Moja Island Renewable energy options ‘

Learning Objective To identify the most appropriate renewable energy options for an island community. ‘ 2

A big issue: no electricity? Did you know that nearly one third of people in the world don’t have access to electricity from a national grid? In the developed world we tend to take the availability of electricity for granted But nearly one third of the worlds population does not have access to grid electricity The majority of these people live in developing countries and there is little chance of them being connected to a mains electricity grid in the near future Rural households in developing countries have a relatively low consumption with the main uses being lighting, television and radio

No mains electricity Picture from PA The majority of people without access to mains electricity live in remote areas in developing countries. And there’s little chance of being connected in the near future! Why do you think that is? Picture from PA In the developed world we tend to take the availability of electricity for granted But nearly one third of the worlds population does not have access to grid electricity The majority of these people live in developing countries and there is little chance of them being connected to a mains electricity grid in the near future Rural households in developing countries have a relatively low consumption with the main uses being lighting, television and radio 4

Communities sorting their energy solutions Many people living without mains electricity find other ways to generate electricity. In Sri Lanka – these children are looking forward to having light in their homes generated by a small wind turbine. A viable alternative to mains electricity in rural populations is electricity produced by small scale renewable energy sources. These alternatives are now reasonably well developed technically although there are still many restraints to their use. Many governments are giving priority to increasing grid connectivity although in many cases growth does not keep up with demand. The most densely populated areas receive priority as more people can be connected to the grid for the same cost. The most successful projects involve the people who are affected in the planning and decision making and with appropriate training so that they can carry out installation and maintenance For video clips on small scale wind power in Sri Lanka go to http://practicalaction.org/our-work/ourwork_energy

Running off the river In Kenya, 96% of people don’t have access to Better image available? In Kenya, 96% of people don’t have access to grid electricity. A community from Mbuiri, a village north of Nairobi, have channelled part of a river to generate electricity from small-scale hydro-electric power schemes. A video clip on micro-hydro energy in Kenya with other background material can be found at http://practicalaction.org/our-work/ourwork_energy?id=microhydro 6

Moja Island Moja island is a small country situated off the East Africa coast in the Indian ocean. It has no mains electricity. The 1,450 islanders mainly use kerosene lamps and candles for lighting and fuel woods for cooking food. Set the scene for the task by introducing the island.

Moja Island The government has decided to invest money to generate electricity on Moja Island. Your task: As a group of scientists, you have been asked to identify the most appropriate renewable energy options for village communities on Moja Island. 8

Renewable Energy options? Can you think of some options for renewable energy that might be suitable for Moja Island? Quick class question before starting the activity. 9

Each group needs Island map Set of Top Trump energy cards Community group card Renewable Energy Choices sheet for group feedback Downloads of all necessary materials for this activity (bren add in web address) 10

Which were the overall popular choices of renewable Energy for Moja island? Energy sources Class tally Wind Solar Water (hydroelectric, wave, tidal) Geothermal Biological (biomass, biogas) Finish off by looking at the allowing the student’s to feed back on their energy choices and finalise with a class tally sheet to see the overall choices for Moja Island.