September 13, 2010 By Mathias Craig Opportunities for collaboration between Santa Clara University and blueEnergy

Opportunities for Collaboration Introduction Contact Information Areas of Work & Impact

blueEnergy Breaks the Cycle of Reliance on Relief blueEnergy connects isolated communities to power, enabling them to transition from relying on relief to starting small business

blueEnergy’s Approach Creates Long-Term, Sustainable Change

blueEnergy Connects Beneficiaries to Basic Services

Energy is the foundation of modern services… The Importance of Energy

Electric Energy Products

Biomass Energy Products Sustainable Charcoal ProductionSustainable Charcoal Efficient Stoves

blueEnergy’s Impact in Nicaragua blueEnergy is working in 15 communities, providing fundamental services to nearly 3,000 beneficiaries. Estimated 4,500 service-connections Local Employees: 20 International Volunteers: 24 Wind-solar capacity: 12 kW Bio-sand water filters: 54 Home electricity kits: 34 Portable LED lights: 253 Energy efficiency savings: 49 kWh/d

C entro E col ó gico R egional de C apacitaci ó n A mbiental Energy Water Communications Productive Use Sanitation Conferences Research Capacity Building Technical Training blueEnergy has strong capacity for R&D

Challenge and Opportunity: Bamboo Turbine Blades High quality, workable wood is difficult to source on a consistent, sustainable basis. Bamboo is a potential material that could be used to make wind turbine blades.

Challenge and Opportunity: Efficient Turbine Towers Wind turbine towers take a lot of expensive steel and concrete. The design can be streamlined to reduce material usage while maintaining safety and quality standards.

Challenge and Opportunity: Augmented Efficient Stoves Existing fuel efficient stoves have already made great strides in reducing the use of wood and charcoal. A thermal powered fan system might further increase the efficiency gains (idea: Hohyun Lee).

Challenge and Opportunity: Augmented Charcoal Production There already exists a simple way to make charcoal brickets from biomass. A redesign of the production process could increase the yield.

Challenge and Opportunity: Charcoal Fuel Stock Coconut husks are a good source of biomass for charcoal bricket production. Exploring other biomass source options and designing the refinement process required for each for charcoal production could greatly expand the reach of this solution.

Modes of Collaboration International Exposure Program (5-10 days) Service Learning Program (2-6 weeks) Short-term Volunteer Program (3-6 months) Long-term Volunteer Program (1+ year) Hosted Undergrad, Masters and PhD Research (time variable) All programs have associated fees that are used to cover overhead, living expenses, blueEnergy supervision and guidance, and some materials. Often, additional funding is needed for materials and equipment. Funding can come from the University, the participants themselves or a third-party funder through a joint research proposal submission.

Mathias Craig, Executive Director Tel: Contact Information