The ‘Sun King’ consists of a polycrystalline solar module, cable, a stand and a ring of LED lights. It can work as a small torch, a task light, and a hanging light.

Below is the video with a brief overview.

Solantern from afromusing on Vimeo.

It retails for 25 usd/ 2000 kes and you can call +254 721 211 406 to order.
Email: info [at] africarenewables [dot]com
Twitter: @thereva

Physical Address:
150 James Gichuru Road Opposite Lavington

PS: I would dissuade anyone from getting the Safaricom ZTE Simu Ya Solar. Its shoddy and a waste of money at 3000kes. I bought one in August of this year and its Kaputt now. A much better gift is this solar lantern which is priced quite well at 2000kes. I will be testing it further this christmas, but from initial looks of it, the module is sturdy and the design is quite functional.

Via Kenya Capital Investment Group

Kenya Data Networks, has opted to solve their energy problems by tapping the power of the sun. The KDN solar power plant generates 10MW of power, enough to buffer it from fluctuations in the grid which result in frequent brown outs. Last year, the cost of electricity increased by over 51% so its not only good for the environment, but I am sure it makes a whole lot of sense for the balance sheet of KDN. From the video they are already saving 50% on their electricity bill, I think this is a good example to other companies that they too can embrace renewable energy. Now if only Kengen could make plans to create a smart grid that allows netmetering…

A 650 KiloWatt Solar Array Completed in Hawthorne, California: “

Lithographix, Thinksolar, and Pacific Solar Energy
There are many green things you can do with a giant commercial building’s roof. From painting it white to reflect the sun’s rays, to building a green roof, to installing a solar array to generate electricity. Lithographix, a printing company, went for this last option and now has the first commercial solar array in Hawthorne, California.
…

I can only dream of doing this one day… However, last month during the holidays, my uncles & aunts put together some money for a solar system for Granny C, pics and a more detailed post is forthcoming.

PS: Happy new year, may 2009 be truly brilliant.

Song of the Day: Nairobi by Sauti Sol, featuring Stan. Why? one line…’Nairobi, kuna solar sana! kijijini ni ku poa sana’

I am looking for Physics students who are interested in Masters and PhD
studies in the field of renewable energy technologies, ICT and/or material
science (building materials). I have lucrative bursaries for the students of
up to R100 000pa for Masters and R150 000pa for PhD for the period of 2
years at masters and 3 years at PhD. The bursary will increase annually
based on certain deliverables from the student. There is also an opportunity
for them to do contract work for Eskom with us and top up their annual
bursaries to above R250 000 for PhD and above R150 000 for Masters. I am
trying to get some people from previously disadvantaged groups but I do not
know anyone there, so if you know someone who might benefit from this
lucrative offers, even if its not someone from previously disadvantaged
groups, give them my contact details below.

This is a very urgent call because the money is lying somewhere and we need
to provide proof of students registration to get it to our account.

I will appreciate your assistance.
Cheers
Sampson Mamphweli
Researcher (Renewable Energy)
Fort Hare Institute of Technology
Tel: +2740 602 2311
Fax: +27866659221
Mobile: +27822140367

Usual disclaimer: I am just passing the information along, please do your own due diligence when contacting the person.

Update: The Acumen fund fellowship program is accepting applications, the deadline for that is October 20th 2008. For more info, click here.

You can enter your address and it would give you relevant information such as the potential size of a PV system, and its approximate cost. This is definitely an example of how technology can be used to help people make informed decisions about renewable energy.
More on TreeHugger

Before you ask…when are we going to have something similar for Kenya/Africa? Soon, very soon. I refuse to use the phrase ‘Watch this space’. So ‘Soon’ it stays.

This picture was taken by Adriankoto, who writes on the blog Harinjaka [Malagasy]. He is the founder FOKO madagascar initiative which has been active in planting trees particularly in rural madagascar. More on his awesome work here[English].

PS: I know i haven’t been blogged about solar energy for awhile, doesn’t mean i have lost my mojo, I am just re-charging. ha!

