Low Wind Key to Success in Thailand

July 7, 2012

A man with an umbrella to protect from the heat admires the Kings Wind Farm in Thailand.

“I know that 70% of the area in the world has a low wind speed. I thought, if we want to promote the wind machine, 70% is a lot of the world”, says Dr. Roy.

Dr. Wirachai Roynarin (or Dr. Roy as he is more commonly known), is a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at RMUTT in Bangkok and owner of Prapai Technologies, a company that specializes in low wind-speed turbines. He grew up in a small farming family, where he learned to respect the land, before going to England to study. He returned to Thailand believing he could help his country, and he set his sights on the wind.

He is excited about the prospects for wind energy in Thailand, but insists that it must be done correctly. A few years ago, during the fuel crisis in Thailand, wind energy suddenly became popular. Companies began importing and installing wind turbines that were largely not suitable for the low wind speeds of Thailand.

Dr. Wirachai Roynarin or (Dr. Roy as he is more commonly known), is a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at RMUTT in Bangkok and owner of Prapai Technologies, a company that specializes in low wind-speed turbines.

“When they bring windmills from abroad, they look like a monument, they don’t rotate. Until a storm comes, then they rotate. They are not designed for most of our region”, says Dr. Roy.

In his view, a solution lies in low speed, decentralized wind turbines. These are turbines that can be put anywhere and are small, light structures, like ants feeding the grid. The first major project of Prapai is the King’s Wind Farm. A 200kw wind park made up of 20 individual 10kw wind turbines. The park is about 100m square and located in the village where the King of Thailand spends his summers. The King himself supported the construction and the electricity is directed to the community and the grid. It has been deemed a success, although not without difficulties. Dr. Roy and his team have had to grapple with earthquakes and monsoon gusts. When I visited the site, workers were busy in the 42-degree heat repairing three turbines that were damaged from a recent monsoon.

The wind farm was developed on a previously dry, deserted field, and for Dr. Roy this is very important. “The most important thing we have is the forest. We need to protect the forest”, he says. “Why do you have to destroy the forest and the fresh water to put the wind machine on a mountain? You can put a 10kw wind machine anywhere in Thailand, you don’t have to cut the trees, you can put them wherever you want. You can put them in front of your home, in front of your office. It isn’t tall, it is 18m, it is nice, it is lovely, you can decorate it, and you get energy.”

Workers repair a wind turbine that was damaged in a monsoon on the King’s Wind Farm in Thailand. The farm is owned and operated by Prapai Technologies.

Dr. Roy is quick to counter any suggestion that his motives are strictly business led. He suggests that he wouldn’t mind if people decided to order alternative products. All he cares about, he says, is that people make sure that the product they use is suitable for the wind speeds and country of Thailand.

“My wind machines may not be the most perfect machine in the world”, says Dr. Roy. “But I know that they are good machines, because they are not made for business, they are made from the heart.”

Led by Dr. Roy, low wind-speed development could take off. But will Thailand recognize the benefits of the only wind turbines made in Thailand for Thailand?

This blog post is part 10 and the final of a series of wind energy stories from photographer Robert van Waarden. 

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Wind and Tulips, Success in North Holland

June 28, 2012

Jaap van der Beek walks amongst his fields of tulips in Middenmeer, the Netherlands
Jaap van der Beek, pilot, wind farmer and farmer in Middenmeer, Holland. Mr. van der Beek owns one windmill on his property.

“If I only grew potatoes and onions, then I wouldn’t speak with so many people”, says Jaap van der Beek. “You speak so often to these people because we all have the same interest. That interest is to build a big wind turbine.”

Jaap van der Beek has been harvesting the wind for over 15 years, and his 850kw turbine powers hundreds of homes. He lives in North Holland, and centuries ago this area was dominated by wooden windmills. A pilot, farmer and a wind enthusiast, Jaap is a busy man.

He speaks passionately about the impact that wind energy has had on his life. “I really like the idea of getting energy from the wind”, says Jaap. “I really like the technology and I especially like the idea that it sits on my own property.”

But perhaps first and foremost, even above the financial gain, is the sense of community gained from involvement with wind energy. Owning a wind turbine has connected him with the other solitary wind turbine owners in North Holland, and with the industry as a whole.

Since installing his first windmill years ago, he has helped many others navigate the planning permits and regulations to install windmills or plan even bigger windmills. He is the assistant director of the Vereniging van Windturbine Eigenaren in Noord-Holland (Association of Wind Turbine owners in North Holland) and sits on the implementation board for the Netherlands Wind Energy Association.

