Developing World Electrification

In many parts of the developing world, electricity generation is often non-existent, or at best unreliable. In Nigeria, for example, a vast nation of 150 million people, has a generating capacity of 4,000
MW. By comparison, New York City alone has a generating capacity of 13,000 MW.

This shortfall is persistent and structural, and the amount of capital required to fix it is tremendous. Therefore, this problem will not be resolved anytime soon with the usual approach to centralized generation and distribution.

Currently, businesses and households that can afford it resort to using diesel generators. Since diesel is sold at world prices, the electricity generated is very expensive, as high as US$0.50 per kilowatt hour or more.

The lack of electricity is by far the largest impediment to development in many parts of the developing world, and resolving this problem will reduce poverty, enable progressive wealth creation and unleash enormous potential of putting carbon-negative biomass power at work, empowering people and transforming communities

Happily, there is an available, affordable tool that is highly optimized to use local fuels to make on demand energy: biomass gasification.  The ALL Power Labs Power Pallet is now being used in projects around the world to provide affordable, reliable, renewable energy. They are being used both as stand alone systems and as parts of micro-grids, combining power from numerous sources and supplying the transformative power of electricity to whole communities.

Kwendin, Liberia - December 2016

APL is expanding our project at BWI in Kakata, Liberia to the nearby village of Kwendin. Vincent Igboeli, our amazing Operations Manager from BWI, along with his Biomass Brothers are using the expertise they have developed in that last two years running the BWI Renewable Energy Center to oversee the development of another biomass-powered microgrid in Kwendin.

Like Kakata, Kwendin has no access to any grid power, and is located in the heart of the extensive Liberian rubber tree plantation. Kwendin is a village with a population of about 2000, and are in the process of building a comprehensive microgrid to supply street lighting and domestic and commercial power to the while village. 3 PP20 Power Pallets were installed in a powerhouse and residents of Kwendin are experiencing the transformative power of a, inexpensive and comprehensive electrical gird for the first time.

Ryan Duffy’s Now What series on the Huffington Post did an episode on energy poverty and this project. It is a beautiful and inspiring piece about just what is at stake in the work we are doing.

Hybridnet Project, Terni, Italy

Massimo Ceroni and Paolo Massarelli lead the team of young engineers who are building a microgrid and alternative energy training center in Italy to help North and Central African refugees learn about sustainable development. Hybridnet plans to leverage European funding to successfully equip these men and women with skills that they can take back to the home countries and deploy. The goal is to help them develop economically and enviornmentally sustainable local enterprise that will allow them to make a living even as they provide an environmentally friendly useful service to their communities.

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This microgrid integrates our biomass generators with both solar and wind generation equipment, all coordinated with a special “brain” that monitors and allocates the resources to allow the most effective use of the biomass, wind, and sun power they produce. Particular attention is also being given to the heat generated and it’s possible application in the conservation of food.

Green 2 Energy, Coyoacán, Mexico D.F.

a renewable energy company located in the colonia of Santa Catarina, in the Coyoacán borough of Mexico City. G2E specializes in biomass gasification for the energy production. They design, develop and implement projects that produce thermal, electrical and mechanical energy using waste biomass. They offer a wide range of solutions for biomass energy from 20 kWe to 2.2 MWe, using modular systems that meet international requirements.

They have added one of our PP20, 20kW Power Pallets to their demonstration center for the study of technical and economic feasibility of technologies for generating thermal/electrical energy. The first of its kind in Mexico, and supported by the federal government’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) they are a leader in the effort to solve the problem of energy poverty.CKhzwF2UcAQd3EL

Their staff has more than 30 years of experience in research and development of gasification technologies and over 12 years of experience implementing renewable-energy projects based on the gasification of solid waste. Their team of electrical, mechanical and chemical engineers, project managers, financial advisors and technicians, with their experience in a wide variety of systems, are able to offer timely and cost-effective, waste-to-energy solutions for the almost 95% of small towns (populations under 2500) in Mexico who have no access to electrical power in Mexico, as reported by The Ministry of Energy (SENER) and the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

Zero Waste Co., Ltd, Bangkok, Thailand

Thailand has a very comprehensive waste management system. Their national disposal plan is organized by the Royal Thai Government, and then distributed among the central government, regional governments, and local governments. Each agency oversees different part of the system. The central government and its ministries set standards and policies and define regulatory regimes. Provincial and district governments coordinate between the central and local jurisdictions and legislate specific regulations, while the local municipalities are responsible for the actual waste management which is contracted to private industry under Pollution Control Department. This results in a very comprehensive nationwide emphasis on recycling and waste reuse.zerowastelogo

Zero Waste Co., Ltd installed a PP20 at their Bangkok facility to help expand the research and development of their refuse derived fuel (RDF) program. They specialize in waste to energy projects, using Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), Landfill Waste and Industrial Waste, in an effort to fulfill Thailand’s aggressive and ecologically enlightened waste policies.Zero Waste, Bangkok Thailand

Zero Waste Co., Ltd. is developing extensive refuse derived and other waste to energy facilities and systems using gasification and other technologies to process hundreds of tons of various types of waste streams including agricultural waste biomass in addition to MSW.