You can view more bags here.
Hat tip whiteafrican!
PS: My thoughts are with Kenya as always…the GV special coverage page for Kenya is back up.
Amnesty International is appealing for action today to protest Human rights violations in Kenya. You can find more information and details on how to participate.

An exhaustive article about wind power in South Africa, click on this cool graphic.

Blurb:

What is becoming more and more apparent is that there is a unique opportunity for the growth of a serious renewable-energy industry in South Africa, given growing security of demand and a desire to reduce the country�??s carbon footprint. But what is also plain is that unless government and Eskom take an active role in its promotion, the full potential for renewables will not be realised.

Kenya
From Business Daily Africa:
Wind Energy driving Rural Growth
The article also includes a picture of Simon Mwacharo, the owner of craftskills, TEDster, and friend of the blog.
Blurb:

Simon Mwacharo knows one or two things about moving under the feet of the big boys and girls to be the first on the cash till. While KenGen is scheming in the boardroom on how to meet the rising demand for electricity, Mwacharo is on the ground, providing hundreds of homes with electricity generated from the wind.

Mozambique:
June this year, i used the pun ‘emPowering’ in this post, glad to know that i am not the only corny one: From Off-Grid. net comes a neat post ‘emPowering Africa’

Mozambique University has launched a local program to encourage renewable energy self sufficiency that may become a model across the continent.

From Newscientist: Solar water purifier distributed by Rotary international.

The solar water purifier collects heat from sunlight and uses it to evaporate unpurified water running through the panel. The vapour collects inside the glass forming the panel’s surface and is collected – leaving behind most impurities

hat tip Emeka
Update: Cant believe i almost forgot about this video. William Kamkwamba was featured on WSJ!

end of brief roundup.

Solar Accessories:
Here is a link to a not so flattering post about the solar charger Solio (take it with a grain of salt) I haven’t tried Solio, but mysoldius worked really well for me.

So i finally bought a voltaic backpack. I was worried about traveling with it, especially when going through airport security. The screeners were fascinated about it, asking lots of questions. Joel Johnson of BoingBoing gadgets had mentioned that he had no problems traveling with it – My experience was the same. No issues at all, actually its a great conversation starter.
Initial envy from the geeks at my friend’s office in Kenya – Very High!

I came across this solar powered LED lamp via worldchanging author, product designer Jeremy Faludi. It definitely has an interesting design…wondering why the weird shape? Pictures from his site speak louder than words. First, 3 words “Usable form factor”.

Would be interested in your thoughts on this product. Would you use it? Do you like the design? Is it practical?

What follows are some tangentially related thoughts, just so I am clear, I am not attributing what follows below to the above product. Just thinking through the idea of design ‘for Africa’.

One of the things that came up during a spirited discussion of the solar powered computer and the OLPC laptop many moons ago, was the question of relevant  products, and  whether these products that are labeled ‘for Africa’ smack of designing down. Maitha asked (in swahili) Don’t Africans deserve products made of high quality – in reference to the OLPC that is currently available for purchase. Granted at the time, maitha was looking at the bulky nature of linux for the OLPC, and the product was still being designed (with myriad challenges to overcome). I have not gotten my hands on and XO but when i do, i would like to revisit some of the issues raised. Particularly (perhaps i am simplifying, but) is the OLPC a good quality product that is relevant for African children? Atanu Dey of Deeshaa.org looked at the OLPC in context of education in India (I need to reacquaint myself with his arguments…I had been following the OLPC dev, then sorta lost track somewhere).
Wired had a profile of the OLPC designer Yves Behar, which I am rereading now, I just recall that he did do some nifty things to get OLPC to be what it is today.So, please chime in with your examples of products you think smack of ‘designing down’ and those that you think are ‘just right’.

My entries for the ‘just right’ category are
- mysoldius solar charger for mobile phone and IPOD (blogged about here)
- Bogo solar flashlight (blogged about here)
These are based on positive feedback from my dear uncle who absolutely finds function and convenience in using the above products.