These committees take a fair amount of time, but he doesn’t complain. He spends hours writing emails, attending meetings, writing reports and general committee work, because he wishes to promote and grow the wind energy sector in the Netherlands.

As for himself, Jaap wants to keep building: “I am also a business person, I want to go forward; bigger, better. Standing still is to go backwards.”

Jaap van der Beek checks the fuel of his airplane in Middenmeer, the Netherlands.

For the last four years he has been working with 35 other wind turbine owners to plan a large wind park on a polder in Holland. This co-operation will easily satisfy the Dutch law prescribing that windmills must be built together in a line. They are currently working on land planning and permissions and expect that there will be another 4 years before the project gets the green light.

When it does, Jaap hopes to install a 3.5 MW turbine, 4 times more powerful then the older one that currently sits next to his house. He knows that working together has been a great exercise to get to know his neighbours and build a community spirit as everyone moves towards a common goal. In the meantime, Jaap will continue to farm his tulips, fly his planes and raise his family in the shadow of his windmill.

This blog post is part 9 of a series of wind energy stories from photographer Robert van Waarden Next week meet Dr. Roy, an early adopter of wind energy in Thailand and developer of low speed wind turbines. 

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Bright Future for Wind Energy in Nepal

June 28, 2012

Ms. Aruna Awale-Meteorologist for the Alternative Energy Promotion Center in Kathmandu poses for a picture. In the background is a wind turbine provided by MEC.

“I have seen a bright future for wind energy in Nepal, because a lot of wind energy potential has been predicted,” says Aruna Awale, manager of the wind energy department at the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre in Kathmandu, Nepal.

From the window of her office, she can see one of the few operating wind turbines in Nepal. It is a small Maglev vertical access turbine. It turns rapidly in the wind that blows through the Kathmandu valley. It is a sign of more to come if Ms. Awale has anything to do with it.

Ms. Awale works on data and implementation projects, co-ordinates meetings and conferences, and meets with national and international stakeholders. She credits her work for giving her more confidence and a huge amount of experience. She especially enjoys the opportunity to travel internationally for different seminars, the highlight of which is often a visit to a wind farm.

Nepal faces several problems to implement large-scale wind energy, but interestingly, one of those isn’t finance with many development banks, institutions, or companies ready to step forward. Instead Ms Awale mentions the complex geography and the insufficient infrastructure as the main challenge. The small roads, or entire lack thereof, are often not suited for carrying large equipment to high windy points. The spectacular but difficult geography makes studies and installations more difficult. In order to fully grow in this energy sector, this challenge will have to be surmounted.

Perhaps, suggests Ms. Awale, one way to do that is to start smaller. Citing a recent implemented pilot project by the Asian Development Bank, Ms. Awale remains confident that wind energy will have a great impact on small communities in Nepal. In the Dhaubadi BDC of Nawalparasi District, 46 households are now connected to electricity by a small wind turbine. This has transformed the village and made it the envy of neighbouring villages: now everyone wants a wind turbine.

“With small scale wind energy, thousands of villages can benefit from wind power where no energy is available, not even for lights.” says Ms. Awale.

Ms. Awale has been working at the AEPC for almost a decade and hopes to see some of the available 3000MW potential in Nepal developed, recognizing that it will change the life of many of her fellow Nepalese citizens. For many a Nepali, the answer to electricity problems and the attached poverty issues may simply be blowing in the wind.

This blog post is part 8 of a series of wind energy stories from photographer Robert van Waarden. Next week meet Jaap van der Beek, Netherlands farmer who harvests wind amongst his tulips. 

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Megawatts, Community and Development in Thailand

June 7, 2012

Wind Turbine platforms ready for the mast as part of Thailand's larget wind farm. It is located in Nakhon Ratchasima district.

“It represents modernity. So, they want this in their community. Hey, we are modern, they say. This is latest technology, and we are independent from Burmese gas and from imported oil. Our energy is produced here with our own resources, our own wind. Zero emissions, and we are proud of it!” That’s what it sounds like when Nick Suppipat talks about the local communities he’s working with to generate renewable energy.

Nick and the company Wind Enterprise Holdings are on the verge of completing the largest wind farm ever in Thailand. The 207MW wind park is currently being built in the Nakhon Ratchasima district. It is a significant step for the fledging wind industry in Thailand and an example of how sustainable development can be a win-win.

Six years ago, oil prices were skyrocketing and Thailand was in the midst of a financial crisis. Nick, an investor since he was 17, was convinced that renewable energy would be the next big thing and figured that wind is going to take the biggest share of that. For him, the business case made sense and he jumped in.

