Solar Power
Learn about the Solarkiosk project in Africa
Life has been good to me,” says Wolfram Putz, one of three founding partners of international architecture studio Graft, based in Berlin. (He’s agreed to give me 30 minutes of his time during the very busy In:Situ architecture conference in Auckland, but he’s in no rush.) He’s what you would expect from a man who believes the built environment should assist with the pursuit of happiness.
“I went to study in LA in 1989 on a German scholarship, and stayed. We started our firm in a two-bedroom apartment with three partners. We were lucky to make it – it’s the real American dream type of thing. We wanted to give some of that luck back.”
It was from that need to share good fortune the Solarkiosk project was born. While working on a hospital in Ethiopia (part-funded by Graft’s first client and friend, Brad Pitt) Putz and colleagues noted everyone in Africa had a cell phone, but electricity was scarce. “While we were building the hospital, we saw that people would flag cars down on the street, lift the hood and use wires to charge their cell from the car battery. Those phones don’t last long!” says Putz. “We discovered 1.5 billion people, 16 per cent of the world’s population, lack access to electricity.”
About 10 years ago, Graft began the Solarkosk project – an architecturally housed charging station that does everything gas stations do, and more.
“They sell energy, they sell fast-turning consumer goods, they cool medicines, clean water and bring light into Africa.”
A decade on, and there are more than 200 units across sub-Saharan Africa, employing 2000 people – mostly women. The Solarkiosks have become focal points for local communities, safe places to congregate, a place to get medical services and also internet café-style business hubs. They are helping people stay in their villages rather than migrate to big cities, they are training and employing people and contributing to education around sustainability.
“They’ve helped develop the clean energy ladder, replacing energy consumption through generators and kerosene lamps,” says Putz. “There are 5.2 hours of solar insulation a day on average
in Africa – free energy that can be scaled up from a solar lantern to a full home energy system. Now we are expanding beyond individual units to mini-grids.”
These larger scale versions have an even greater scope of use. For example, they can act as stand-alone medical clinics, and have been employed for that purpose in refugee camps in Jordan and Bangladesh. The clinic in Jordan can see 75 patients a day. The same E-Hubb also powers four school rooms with wi-fi connection, operated by Relief International. In Kenya, an E-Hubb provides the local community with clean water, by incorporating a UF PRO ultrafiltration system. More than 20 rural African villages have a solar market centre, also powered by E-Hubb, where local businesses such as barbers and convenience stores can operate. Some even have banks, a luxury many rural Africans don’t have access to. This opens up the so-called ‘bottom of the pyramid’ market, worth USD$5 trillion a year, in a socially responsible way, by empowering local businesses and employing locals.
“This is the essence of architecture,” says Putz. “That little house that glows in the dark, that creates shelter and living and business for people in a world where walls, separation and disenfranchisement are still happening.”
Solarkiosks in NZ?
While the Solarkiosk project is aimed specifically at untapped and under-served rural communities in the developing world, the idea of a lightweight, moveable, solar-powered business could catch on in Aotearoa. According to data from NIWA, New Zealand receives an average of 4.6 to 5.6 sunshine hours a day – yes, even in Invercargill – which means solar energy is viable for most of the year. A portable, low-cost, Solarkiosk-style solution for New Zealand businesses could dramatically increase our clean energy usage.
Imagine if the Christchurch container mall had been solar-powered? Think about how this could revolutionise food truck businesses both in terms of sustainability and agility. Imagine, going to Splore or Womad, and finding vendors silently powered by solar, instead of noisy, fuel-inefficient generators?
Solarkiosk was born from need, but it’s a model that could be adapted by the Western world to provide a clean, green, solution for small businesses that Greta Thunberg would be proud to shop at.