Nearly half of households in Nicaragua have no access to electricity. People tend to use kerosene lamps to light their homes which generate dangerous fumes and causes serious health problems. Electricity not only improves health, but also opens the door to new income earning opportunities and better education.  

In the charity’s latest project, Koru will team up with local partner Blue Energy to install a locally produced 1kW turbine and two 300W solar panels to bring clean energy to the entire village of Cajanquil. The system will include a micro-grid to deliver energy directly to villagers’ homes, but will also provide battery charging facilities for mobile phones and other electrical appliances.

An innovative part of the project is that it includes a borehole and water pump to use excess energy – for example windpower generated at night – to provide clean drinking water to all of the households in the village. It will also provide electricity to power a fruit processing and packaging plant to add value to the local produce.

The Koru Foundation is the chosen charity of the European Wind Energy Association. It was set up in 2007 to tackle energy poverty in developing countries by installing community-scale renewable energy systems. It receives most of its funding from the renewable energy industry and is supported by many of the big names in the sector including Airtricity, RES and Natural Power.

For more information, please see www.korufoundation.org