The initiative started in Ifaty, a village in South Madagascar. Ifaty has no connection to electricity and has a population of more than 15,000 people. The government of Madagascar has no plans to install an electricity grid nearby before a 2040 -2050 timeframe. ToughStuff saw an opportunity to launch a project for the distribution of solar lights to the residents of the village. The Village Entrepreneur program leverages the microfinance model to encourage independence and self reliance.

How the model works:

Geothermal Power production is determined by the mass flow rate, which is related to the temperature of the resource and the flow rate (fluid movement to surface). Even with quality heat resources, if the natural fractures system does not allow economic flow rates than projects fall short of their economic hurdles. The ability to increase permeability, or ‘enhance the geothermal system’ (EGS), improves the flow rate, decreases overall geological/drilling risk, and improves overall project economics.

Canada has a reputation for being a cold country, not the place you would expect a world leading solar-thermal community to be but the Drake Landing Solar Community in the town of Okotoks, Alberta Canada is just that. The community, with an average annual temperature of 4⁰C, is the first of its kind in North America and is unprecedented in the world in providing 90% of the space heating requirements of each of the 52 homes in the community with solar energy.