PV
Wind
Micro- & Mini- hydro
Total
Technical
potential (MW)
7,000
>5,000
1,600
700
>14,000
Commerical
Potential (MW)
>4,500
?
?
350?
>4,800
Year 2011
Government
targets (MW)
1140
250
100
350
1840
Source: Technical potential and Targets from Thai Ministry of Energy. (2003).“Energy Strategy for
Competitiveness” http://www.eppo.go.th/admin/moe-workshop1/index.html. Commercial potential from
from Black & Veatch 2000 and NEPO/DANCED 1998 as well as interviews with power plant
managers.
Reduces air and water pollution
Biogas from
Pig Farms
Produces fertilizer
Produces electricity
Biogas from Pig
Farms
Korat Waste to Energy biogas
• Uses waste water from cassava to make methane
• Produces gas for all factory heat (30 MW thermal) + 3 MW of
electricity
• Earns high market returns
• Developer estimates 300 MW from waste water + 800 MW
from wet cake
Korat Waste to Energy biogas
• 3 x 1 MW Jenbacher gas generators
Community
micro-hydro
• Mae Kam Pong village,
Chiang Mai
• 40 kW
• Community cooperative
• Expected gross revenues:
$750/month
40 kW micro-hydro generator at
Mae Kam Pong