“So I started looking for an appropriate site. At the time according to local research, we didn’t have wind resource. So I took a serious look into that research and found out that it is not reliable,” says Nick.

Nick hired an American company to develop a hi-resolution wind map and discovered that Thailand did have some wind resources, not as good as some European countries, but enough for modern wind turbines. Since then, the business has grown quickly and beyond his expectations. Six years ago he wouldn’t have dreamed of 500MW. Now they are months away from completing 207MW and have their sights set on over 1000MW and expansion internationally.

Based on the current tariff, Nick believes 2000 to 3000MW is feasible in Thailand for wind farm development. This will provide energy for many households, more than what could be powered with the same amount of energy in Europe or North America, because average energy consumption per household there is many times greater than in Thailand.

Nick Suppipat and the company Wind Enterprise Holdings are on the verge of completing the largest wind farm ever in Thailand. The 207MW wind park is currently being built in the Nakhon Ratchasima district.

From their new office on the top floor of a Bangkok skyscraper, it may perhaps be easy to forget about the farming community directly affected by this development. But Nick and his team have made community development a key aspect of their business.

“We want to make a difference in the area. We don’t want to make money and then not care about people around. We want to ensure that their lives improved and the area becomes a model community,” says Nick

When asked if there has been any objection from the community. “None, zero,” says Nick, “That surprised me. I never heard anyone complain or think it is ugly or think that it is un-cool.”

Wind Energy Holdings is giving back to the community in several ways. Beyond the regulated mandatory yearly payment to the community, they are providing a second voluntary yearly payment of 2- 3% of the revenue. Additionally, they are establishing a NGO for community development, the first project of which is improved irrigation.

A temple in the Nakhon Ratchasima district that is being refitted with funding from the wind enegy project in the community.

All around the construction site are visible examples of how this wind farm is positively impacting the community. The temples are being fitted with new roofs or renovated entirely. The roads, which were once impassable in the rainy season, have been rebuilt, reducing transport costs, time and headaches for the farmers. Additionally, a policy to hire local people and contractors has ensured valuable employment for hundreds if not thousands of Thais. Nick estimates that over 15,000 people have or will directly benefit from this project.

By the end of 2015 Wind Energy Holdings expects to have over 500MW operating in Thailand. After that, they might aim at expanding internationally. If this same model of development continues, it will mean win-win for communities and for business.

This blog post is part 7 of a series of wind energy stories from photographer Robert van Waarden. Next week meet Aruna Awale, a woman leading the path towards wind energy at the Alternative Energy Promotion Center in Kathmandu.

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Co-operative Wind Energy in Ireland Builds Strong Community Spirit

May 31, 2012

Pat Blount approached two farmers in the area of Collon, Ireland to form a joint business venture for Wind Energy development. Pat agreed to take the financial risk and the landowner’s provided the site. They are now equal partners in the wind farm. Developing this initiative with local support and involvement meant there have been no complaints, only good comments.

Like many others, Pat Blount’s life changed on a barstool. Striking up a conversation with the individual beside him, Pat was soon deep in discussion with a representative from wind turbine manufacture,. Pat proceeded to pepper his new companion with question after question about the wind industry and when he left that bar, he set off on a path that would change himself and at least one community along the way.

A man of the outdoors and the mountains, Pat always cared about energy conservation and the natural world. His discussion on that bar stool was the push he needed to take the plunge. He dove headfirst into the wind industry and identified possible wind sites across Ireland. One of these was in Collon. After checking the grid access to the Collon wind site, he found the landowners and invited them to join his business venture. Pat agreed to take the financial risk, if they provided the land and they would be equal owners of the business.

Initially, the landowners P.J. and Gerry were skeptical about this opportunity and this strange man who wanted to build on their hill. It took some time for them to come around to the idea, but eventually it was too good an opportunity for them to pass up.

"€œI was overwhelmed by the level of goodwill and support that we got. I remember the first turbine when it was being lift into place, I counted about 120 people just sitting in the field, it was almost like a picnic, a day out." - € Pat Blount

In the UK and Ireland, windmills are reportedly often greeted with animosity from individuals and communities because of beliefs that they are noisy and spoil the view. However, the trio has encountered no resistance from the community on the project. Pat explains, “I very much put that down to the fact that the landowners are real owners of the wind farm with me. They have extended families, all living in the area. In cases where big corporate entities move into a rural area to develop a project, be it a wind farm or other projects, there is huge scepticism. Generally a large number of people object, but when they know the individuals involved on a personal level, they meet them at football or social events, people don’t like to object to neighbours that they know well.”

