Now, here’s a bright idea.
Local high school and college students came together on Mar. 29 to participate in a program that pairs hands-on green technology experience with making a real difference in the world.
It’s called the Solar Suitcase Project, and it allows students to assemble power-producing suitcases (equipped with a solar panel, 12v battery, and a charge controller) that are sent to developing countries in great need of electricity.
The benefits of the project are twofold: One, students gain experience and knowledge about the intricacies of electric wiring and how solar-generated power converts to electricity. Two, struggling countries gain access to solar-generated energy that impacts communities by making possible something as simple as a light bulb to improve conditions in medical, educational, and orphanage settings.
Lighting the world
Providing energy alternatives to developing countries is crucial in a world where the creation of energy through burning fossil fuels or coal is an expensive and non-renewable method. Candles, oil lamps, and battery-operated devices are the only other lighting options the countries have — also a costly and non-renewable method.
“They can’t afford to get it from us, they can’t afford to drill for it themselves,” said Simeon Gant, Executive Director of GreenTech, the nonprofit that implements the suitcase-building workshops in partnership with the creators of the suitcases, We Care Solar. “If we’re providing them with solar panels, they can afford to maintain that because it’s renewable energy.”
Each suitcase generates enough energy to light 4-8 light bulbs as well as charge a cell phone or laptop. Hundreds of Solar Suitcases have been installed in Africa, Central America, Asia, and the Caribbean.
As for Mar. 29’s workshop: those suitcases will be sent to remote medical maternity wards in Uganda and to an orphanage and school in Haiti. Solar suitcases were installed in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, so GreenTech has already seen the impact the suitcases can make.
“When we first got pictures back from Haiti after we sent them over, the first thing you notice is these smiling faces,” said Gant. “The young kids, the orphans are just so happy. Some of them have never seen light at night, so it really empowers and inspires all of us to see that we’ve helped somebody else.”
Growing energy-alternative careers
The Solar Suitcase Project also impacts our local community in that it serves as training while sparking interest in students looking at a career in green technology.
It is part of a larger program by GreenTech that focuses on preparing high school and college-age students for career opportunities in clean energy, environmental protection, and energy efficiency. They do so through classroom instruction by GreenTech instructors, hands-on projects such as the Solar Suitcase Project, and on-site tours of companies, labs, construction sites, and other locations practicing and implementing green technology. We Care Solar’s spin-off, We Share Solar, is the student workshop element of creating solar suitcases that GreenTech now runs.
Gant said that for a lot of students, the workshop is an introduction to electric circuits, how electricity works, and photovoltaic technology (how solar works). Once exposed to the benefits and potential, if not necessity, of the field, the hope and frequent outcome of workshops is the continued pursuit of energy-alternative careers.
Together, GreenTech and We Care Solar have a strong partnership focused on the same goal — to show students and the world how solar technology can benefit everyone.
“I think that’s the big piece — that folks in underdeveloped worlds, they’ve never seen what we see,” said Gant. “So for our students to be able to give something to them, it’s an inspiration to hopefully do something more.”
To learn more, donate, or find out how you can be a part of the Solar Suitcase Project, visit GreenTech’s website at greentechedu.org and We Care Solar’s website at wecaresolar.org.
Photos by Bethany Harris
