Fri, 04 February, 2022
TWI is working as part of the collaborative IMPHORAA Project to deliver photovoltaics and associated technologies to rural communities across The Philippines and in Madagascar.
The project began on 5 November 2021 with a kick-off meeting between TWI and fellow project partners Technovative Solutions Ltd (UK), Nanoé (Madagascar), Quantum Leap JMB Mktg Inc (Philippines), and Brunel University London (UK).
The IMPHORAA project is focusing on speedy market penetration for a combined set of proven technologies (solar PV nano-grids, cooling, water pumping) primarily in the Philippines and Madagascar, where they are eagerly needed by rural off-grid communities.
Nanoé has already installed solar PV nano-grids in Madagascar, covering the needs of over 4000 household and commercial premises to the benefit of around 15000 people. This technology will be further developed with cooling and water pumping capabilities, which have the capability of widening the business model to optimise the successful "lateral electrification" model.
This approach has been decided as the ideal pathway to lead electrification in the rural off-grid islands of the Philippines too, where frequent catastrophic events make the need for decentralised electrification and fast maintenance capabilities urgent.
The project consortium believe that this is a viable way to allow these rural areas to reach their development goals and put an end to poverty and lack of opportunity. This approach not only improves the livelihood of people in these areas, but also aims to significantly reduce poverty by paving the road for sustainable agriculture and micro-entrepreneurship.
The proposed IMPHORAA approach tackles the energy trilemma, which is impacting the global energy sector at an unprecedented pace; decarbonisation, digitisation, and decentralisation.
The IMPHORAA team’s diverse profile and varied expertise makes the consortium ideal to carry out a sensitive, ambitious and detailed electrification model to ensure affordable pricing and secure access to quality power, thanks to the use of cooling storage as a means to balancing the intermittent solar power production.
We will bring you more information on this project as the work progresses over the coming months, including the launch of a dedicated website.
This project is supported by Energy Catalyst and UK aid and was awarded as a “subsidy” under the UK International Obligations for Subsidy Control and delivered under Grant 90935 from Innovate UK