“I was overwhelmed by the level of goodwill and support that we got. I remember the first turbine when it was being lifted into place, I counted about 120 people just sitting in the field, it was almost like a picnic, a day out. We ended up with a very large community that is very supportive of wind energy. In fact over the last number of years, I have seen quite a few of the small, 1 – 3 KW household turbines in this area. You wouldn’t see as many in a cluster in other parts of the country.”

Now, Pat, P.J. and Gerry are enthusiastically working on the expansion of their project. But in the meantime, these fast friends take an afternoon break, sitting on the gate in the sun watching the wind turbines spin steadily, silently in the wind.

This blog post is part 6 of a series of wind energy stories from photographer Robert van Waarden. Next week meet Aruna Awale, a woman leading the path towards wind energy at the Alternative Energy Promotion Center in Kathmandu.

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A mayor with a vision transforms rural life in the Czech Republic

May 28, 2012

“I tried to change things but I had to recognize that it wasn’t possible,” says Petr Pavek, leaning against his adobe straw bale house.  He gazes out on his property over-looking the little town of Jindřichovice pod Smrkem in the Czech Republic. In the fields below grow organic vegetables, and cows for organic beef graze in the pasture. A totem pole stands next to his pond and a composting toilet sits half finished. In the village a dog barks, and a lone car rumbles along the road.

One of the sustainable houses in Jindrijovice in the Czech Republic.

One of the sustainable houses in Jindrijovice in the Czech Republic.

Jindřichovice seems like any other dwindling, quiet town in rural Czech Republic. But from where Petr stands, the view is drastically different. In the distance, two wind turbines lazily turn in the evening breeze. Beyond, eight sustainable houses stand in a row. Powered by renewable energy, these green-roofed houses were built to attract young people back to the community. When they were completed, over 100 applications poured in. The community selected eight families and sold the houses at cost price.

Petr, the mayor of Jindřichovice, and his team had a vision: to develop a different future for this community. Petr’s renewable energy mission and his desire to have a sustainable, local economy was the driving force behind getting the two windmills built. Now, the profits from the windmills are recycled into the community and the money is allocated for green initiatives around the town. First up, re-naturalizing the waterways that were straightened during communist times.

Petr ventured for a time into the national political scene. Unfortunately, his ideas of sustainable, community-based development never gained traction in a government heavily influenced by fossil fuel interests, and he burned out.

“There is no way to change it. In the political way, you can’t change it, the only thing you can change is your own life”, says Petr. “And I did, I do. As a mayor, I could change the life in my small town and introduce renewable and wind energy, but more, I couldn’t do. I tried to help wind energy and renewable energies become more common in Czech Republic, but the enemies are too powerful and it is difficult to fight them.”

Petr Pavek, former mayor of Jindrijovice, and political figure in Czech Republic. Mr. Pavek an organic farmer in the small town of Jindrijovice. = Through his initiative and vision, his hometown of Jindrijovice now owns two windmills. For the small town of 700 people, this is an important source of local power and local economy. The income from the wind is fed into the community and used on further environmental projects. Examples of this sort of development are not easy to find in the Czech Republic where a culture of propaganda against clean energy has led people to think negatively of wind energy and solar energy.

Petr decided that it was time to get out of politics and moved back to Jindřichovice to become an organic farmer. He is busy with a plethora of projects. Buildings sit around the property in differing states of construction. He is conducting little experiments with compost, weeds, soil and vegetables and their interaction with each other. He has planted a garden in a Native American tradition, corn and pumpkins with bean vines growing up the corn. Most of his income is derived from organic cattle and he is enjoying spending more time with his family. “I want to live an easy life, transparent in nature”, Petr sums up.

This blog post is part 5 of a series of wind energy stories from photographer Robert van Waarden. Next week meet Pat Blount, an Irish entrepreneur who has changed the face of a community and made life long friends along the way. 

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Co-operative Wind Harvesting in the Netherlands

May 17, 2012

Stephan de Clerk looks down the line of 6 windmills that he helped raise with his neighbours.

Cycling along the country roads of Flevoland, you can’t help but notice the wind. If one is lucky, it is behind you, if it isn’t… well, good luck. It is no wonder that windmills haphazardly dot the landscape. They fit. This is the Netherlands, a country where wooden windmills have dotted the landscape for hundreds of years. Now instead of pumping water, modern windmills are powering thousands of homes.

