Submitted by Dan Schnitzer (not verified) on Mon, 06/08/2009 - 23:51.
Hi Nick,
Thanks for the feedback. Your comment reveals that we could do a better job of communicating our projects, mission and methods.
I’d like to respond to all of your many questions and points.
Firstly, no, the price of LED lamps and solar home systems is not high. On the contrary, it is the price of kerosene and candle based lighting which is high, especially when one factors in externalities like CO2 emissions and health impacts. Haiti does not need “public power;” it needs inexpensive, clean, reliable power. At the moment, EdH provides none of these to the residential or small and micro enterprise sectors in the cities where it operates. There is no reason to believe that pursuing a centralized, top-down approach to increasing power access in either urban or rural areas will succeed. Such a model has actually proven quite dangerous and ineffective in rural areas (see Meier, “Power Sector Innovation in Developing Countries.” 1990).
I can’t stress enough how off base the comparison to a medical mission where doctors hand out medicines with little or no follow up is. First of all, this type of “mission” implies that no assessment of the target population has been carried out. InterIntel conducted a 265-household survey in Les Anglais last year to collect socioeconomic data, agricultural productivity data, present energy use data, and to find out what types of energy-related products or projects were most desired. Second, this type of medical mission does not charge a price for the goods being made available. Based on a broad economic literature linking usage rates to price, we predict that lamps and systems will be used and cared for if the actual market price is paid for them. Third, you say that these missions do not have follow-up. As evidenced by our initial assessment survey, InterIntel believes strongly in self-evaluation. We intend to implement follow-up surveys, utilize technologies to measure the usage of systems, and work closely with the Clean Energy Store owners to evaluate the efficacy of the project.
The picture which accompanies this blog post is misleading. That is not a photograph of the lamp we will be making available; InterIntel is not providing “camping gear.” The lamp pictured is not what will be sold at the Store. The portable lamps, which will be priced at $20, actually resemble the “Sunnan” lamp carried by IKEA (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90154371) in their design. However, the lamps that will be sold at the store use a 1 Watt panel on a 20 foot cord which is detachable from the base when not needed. This panel can also be used to charge a cell phone. Light from the lamp is provided by 12 LEDs. While $20 may seem like a high price for a family who earns only $500 a year, it is a bargain when compared to what they spend on their current lighting source. We have good reason to believe that even at $20, these lamps will sell briskly.
In no way are we treating the members of our partner communities as “2nd class.”
You need not be frightened by the prospect of people taking out microloans for Solar Home Systems. As stated in the blog entry, 75% of the households in our sample pay at least $1.42 per month per room on lighting. At an average of 3 rooms per household, that’s about $4.50 per month for the bottom 25th percentile. In other words, 75% of households pay more than $4.50 per month on lighting – only 25% spend less than this. As such, the savings generated by switching all of your lighting from kerosene and candles to light provided by a Solar Home System is sufficient to match decently sized monthly loan repayments.
As for the systems themselves, they of course include all necessary parts to be functional, reliable and robust. All parts come with manufacturer warrantees, and the store provides “check-ups” for the systems at regular intervals at no cost as part of its warrantee. These check-ups will be performed by local electricians who have been trained on the siting, installation and maintenance of solar home systems by InterIntel employees and partners.
For a cynic, I would expect you to be wary of working with EdH. I’m not a cynic, but I do know that I have much more faith in our community partners than EdH based on my experience in Haiti.
Thank you for your comments. Please refer to our website and our first quarterly progress report (http://interintel.org/?page_id=231) for more information. I feel that many of your concerns, questions and comments are answered in the existing descriptions of our work. Feel free to send me an email.
Reply to Nick
Hi Nick,
Thanks for the feedback. Your comment reveals that we could do a better job of communicating our projects, mission and methods.
I’d like to respond to all of your many questions and points.
Firstly, no, the price of LED lamps and solar home systems is not high. On the contrary, it is the price of kerosene and candle based lighting which is high, especially when one factors in externalities like CO2 emissions and health impacts. Haiti does not need “public power;” it needs inexpensive, clean, reliable power. At the moment, EdH provides none of these to the residential or small and micro enterprise sectors in the cities where it operates. There is no reason to believe that pursuing a centralized, top-down approach to increasing power access in either urban or rural areas will succeed. Such a model has actually proven quite dangerous and ineffective in rural areas (see Meier, “Power Sector Innovation in Developing Countries.” 1990).
I can’t stress enough how off base the comparison to a medical mission where doctors hand out medicines with little or no follow up is. First of all, this type of “mission” implies that no assessment of the target population has been carried out. InterIntel conducted a 265-household survey in Les Anglais last year to collect socioeconomic data, agricultural productivity data, present energy use data, and to find out what types of energy-related products or projects were most desired. Second, this type of medical mission does not charge a price for the goods being made available. Based on a broad economic literature linking usage rates to price, we predict that lamps and systems will be used and cared for if the actual market price is paid for them. Third, you say that these missions do not have follow-up. As evidenced by our initial assessment survey, InterIntel believes strongly in self-evaluation. We intend to implement follow-up surveys, utilize technologies to measure the usage of systems, and work closely with the Clean Energy Store owners to evaluate the efficacy of the project.
The picture which accompanies this blog post is misleading. That is not a photograph of the lamp we will be making available; InterIntel is not providing “camping gear.” The lamp pictured is not what will be sold at the Store. The portable lamps, which will be priced at $20, actually resemble the “Sunnan” lamp carried by IKEA (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90154371) in their design. However, the lamps that will be sold at the store use a 1 Watt panel on a 20 foot cord which is detachable from the base when not needed. This panel can also be used to charge a cell phone. Light from the lamp is provided by 12 LEDs. While $20 may seem like a high price for a family who earns only $500 a year, it is a bargain when compared to what they spend on their current lighting source. We have good reason to believe that even at $20, these lamps will sell briskly.
In no way are we treating the members of our partner communities as “2nd class.”
You need not be frightened by the prospect of people taking out microloans for Solar Home Systems. As stated in the blog entry, 75% of the households in our sample pay at least $1.42 per month per room on lighting. At an average of 3 rooms per household, that’s about $4.50 per month for the bottom 25th percentile. In other words, 75% of households pay more than $4.50 per month on lighting – only 25% spend less than this. As such, the savings generated by switching all of your lighting from kerosene and candles to light provided by a Solar Home System is sufficient to match decently sized monthly loan repayments.
I urge you to read this document on expanding access to energy services using microfinance: http://www.seepnetwork.org/Resources/5875_file_Energy_Summary_FINAL.pdf.
As for the systems themselves, they of course include all necessary parts to be functional, reliable and robust. All parts come with manufacturer warrantees, and the store provides “check-ups” for the systems at regular intervals at no cost as part of its warrantee. These check-ups will be performed by local electricians who have been trained on the siting, installation and maintenance of solar home systems by InterIntel employees and partners.
For a cynic, I would expect you to be wary of working with EdH. I’m not a cynic, but I do know that I have much more faith in our community partners than EdH based on my experience in Haiti.
Thank you for your comments. Please refer to our website and our first quarterly progress report (http://interintel.org/?page_id=231) for more information. I feel that many of your concerns, questions and comments are answered in the existing descriptions of our work. Feel free to send me an email.
Dan Schnitzer
Co-Director
InterIntel