ashden's energy prize winners

[chris macrae]

while ashden doesnt have a student competition branch - its the world leading prize network of how energy innovation creates jobs and sustains communities of our global village world - we are proud of our friendship with ashden whose founder attended the norman macrae remembrance party 1 at The Economist; our country by country history of award winners is at http://grameengreen.com

..related Topic: ashden awards 2012meet with the Ashden Patron HRH The Prince of Wales at Clarence House to discuss their work. Sarah Butler-Sloss, Founder Director of Ashden..

here are this year (2012) international finalists of ashden award

Barefoot Power

Flexible solar products for the poor

The social for-profit enterprise Barefoot Power is rolling out a wide range of solar power products at speed across Africa, brightening up the lives of those with limited or no access to grid power.  Products range from single desk lamps to complete kits for use by community homes, clinics and schools. With good links to microfinance organisations, Barefoot has sold about 350,000 lanterns and lighting kits to the rural poor in over 20 countries in Africa, Asia Pacific, India and the Americas.

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Mohammed Amir with hydro powered plane

 

GIZ/INTEGRATION

Brighter prospects for rural Afghanistan

The German development corporation GIZ and consulting engineers INTEGRATION are bringing electricity to the remote Badakhshan and Takhar provinces in North East Afghanistan by constructing new off-grid hydro schemes that are capable of weathering the most challenging of circumstances. Responding to local sensitivities, all communities get a share of construction work while training in productive uses of electricity is stimulating the growth of small businesses, offering a viable alternative to growing opium. Working with the Afghan Government, the partners have so far installed six micro-hydro plants with total capacity 1.3MW, providing 24-hour electricity for the first time to 63,000 people,110 public organisations and 645 small enterprises.

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A relief valve, penstock and power house

 

IBEKA

Community-owned micro hydro

Off-grid hydro schemes are bringing the benefits of electricity – like good quality light, TV and power tools – for the first time to remote communities in Indonesia, creating new livelihood opportunities and a window on the wider world. The not-for-profit People Centred Economic and Business Institute (IBEKA) is responsible for developing the schemes, which are owned and managed by communities. IBEKA also develops on-grid schemes, which provide an income to communities from selling electricity to the grid. With 61 hydro schemes installed so far, 54,000 people currently benefit and 7,400 tonnes of CO2 a year are being saved.

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Making the filters

 

iDE/Hydrologic

Protecting health - and Cambodia’s forests

The NGO iDE and its for-profit subsidiary Hydrologic Social Enterprise’s labour-saving ceramic water filters mean rural families have safe drinking water without using wood to boil it – so protecting health as well as Cambodia’s precious forests. With over 226,000 affordable filters sold so far via NGO programmes, shops and rural sales agents, some 420,000 people are benefitting. The impact on the environment is equally impressive: so far 41,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions are currently being saved every year.

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Making solar bottles in a prison workshop

 

MyShelter

Solar bottles light up the Philippines

The MyShelter Foundation is lighting up dark rooms in in poor urban homes in the Philippines through its pioneering use of clear plastic drinks bottles as skylights. A plastic bottle, water and a few drops of bleach are all that’s needed to prepare the bottles, which are then sealed into roofs to enable bright daylight to filter through. The Solar Bottle Bulb is being distributed throughout the Philippines, with skilled promotion through social media helping to enlist volunteer support and generate global interest. With around 25,000 bottle-lights installed so far, MyShelter aspires to light up many more homes in the future.

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A new pico hydro installation

 

SKDRDP

Enabling the poor to make informed energy choices

Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP) in South India is a prime example of the vital role a well-run microfinance organisation can play in meeting the poor’s energy needs. The Karnataka-based NGO provides affordable loans to families in the area, helping them buy renewable energy systems that improve their quality of life.  Key to the success of this highly replicable programme, which has so far provided nearly 20,000 energy loans are self-help groups that help people make informed choices on what energy products they buy.

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The turbines are locally manufactured

 

WindAid

Powering up Peru’s rural communities

Family-run business WindAid is harnessing the plentiful and reliable supply of wind along Peru’s mountainous coastline to power up the region’s rural communities and businesses. Their simply designed turbines are made locally: graduate volunteers are trained to manufacture and install the turbines, so building their practical skills and rural development knowledge, while WindAid receives an income from the volunteers which helps it fund community installations. Its installations have a total wind capacity of 57 kW.

http://ashdenconference2012.eventbrite.com/ ashden conference 29 may

Our international finalists are leading the way in showing how progress on cutting CO2 emissions can go hand-in-hand with improving livelihoods, empowering women and improving health and education. From rolling out affordable solar products at speed across Africa to enabling community ownership of renewable energy in Indonesia, they aren’t just tackling climate change – they’re also boosting economies, binding communities together and transforming lives, offering a vision of a truly sustainable future.
But to reach the millions who would benefit they urgently need to scale up their work. Making the right decisions at Rio+20 in June is critical if we are to make sustainable energy for all a reality. Some of our international finalists will tell us what they are doing to contribute to universal energy access – and challenging the decision-makers in Rio to make it achievable. The chair of our afternoon session, Richenda Van Leeuwen from the UN Foundation, will take the results of this session straight to Rio+20 so come along, contribute to the debate and make your views count.
So come along to one or both sessions and enjoy lively discussion and debate about how we can change things together for a better low-carbon future.

[chris macrae]

The shortlist for the International Ashden Awards is: Azuri Technologies; Biomasse Mali (Mali); Cookswell Jikos (Africa); Dream Light Solid Waste Management (Ethiopia); Friends of Women’s World Banking (India); Impact Carbon (USA/Africa); MicroEnergy Credits (Mongolia); Natural Balance (South Africa); OMC Power (India); The Paradigm Project; SolarAid (UK/Africa); Vortex Engineering (India); WWF-DRC (Africa).

[chris macrae]

Finalists for this year’s Ashden Awards have been announced today. From 26 finalists, a total of 14 winners will be announced at ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society in London on 20 June 2013, with prizes to be awarded of £5,000 - £40,000. 

This year’s international finalists include businesses and social enterprises that are catalysing markets for cleaner cookstoves and getting affordable solar power to where it’s most needed; a West African island that’s showcasing the huge potential of wind power and a Haitian entrepreneur who has built a successful business despite successive natural disasters.

Closer to home, our finalists include some of the UK’s most exciting cleantech innovators, sustainable travel organisations that are getting commuters to kick their car habit; market towns that are showing local residents how to take back control of their energy and schools that are helping create a whole new generation of sustainable energy champions.

Sarah Butler-Sloss, Founder Director of Ashden, said: “Some say sustainable energy is a luxury we can’t afford.  But it’s a huge opportunity. From Cumbria to Cape Verde, our 2013 finalists are showing that what’s good for the planet is also good for people, good for business, and good for economies. Together they are helping build a sustainable energy revolution.”

A total of 14 winners will be announced at ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society in London on 20 June, with prizes to be awarded of £5,000 - £40,000.   UK Ashden Awards International Ashden Awards Awards for Small Island Developing States Eurostar Ashden Awards for Sustainable Travel Ashden School Awards This year’s ceremony will include the Ashden Awards for Small Island Developing States, launched with the support of the World Bank and the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) through the SIDS DOCK support program.

The UK Ashden Awards will also include a new Award for Energy Innovation, sponsored by Impax Asset Management. Our international Ashden Awards will be supported by Citi Microfinance; the Waterloo Foundation and Zennström Philanthropies.