Stephan de Clerck and his brother Ralph live within a few kilometres of each other in Flevoland, and they are no strangers to the wind. They have been harvesting wind energy for 10 years. In the beginning they were looking for ways to diversify their farms and incomes. They love how wind energy perfectly complements their other crops, like potatoes, onions or sugar beets. Once installed, the windmills turn steadily in the background, while the day-to-day life of a farmer continues. For them, wind energy is a valuable crop, and one that gets better the stormier the weather.

Together, Stephan and Ralph produce enough wind energy to power 5000 homes. Their energy is sold through WindUnie, a co-operative that sources and sells wind power to residents of the Netherlands. Ten years ago, WindUnie was a small start-up, but through the engagement of landowners like Stephan and Ralph, this co-operative has grown to be a major player in wind energy market in the Netherlands. Connecting residential customers with small scale producers, the WindUnie website intelligently allows you to explore the suppliers of wind energy, meet their families and see where your wind is coming from. In the case of Stephan and Ralph, you find out that they have 3 and 4 kids respectively and love skiing and walking on their holidays.

Stephan was very happy with the first set of windmills, so much so that he wished to build more. But, by then, the zoning laws had changed and regulations were now requiring windmills to be built in a line rather then individually. Stephan realized that he couldn’t do it on his own. So he went knocking on his neighbours doors and together the 5 of them launched Samen voor de Wind, (Together for the Wind), a co-operative farm of 7 windmills.

Samen voor de Wind has substantially contributed to the financial well-being and health of the families. All the members have young families and they are naturally happy to have the extra income. Furthermore, the co-operative has built a stronger community between the neighbors.

Stephan de Clerk looks down the line of 6 windmills that he helped raise with his neighbours. To satisfy zoning regulations, Stephan had to connect with his immediate neighbours and created a co-operative to produce wind energy. The organization, Samen voor de Wind, means that 6 different landowners all own a windmill and are profiting from the wind energy. It has contributed substantially to the financial well being and health of the farming families.

Stephan believes that for renewable energy to succeed, we desperately need to level the subsidy playing field. With the removal of fossil and nuclear fuel subsidies, the market would take over and clean energy would rise to top.

“In the future, instead of all of us being energy users, we will all become energy producers,” says Stephan.

This blog post is part 4 of a series of wind energy stories from photographer Robert van Waarden. Next week meet Petr Pavek, an influential character in Czech Republic politics who has retired to his organic farm to live life more simply.

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Introducing the Date with History Finalists

May 9, 2012

We are  thrilled to share this selection of videos from 22 young leaders-to-be from around the world. They’re the incredible finalists in GCCA’s Date with History competition and one of them will deliver a speech at Rio+20 this June. Please take a few minutes to like and share, and then get to know them by watching their videos

Meet the Finalists (in no particular order):

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Wind Dreams in Nepal

May 9, 2012

Amrit Singh Thapa, Managing Director of Mirlung Electro-Mech Concern(MEC) looks down on the sprawling city of Kathmandu. Amrit is pushing wind energy development in Nepal.

Amrit points it out as we zoom past on his motorbike. If you look closely, past the Nokia sign, past the other motorbikes, over the jumble of electric wires, and let your eyes drift upward, you might see it. It is a solution to the energy problems of Nepal, turning in the wind. Amrit turns a corner, jokes with a security guard and drives into the grounds of the Kathmandu Engineering College. A few minutes later we are on the roof, listening to the whirling of his homemade wind turbine and looking out over this crowded and noisy city called Kathmandu.

Amrit Singh Thapa, owner of Eenergys.com, lives and breathes wind energy. When he was still a student at the Engineering College, he began researching sustainable technology and felt deeply that his path was entwined with wind energy. He hasn’t looked back since.

Amrit Singh Thapa, Managing Director of Mirlung Electro-Mech Concern(MEC) fixes the monitoring device attached to a windmill in Kathmandu. 

“My life has been changed drastically since I got involved in wind energy. I don’t have time to sleep. My experience is very small, but there is no one with my experience in Nepal. That is the main factor; from the management, technical, ground, and field level, I have to manage and tackle everything. I am working as the complete package.”

Kathmandu is in the midst of an energy crisis. The Himalayas provide ample opportunity to tap hydro resources, but current supply is insufficient for the entire electrical needs of the city and in winter, when the reservoirs are low or landslides fill the reservoirs, hydro capacity is compromised.

