Good Energies Foundation

The mission of the Good Energies Foundation is poverty alleviation through sustainable access to renewable energy. A Swiss registered foundation, it is independent from, but affiliated with, Good Energies, Inc.

The foundation was started to address the issue that more than 1.6 billion people globally still do not have access to electricity. The poor spend up to one third of their household income on their household energy needs, including off-grid lighting, often using poor burning kerosene lamps.

Modern market solutions, at times combined with microfinance, can make a range of renewable energy technologies accessible to the poor that provide not only affordable clean energy, but also provide additional benefits in terms of better health, education, environment and household income.

The foundation therefore follows a focused approach in its work, catalyzing new initiatives and providing support for sector development through a range of high impact, scalable projects in developing countries, while respecting local conditions. Funding is provided in the form of grants, social equity, loans or an appropriate combination to support this work.

The Good Energies Foundation has supported a range of initiatives. For those interested in supporting these projects, please click through on the link provided and contact the organization concerned directly.

A selection of projects recently supported includes:

Stiftung Solar Energie

Good Energies foundation has supported a range of projects of this German foundation bringing solar home systems and other solar powered energy solutions into remote areas of Ethiopia, including:

• Solar powered health posts for provision of vaccines in Ethiopia
• Village electrification of several Ethiopian villages using solar home systems and solar lanterns
• Solar powered water pump replacing manual water transportation, savings hours per day
• School electrification to facilitate learning

Solar Aid Foundation

Good Energies foundation is supporting small scale solar powered lighting solution development and sales in Tanzania into poor non-electrified communities. Solar Aid Foundation is working to provide employment opportunities for people with disabilities as part of this program.

Blue Energy

The foundation is supporting village residential and communal electrification via small wind and solar solutions in remote villages in eastern Nicaragua in the areas beyond Bluefields. Many of these mostly indigenous communities are accessible only by boat.

Lighting Africa Development Marketplace

Good Energies foundation is catalyzing the lighting sector in sub Saharan Africa through sponsoring the World Bank’s Development Marketplace innovation competition. This initiative, part of a long term World Bank/ IFC Lighting Africa project, took place in Accra, Ghana in May 2008 in conjunction with the first Lighting Africa conference. It focused on the development of new small-scale, low cost renewable energy lighting solutions intended for Africa, primarily developed by African companies and organizations. Sixteen winners were chosen from 50 finalists in the competition.

While the foundation does not generally support unsolicited requests for funding, it invites like minded partners to join forces.

Contact: foundation@goodenergies.com