Bringing Power to the People

A solution for bringing electricity to remote

locations.

10,000 Homes without electricity.

• Current means for alternatives– Refrigeration

• Ice box– Nearest ice supply 30 miles away.

– Gasoline Generators for Electricity• Expensive ( $0.75/kilowatt-hour), Noisy, Emissions,

Relatively low efficiency.– Heating

• Firewood, Kerosene Heaters– Kerosene is not a clean burning fuel, and can be a fire

hazard. – Lighting

• Kerosene lamps, Candles, Fire– Not bright enough, toxic emissions, fire hazards.

Do Nothing

• Imagine living without electricity in the 21st century.– No lights– No internet– No appliances– Current means of electricity generation are

expensive and alternatives are efficient or safe.

Put in Power Lines

Cost of Power Lines• It costs $500,000-$3,000,000/mile to bury cable,

depending on soil conditions and other factors.• It costs $120,000/mile to install overhead power

lines.• Some houses on the reservation are not near

any other houses. The cost of running power lines to one house or even a group of houses that are isolated by miles of open space gets expensive very quickly.

• Overhead power lines are not visually appealing and buried power lines lead to soil disruption and erosion.

Build a Wind Farm

Wind in NM at 50 meters

Build a Power Plant

• Very Expensive• Does not eliminate

the cost of a grid• Fossil Fuel

– Emissions– Reliance on fossil

fuels

Sacred Power Inc.• A Native-American owned company

based out of Albuquerque.• Works with the Navajo Nation, US

Dept. of Agriculture, and US Dept. of Interior to bring power to remote locations in the Navajo Reservation.

• In 2002, Sacred Power Inc, got a $607,000 contract with the Dept. of Interior for 16 mobile hybrid power systems ($37,937.50/unit).

SP 1200 Stand-alone PV-Hybrid System

• 14 feet long, 10 feet high• Constructed on wheels or skids.• Built in solar tracking array for maximum

efficiency.• Solar collection batteries for energy storage.• Back-up, high grade propane generator w/ 1 month

supply tank.• Maintenance free components.• Capable of providing a continuous output of 2.5

kilowatts/hour under normal conditions for the area.– 2.5 kW/h x 1h x 24 hours/day x 30 days/month– 1800 kWh/month.

• Cost of operation is about $0.50/kWh.• Some emissions from burning propane (much

cleaner than gasoline).

Renewable Success• 2001, Sacred Power Inc. got a $431,000

contract to design and build a solar power system that can be used for teaching.

• 2002, Sacred Power Inc. got a $588,000 contract for 12 solar telecommunications shelters for remote locations. – 4 employees– Subcontract some work– Built a new 7500 square foot manufacturing

facility

Renewable Success Cont.• 2005, Sacred Power Inc, was awarded an

$825,000 grant to build and deliver 50 new solar/wind hybrid units to remote homes on the Navajo Reservation. ($16,500/unit)– No propane required– Enough electricity to power a highly efficient

refrigerator and lighting system (supplied by Sacred Power), and a small appliance.

– Operational cost is $0.

Cheaper from 2002 to 2005

• From $37,937.50 /unit for the propane/solar hybrid

• To $16,500.00 /unit for the wind/solar hybrid system

• Wind turbine much cheaper than the high grade propane generator, but has lower power output.

• Production is much cheaper since in 2002, Sacred Power opened its own manufacturing facility.

Ranking Alternatives

1. Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems• Cheap, clean, no grid access needed, sustainable.

2. Power lines• Added stress on existing power generation facilities

(drives cost up).

3. Power generation• Renewable energy source (biomass, wind, solar)• Fossil Fuel power plant.

4. Do nothing