SOLAR TODAY - January/February 2009

Cape Verde Students Build Solar Desalination Stills

new energy ^| for and about students

BRiAN NEwHOUSE

Peace corps volunteer nicholas hanson and his students prepare a freshly cast concrete solar still tub for its coat of stucco.

The Cape Verde Islands in the tropical Atlantic get an average 68 mm ( 3 inches) of rain annually. The deep wells are now contaminated with brine, so fresh water for drinking, cooking, bathing and crop irrigation now comes from expensive oil-fired desalination plants.

Happily, the islands enjoy about 3,000 hours of sunlight annually. The nation is an ideal site for a solar desalination project.

Building the Clean Technology Industry Because the Future is Now

“If everyone had one of
these, we wouldn’t have to
spend money for water.”

In 2007, Peace Corps volunteer Nicholas Hanson, working with a team of civil construction students at the Grau Duque Henri Technical School in Assomada, built a small concrete still for about $210. It produced just 1.75 liters per day of fresh water. A second version, with a 1-square-meter collector box and a 0.7-square-meter preheater, went into operation in July 2007, and produced 2. 5 liters of fresh water daily. It cost $214. Now the group, aided by Peace Corps volunteer Brian Newhouse, has designed an improved model with a smoother-flowing preheater design and a seven-stage evaporator. Materials — concrete, sheet metal, stucco, paint, caulk, glass, plastic tubing and some wood for concrete forms — will cost $275.

The goal: a design that can be replicated by households throughout the islands. All they’ll need to do is throw a bucket or two of seawa-ter into the still each day. As one student said,

“If everyone had one of these, we wouldn’t have to spend money for water.”

The solar still team is eager to hear suggestions and comments from solar energy experts. View their plans and a video of prototype construction at www.peacecorps.org. cv/solar-project. Please send suggestions and comments to nfhanson@gmail.com and bri. newhouse@gmail.com. — BRIAN NEWHOUSE

Rutgers Camden Technology Campus, Inc. •Aestus Therapeutics Chromocell • Nistica • Signum Biosciences, Inc.

Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies (CCIT)

IntegriChain • Celgene Corporation • Chromis Fiberoptics, Inc.

Archive Systems • Amicus Therapeutics • ECI Technology, Inc.

Supporting Companies Manufacturing Renewable Energy,
Clean and Energy-Efficiency Products in New Jersey
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) manages the
Edison Innovation Fund, a group of financial incentive vehicles brought
together to help life sciences, technology and biotechnology companies
thrive. A new addition to this group is the Edison Innovation Clean
Energy Manufacturing Fund, which supports the commercialization and
development of Class 1 renewable energy and energy efficiency systems,
products and technologies.

Grants for Project Assessment and Design

Up to $300,000 is available as a grant to assist with the manufacturing site identification and procurement, design, and permits. Twenty percent of the grant is available as seed money.

Zero-Interest Loans for Project Construction and Operation

Up to $3 million is available as a zero-interest loan to support site improvements, equipment procurement, and facility construction and completion, with an incentive to convert up to one-third of the loan into a performance grant.

To learn more about the Edison Innovation Clean Energy Manufacturing Fund, visit www.njeda.com/CEMF or contact us directly.

Meeting Your Financial Needs is Just the Beginning Through the Edison Innovation Clean Energy Manufacturing Fund, New Jersey clean technology manufacturers can receive funding under two separate components: project assessment and design, and project construction and operation. In total, qualified businesses may be eligible to receive up to $3.3 million in grants and interest-free loans.