“In the summer we have 3 to 4 hours a day of load shedding”, says Amrit, using the all-too-common term for a government scheduled black-out of city regions. “In the winter it will be even higher, in 24 hours we will only get 18 hours of electricity. This is the past record of maybe 4 years.”

Amrit dreams of seeing turbines on the hills surrounding the Kathmandu valley one day. He believes that wind energy is the solution to the energy crisis in Nepal. His calculations show that it is feasible, and he cites the build time difference between wind and hydro as an additional plus.

“Kathmandu has a daily demand for 200 Megawatt. Around the Kathmandu Valley we can take 70 to 100 Megawatt from wind energy. In only one year we can make a big energy project, and you can’t do that with hydro power”, says Amrit.

A morning in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The only thing holding wind energy back is proof to the Nepal business, government and people that the technology can work and be sustained. If Amrit can do that, and he thinks he can, then the money will flow and the technology will be replicated across the country.

“I think that it only takes one or two years to make a big windmill project in Nepal. I am quite optimistic. I hope that I can make it, and I can show that Nepal can also generate wind energy.”

As Amrit and I climb down from the roof, his story reminds me that one person can make a difference. If he has his way, this energetic young man’s vision and passion for wind could be the difference for Nepal’s energy problem.

For more information about Amrit’s work, visit http://eenergys.com/

This blog post is part 3 of a series of wind energy stories from photographer Robert van Waarden. Next week meet the De Clerck family, a farming family in the Netherlands that enthusiastically co-operatively harvest wind energy.

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I Love Windpower Brings Energy and Identity to Mali

May 2, 2012

I Love Windpower Brings Energy and Identity to Mali

Piet Willem Chevalier, Den Haag, the Netherlands

“If I had to sum it up in one word, I would say identity,” says Piet Willem Chevalier, owner and operator of I Love Windpower. “On my first trip to Mail, I saw this group of people that were really shy, that didn’t want to ask questions, they had no confidence. After we made that first turbine, we threw a party and it was quite amazing to see how this sense of identity grew.”

One day Piet literally drove off the road, transfixed by a set of wind turbines. He couldn’t have known at that time that this incident would change his life. In a few years he would be bringing wind power to Mali where the poorest communities often pay the highest rates for energy.

One thing led to another and Piet started working as an engineer for Siemens wind. After about a year he discovered the work of Welsh engineer, Hugh Piggott. Mr. Piggott is the inventor of an open source, affordable, small-scale wind turbine design. Piet invited Hugh to come and teach a workshop in the Netherlands. It took some convincing, but Mr. Piggott finally agreed.

That workshop taught Piet how to build these turbines, and in doing so it changed Piet’s life. Piet knew that he needed to take this new skill and technology to a place where it would be most beneficial and he could pass it on. One of his best friends was from Mali and he figured that Mali was as good as anywhere else to get started. He founded I Love Windpower. Designing a course that was easy to teach, transcended language barriers and used readily available materials, Piet flew to Mali. In two weeks, he and a team of 10 people, 5 who couldn’t read or write and 5 who couldn’t speak any French, built a better turbine than Piet himself had done.

The windmills deliver energy to local homes, but they also had some unexpected impacts. Two men participating in the workshop were from different tribes that for the last 20 years had not spoken to each other. During the workshop the two men became great friends, and now the tribes are talking again. The sense of identity and ownership derived from this windmill project has been remarkable.

“This is something that I never realized when starting this. Even if this project is going to fail completely and they never make a business out of it – which I still believe is possible and just takes some more time – every investment has accomplished so much from a social and identity perspective.”

Piet Willem Chevalier poses in his workshop in the Netherlands.

Recent events in Mali have threatened I Love Windpower’s projects – not only because of the military coup and the rebel unrest, but also due to an impending food crisis. Piet recently wondered whether his little amount of money would be better used feeding people. After much debate with his team, they decided to keep the project running. They thought giving these people something to be proud of, and which one day may become a financially sustainable business, was deemed equally important.

Piet is now also working with Wind Empowerment, a group dedicated to small turbine development across Africa and the globe. He will be attending Rio+20 and setting up windmills around the conference. Some of his volunteers have taken the skills gained with Piet even further, and in one case started the Tanzania branch of I Love Windpower.

As for the Mali project, it is too early to see where it will go, but one thing remains certain, small-scale windmills are helping build community and identity while providing much needed electricity to Mali.

 

This blog post is part 2 of a series of wind energy stories from photographer Robert van Waarden. Next week meet Amrit Singh Thapa, an engineer from Nepal who has a big wind energy vision. 

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