Project Title:         Nicaraguan Small Wind Technology Transfer Project

Project Location:  Cajiniquil, Nicaragua

Project Duration:  12 months - completed June 2010

Project Partner:     blueEnergy Nicaragua and Asofenix

Project Summary:

The construction of an integrated hybrid wind/solar PV system, consisting of a 1kW locally constructed wind turbine and a 500W solar array, with a combination of a micro-grid and a battery charging station to provide a sustainable energy supply. Houses too remote from the mini-grid will receive solar home systems.

Country Profile:

Capital city:  Managua

Population:  5.822m

Life Expectancy:  73.8

Population without access to electricity:  45%

Population living on less than $1.25 dollars a day:  15.81%

Adult Illiteracy Rate:  19%

Under 5 mortality rate per 1000 births: 27

(Source: UNDP Human Index Report)

Current Situation:

The village of Cajiniquil is perched on the top of the foothills of an extinct volcano in central Nicaragua about 3 ½ hours north of Managua along a narrow, winding and potholed road, and then an extremely steep dirt track. Cajiniquil is isolated from the surrounding villages by a steep incline meaning that is unlikely to be connected to the national grid at any point in the foreseeable future.

Currently families spend an average of $3/month on kerosene which they use mainly for lighting lamps, which is both dangerous and a serious health risk from indoor air pollution.  Water is currently carried in buckets from the river which represents a considerable burden for the women and children as well as exposing the water to contamination. 
 

The Project Plan:

The project will supply 20 households in the village of Cajiniquil with a clean, renewable electricity supply for powering electrical lights, powering a water pump to provide the community with a supply of clean water, and improving services at the school, health and community centres.  The energy system will also provide power to enable small business opportunities. 

Renewable World Programme Intervention:

Renewable World's input into this programme intervention is through providing social investment and financing for programme partner blueEnergy.
 

Project Development:

The community will be involved in all aspects of the project from the initial design, through to forming a gender-balanced committee, who will manage the project, mobilise the community labour and arrange workshops and assemblies.  The committee will form and manage a micro-enterprise to maintain and financially sustain the project in the long-term.  It will help decide the monthly tariffs each household needs to pay and their energy and water, to cover the long-term management and maintenance of the system.