Over 1 billion people globally lack access to electricity and another billion lack access to reliable

energy. 87% of those without electricity access live in rural areas. Providing access to energy

results in a variety of benefits across the education, health, social, and economic sectors. It

enables student to study at night, improving grades and graduation rates. Access also

facilitates irrigation, increasing production and food security. Energy access also can increase

household income over 50%, spurring economic growth and opportunities, as well as the

creation of new markets.

Advances in clean energy technology not only better enable those without electricity to gain

access but also enable them to leapfrog traditional methods of power generation and

distribution. A number of new start-up companies have developed successful business models

to bring clean energy to off-grid populations. However, these efforts alone are not enough to

meet the drastically rising demand for electricity across the developing world, its increasing

importance to economic prosperity, and the urgent imperative to meet the objectives of the Paris

Agreement which includes significantly reducing global carbon emissions.

Increases in technological innovation are needed across the sector, ranging from battery

storage and energy efficient appliances to expanding business models beyond solar home

systems to mini-grids and community-wide solutions. Additionally, we must find ways to

empower and enable the growth of energy entrepreneurs across the globe, eliminate barriers for

entry of new enterprises, and scale solutions that are working.

The Accelerating Access to Clean Energy Around the World workshop will convene key

stakeholders from across Silicon Valley — including tech companies, investors, foundations,

NGOs, government, and academia — to develop new technological approaches to tackling this

challenge. Building on earlier events, this workshop will move beyond identifying the barriers to

accelerating access by generating ambitious and impactful proposals to overcome barriers to

entry and scale. We will bring together not just experts in renewable energy but also those on

the cutting-edge of intersecting technology trends, such as expanding internet access, mobile

payments and platforms, cloud storage, and data analytics. The workshop also aims to identify

champions to develop solutions to advance these new ideas and specific mechanisms.

The workshop will be interactive and focus on roll-up-your-sleeves problem-solving. Long-time

energy specialists will work side-by-side with innovators from other sectors who can bring new

perspectives to the challenge. Every attendee will be a participant.

This event is part of the State Department’s recently-launched Innovation Forum and Silicon

Valley presence, with a mission to build bridges between policymakers and innovators to tackle

the most pressing global challenges.

10Power Provides Solar for Water Purification Centers in Haiti
Company Providing Global Renewable Energy Access Announces First Projects

San Francisco, CA – 10Power, a mission-driven business providing renewable energy internationally to populations without access to electricity, is proud to announce their first two energy storage and solar projects in Haiti on water purification centers owned by DloHaiti, an organization providing potable water in underserved communities.

Located in the communities of Corail and Courjolle, North of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, both projects include energy storage, solar PV generation and asset tracking technology. Working with validated local installer, Greentec, who will provide ongoing operations and maintenance on the equipment, 10Power provided project development and third-party finance enabling the installations.

“Paying for solar month by month means dloHaiti can dedicate more capital to our core purpose of providing clean drinking water to the Bottom of the Pyramid,” said DloHaiti founder, Jim Chu. “It is unacceptable that people are still dying of easily preventable diseases like cholera and dysentery. We want to reach as many communities as we can, as quickly as possible and 10Power is helping us achieve this.”

Third-party finance is the missing piece 10Power provides to enable energy access for the 1.3 Billion people, or 19% of humanity, who do not have electricity today.  Beginning in Haiti, where over 60% of the population does not have access to the grid, 10Power is creating a globally scalable model for clean development powered by renewable energy.   

The announcement was made at the seventh annual Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM7), where energy ministers from countries around the world gathered, hosted by Dr. Ernest Moniz, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, to discuss next steps to address climate change following the COP21 climate talks held in Paris in December. 10Power was featured in the CEM7 Startups and Solutions Showcase featuring companies competitively selected from around the world for their cutting edge work.

“We are thrilled to announce our first projects at such a prestigious event,” said 10Power CEO and Founder Sandra Kwak. “The collaboration between policy and business leaders represented at CEM7 is a big step towards rapidly accelerating the innovation needed to reverse climate change.”

About 10Power

10Power provides energy storage and renewable generation internationally to communities that lack access to electricity. Coupling project development with the third-party finance model that created exponential growth in the US to the global solar market, 10Power is bringing the building blocks for sustainable modernization to 1.3 Billion human beings. For more information visit www.10pwr.com.

About Greentec

Greentec is a Haitian owned and operated green energy provider committed to building a stronger Haiti through sustainable energy. Greentec provides innovative solutions for clean energy including engineering and design adapted to the local environment, superior quality products, professional installation, ongoing support and maintenance. For more information, visit www.greentecsa.com.

About DloHaiti

DloHaiti’s core operation and brand is based on local production and distribution of clean drinking water in underserved rural and peri-urban communities where public infrastructure isn’t enough to meet growing demand.  DloHaiti’s model creates cost-effective micro-distribution networks that resolve difficult logistical and inventory financing challenges for small, predominantly women-operated retailers at the Bottom of the Pyramid. For more information, visit www.dlohaiti.com.

About CEM7

The Clean Energy Ministerial is the follow-up meeting to the COP21 U.N. Convention of Parties climate change talks December 2016 in Paris. Participating energy ministries include Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, the European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. For more information visit www.cem7.org.

Energy ministers from around the world converged with business and NGO leaders and entrepreneurs in downtown San Francisco on June 1 for the first day of the Clean Energy Ministerial 7th gathering (CEM7) to figure out how to transition the world to clean energy.

But it was entrepreneurs and businesses that got things going.  In a vast tent in San Francisco’s iconic union square across from where the ministers met, some 93 entrepreneurs and businesses exhibited their wares — everything from microgrids in a box to 3D printed electric cars.

For more visit https://www.greenbiz.com/article/bold-goals-cem7-philips-projects-2-billion-leds-sold

The United States will host the seventh Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM7) in San Francisco, California, on June 1 & 2, 2016. The Clean Energy Ministerial is the follow-up meeting to the COP21 U.N. Convention of Parties climate change talks last December in Paris. The participating energy ministries include Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, the European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

CEM7 will bring the global energy policymakers together with visionaries from the business and investment communities and other clean energy experts to drive high-impact, real-world action. In addition to ministerial working sessions and public-private roundtable discussions, CEM7 will feature a clean energy action day with opportunities for the energy ministers and business leaders to highlight ambitious clean energy efforts and announce new actions to help achieve national and global clean energy goals. A two-day tented technology exhibit in San Francisco’s Union Square will showcase clean energy technologies and innovative business models driving clean energy deployment around the world.

Come and visit 1oPower is booth #348.

Learn more at www.cem7.org

On the issue of climate we must be united. This concerns the whole of humanity. –French President François Hollande

COP21—the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris—provides an opportunity for us all to take unified action toward a more sustainable future. To build on this global effort, OpenIDEO has asked community members, friends and creative individuals around the world to host events during COP21 (November 30 – December 11). These convenings will focus on learning from local climate innovators and brainstorming how we might support more innovation to address climate change.