EMPOWER: Vol 4. Issue 2 – June / July 2023

It is a privilege to follow in the footsteps of past Presidents Ray Larsen, Robin Podmore and John Nelson to the helm of IEEE Smart Village.

Our primary mission remains the same as it has been for the last few years: To grow local enterprises based on livelihood training, and the productive use of technology in underserved communities around the world. While our seed funds help validate business models, the enterprises must have the vision to scale up, and eventually be self-sustaining. The enterprises must outlive us in serving their communities.

Today, my message to you is simple: IEEE Smart Village must also scale up. We must scale up for IEEE to address a larger portion of underserved society. We can seize the opportunity to showcase IEEE in forums where it is generally unknown, and increase our impact.

Our achievements are built with the labor of dedicated volunteers and staff working with local entrepreneurs connected to the communities. In the past two years, we have made three enhancements to our approach.

Under the leadership of past President John Nelson, we have expanded our organization to include five regional working groups in Africa, China, Latin America, North America and South Asia. Local volunteers in these working groups bring cultural, language, business practice and physical alignment with the people we seek to serve. They provide mentorship in the proposal development and application phase, and add monitoring in the execution phase. They will provide publicity, networking opportunities for funding, and knowledge sharing after that.

Fernando Guarin, current Chair of our Governing Board, proposed expanding our remit from solar energy to the Productive use of technology. This leverages the expertise of the members of the fifteen IEEE societies on our governing board, and creates greater income generating opportunities in the served communities.

Robin Podmore, founder and past President, expanded our pool of volunteers by starting the Rotary E-club Silicon Valley Smart Village. This sister organization has opened the way for us to tap Rotary resources, and member expertise beyond fields where IEEE members excel. Two telehealth enterprises in east Africa are an immediate result of this engagement.

After fast tracking several enterprise proposals in the last quarter, in the coming months, we will be streamlining our operations to better engage with the larger population that we will serve. This is a call to action, for which I solicit your active participation. I will report more as we progress in the coming months. Meanwhile, our vision endures: to improve livelihoods of the neglected around the globe. Our mission abides: To advance technology for the benefit of all humanity.

Mistura with one of the girls during the training.

An ISV developer, Mistura Muibi-Tijani, through an orgainsation called VertSTEM , organized a climate action training to commemorate World Earth Day which took place in Lagos, Nigeria in May.The program was designed to increase awareness of Sustainable Development Goal 13 “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts” and enlighten the kids on renewable energy’s role in reversing climate change. The event also serves as an avenue to stimulate kids’ interest in STEM, leveraging IEEE Try Engineering resources. The students gained practical knowledge on generating electricity from solar using the snap circuit kits donated to the organization by ISV. Their reception and feedback were overwhelmingly positive.

Mistura hopes to be a remarkable leader in pioneering future technologies. She is in awe of emerging technologies and sees herself as a tinkerer that will build businesses around this transformative technology.

She advocates for more women in STEM/rural education empowerment through VertSTEM. She is passionate about making STEM accessible to all, including those living in energy-deprived locations who cannot afford their computing resources.

A practical on generating electricity from solar cells using snap circuit kits.

VertSTEM (derived from two words “Vert” and “STEM”. Vert means green in French, and STEM an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) is a social enterprise working alongside community leaders to empower energy-deprived communities with a Solar-powered computer hub. Students pay to learn computer literacy and complete an online curriculum in the hub. The online classes are set up via code.org. The platform allows the organisation to monitor, track and give feedback to our students. The course is designed such that students gets to learn on problem solving, web development, data and society.

It has been a harvest of achievements for Entrepreneurs associated with the IEEE Smart Village (ISV) grant system. The Grant system targets Sustainable, enterprises with education of both users and entrepreneurs at the heart of the entrepreneurial concept. Thus far in 2023, we have been managing over 20 Entrepreneurs and project developers all over the continent of Africa, in Egypt, South Africa, Senegal, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, DRC and others too numerous to mention here.

The Africa Working group of the IEEE Smart Village provide vital support to these Entrepreneurs who are nurturing different exciting business ideas such as Solar PV powered Rice mills, Agricultural farms for Women empowerment, Innovative materials for food preservation, energy as a service and so on. These businesses are impacting thousands of lives in both rural and urban African states especially young girls.

Furthermore, we at the Africa Working group are preparing for the IEEE Power Africa Conference scheduled to hold in Marrakech, Morocco early November this year. I therefore call upon both new and old friends/members to join us in making Africa an Entrepreneurial hub with Sustainable enterprises and Markets of the future.

There will be the traditional technical paper presentations, half-day tutorials on Lightning Protection History and Basics, Emulation of the hydropower plant and industrial photo- voltaic combined with battery energy storage and Fundamentals of Power System Protection Design. Other sessions include the Ph.D. forum, technical tours, Cultural tours, and the smart village sessions with ISV leadership in attendance

IEEE Smart Village (ISV) has a commitment to providing safe, reliable systems and has set up a committee under the leadership of Bruno Lequesne and with the responsibility to review electric Safety, Quality, Reliability and Standards for ISV projects. If one were to construct a Venn diagram for these four themes, there would be an overlap of each to each other as well as a common overlap to all four. In short, these four themes are highly interrelated and that is why all four are included in this committee. Unfortunately, or not, safety appears to take center stage within this committee. However, quality, reliability and standards are all necessary to develop a high-quality electric systems. The use of high ISV and industry standards as they relate to the system quality and reliability inherently lead to a much safer electric system.

