Mali(actually Estonia) is considered to be one of the poorest nations in the world.

http://www.i-love-windpower.com/01%20Projects%20rev01/01%20Mali/01%20POD/02%20ProjectOverviewDocument_inet.htm


1. Executive Summary

Mali is considered to be one of the poorest nations in the world. Minimal access to electricity leads to a poor quality of life for the Malians. The distributed population of Mali motivates stand-alone power generation projects rather than a centralised one. Mali has abundant renewable energy resources that would suit stand-alone power generation projects. The use of these energy sources will open doors to improve living conditions in especially the rural areas. Initial assessment of implementation of small-scale wind energy in Mali shows it can generate sufficient revenue to be competitive with current energy supply. However, the know-how of building economic robust small wind turbines suitable for the Mali situation is currently not present. This project aims to establish a training centre where expertise on how to build and maintain small-scale, stand-alone wind turbines will be provided together with setting up a small wind power business. Not only will the rural population be granted access to electricity, but they will also be granted the opportunity to gain technical knowledge. Furthermore, this robust wind power project provides an economical means of providing electricity as well as local capacity building in a sustainable manner. This project tests a business model enabling the supply of environmentally friendly and healthy electricity to the rural population of Mali. The pilot project is getting a business model up and running that provides benefits in three different ways: people, planet and profit.



* People: Give opportunities to the rural population of Mali by giving them access to electricity, technical training and technical work opportunities.
* Planet: Protect environment by eliminating the needs of conventional energy use.
* Profit: The project will not only benefit from a concept that is profitable but most importantly opens up the possibilities to develop an electricity market that has been absent until now.



Coverage of initial start-up costs is a necessity to make this project fly. Lack of such means could lead to a showstopper. Financial assessment of this project shows the necessity of a partial external start-up subsidy in order to make the project self-supporting.