INHERRENT ELECTRICAL SAFETY

Electricity is colorless, odorless, silent, and tasteless. Not only that, but when a power line is run in a community, everyone can clearly see birds landing on the lines with no ill effects. So, shock and electrocution are issues that may be completely foreign to someone receiving electricity for the first time. Having a system that is designed, constructed, and maintained with a high degree of quality and the use of industry proven standards will make that system more reliable. Likewise, the system will inherently be much safer. This is where Safety, Quality, Reliability and Standards are synergistic.

ELECTRICAL STANDARDS

When an ISV entrepreneur proposes a project, numerous considerations must be given to the proposed design. Standardization allows the entrepreneur to save time and money on avoiding a unique, first of a kind electric system. As is commonly said, the wheel has already been invented and proven, so why try to reinvent the wheel on an ISV project. Using proven technology, materials and standards will allow the entrepreneur to make use of the learning curve which has already been developed for renewable electric systems. High quality, proven PV panels, properly designed inverters and reliable battery systems have all been used by other ISV entrepreneurs which should streamline future projects. Developing reliable systems using industry standards is one of the goals of the SQRS Committee. Likewise, utilizing existing standards and developing new ones are key goals of the committee. For example, the use of the US National Electric Code and the ANSI/IEEE National Electrical Safety Code, or IEC standards, are examples of industry standards which should be utilized, or the local equivalent. Educating the villagers in the need for proper use of electrical systems to avoid the safety and fire dangers of electricity due to overload and malfunctioning equipment may present some unique challenges. Codes and standards are important in this area.

BATTERY SYSTEM ISSUES

Solar power systems work great during daylight hours but provide nothing at night and very little during stormy/cloudy days. To store the energy produced during the daytime, battery storage systems are required to capture and store the solar energy for use when adequate solar power is not available. The most common means of solar energy storage is that of the battery system. Safety, Quality, Reliability and Standards are all important for the design, construction, operating and maintenance of battery storage systems. Shock, electrocution, chemical burns and explosions are all potential issues with the battery storage system. The use of some batteries such as the Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) battery may appear to be economical on first glance due to the relatively low cost. However, life expectancy and lack of maintainability are issues which need to be taken into consideration, not to mention proper disposal of the lead they contain. Using industry proven standards and high-quality batteries will have a positive impact on safety and reliability. An improperly designed battery system can lead to dangerous chemical spills and explosions which must be guarded against. Furthermore, improper disposal can lead to contamination of land or ground water. Again, awareness of the issues is a first and important step in deploying any new technology anywhere.

CONCLUSION

The mission of IEEE Smart Village is to improve the lives of energy deprived people, and to empower off-grid communities through energy entrepreneurship and education. It is essential for ISV to recognize that part of its mission is to minimize risks associated with shock, electrocution, fire, chemical exposure and explosions. That is where the ISV Committee on safety, quality, reliability and standards along with regional subcommittees have been formed to carry out this critical aspect of ISV. For more information, please contact Bruno at blequesne@outlook.com . (Bruno Lequesne has a vast background in IEEE as a past IAS president, founder of the Electric Transportation Council, chair of the IAS/PES Power Africa Steering Committee and Vice President of the ISV SQRS Committee.)

IEEE has scheduled a conference in Bhubaneswar, India in August on “Sustainable Energy and Future Electric Transportation” SEFET2023. Concurrently, IEEE Smart village will be holding a conference on 11th and 12th August. The IEEE Smart Village Conference 2023 provides a platform for Project Implementation partners, Rural Communities, Social Organizations, CSR institutes, Start-ups, State and Central Government to present their work and share experiences and ideas in the areas of Community Development, Village Empowerment, Skill building for communities, Technology for productive use of Energy, and Community Enterprise development.

The conference aims to bring together experts from these areas to disseminate their knowledge and experience for working in years to come. The IEEE Smart Village 2023 program will feature Keynotes and Plenary Sessions, Technical Paper Presentations, Industry Sessions and Student Presentations.

Proposed Track of the Conference

• Impact of Social Projects on Community Development
• Integrated Village Cluster Development
• Access to Clean and Reliable Energy and Productive Use of Technology
• Education, Skill Building and Vocation Awareness for Underserved Communities
• Enterprises for Community Development
• Student Volunteer for Community Development

Date: 11th & 12 Aug 2023
Venue: Institute of Technical Education and Research, Bhubaneshwar, India
Registration Link:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Y302PWtAYynJwelb3XtsxaiEWiaNNwd-c4p6zVz6qKo/edit

IEEE Smart Village uses renewable power as a foundation. They provide the initial technology solutions and seed funding needed to create self-sustaining community-owned and operated businesses. Villages are transformed with reliable electricity, education, Internet, safe water, sanitation, electric transportation, and farm mechanization to create new village economies and reverse the migration to cities. They help local entrepreneurs become community developers and create sustainable businesses that will scale to impact millions of people with clean electricity, transformative education, and impactful enterprise development.

If you’d like to learn more about the IEEE Smart Village initiative, visit smartvillage.ieee.org.

DONATE
ieeefoundation.org

VOLUNTEER
smartvillage.ieee.org/volunteer

CONTACT
smartvillagestaff@ieee.org

IEEE Smart Village supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals providing electricity, enabling clean water, empowering women, and providing jobs.

ISV PAST AND UPCOMING WEBINARS

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July 2023 Webinar: Register for the Webinar on World Youth Skills Day on July 15 – “Skilling Up Youths for the Digital Economy.” – The webinar will showcase ISV’s global impact in equipping young people with skills in technical and vocational training for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship. https://ieee.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1ODwsFHpRqWBxaKW4oQnyw