MALI - RENEWABLE ENERGY

THE SOLAR ENERGY LABORATORY, A DIVISION OF THE DIRECTION GENERAL DE L"HYDRAULIQUE ET DE L"ENERGIES WILL DIRECT FIELD ACTIVITIES & WILL BE THE PRINCIPAL RECIPIENT OF ASSISTANCE. THE PROJ WILL CONSIST OF FIVE PHASES. DURING THE FIRST PHASE,THE SOLAR ENERGY LAB WILL RECEIVE MATERIALS,TRNG,AND TECH SUPPORT. A RENEWABLE ENERGY SCIENTIST FROM THE US WILL BE ASSIGNED TO THE LAB FOR THE FIRST TWO YRS OF THE PROJ,AND USAID WILL FINANCE NEW FACILITIES & EQUIPMENT. US TRNG FOR SELECTED MEMBERS OF THE LAB IS CONTEMPLATED. IN ADDITION,AN EARLY TESTING OF NEW ENERGY DEVICES WILL BE UNDERTAKEN WITH THE INSTALLATION OF FOUR PHOTOVOLTAIC POWERED PUMPS IN SELECTED RURAL AREAS. TWO OF THE PUMPS WILL BE INSTALLED IN THE REGION IN WHICH THE MALI LIVESTOCK II PROJ IS BEING CONDUCTED,AND WILL PROVIDE WATER FOR THE AREA VILLAGERS & THEIR ANIMALS. A THIRD PUMP WILL PROVIDE ENERGY TO IRRIGATE FIELDS AT A MARKET GARDENING CO-OP IN MOPTI,AND THE FOURTH WILL BE INSTALLED AT SOMAKO,A LEPER VILLAGE. THREE SHORT-TERM US SPECIALISTS WILL COORDINATE THE COLLECTION OF TECH & SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA RESULTING FROM THESE EARLY PROJ EFFORTS,AND WILL MAKE THE INFO AVAILABLE TO APPROPRIATE AGENCIES. DURING PHASE II,THE INSTITUT D"ECONOMIE RURAL,THE PEACE CORPS,AND SEVERAL OTHER MALI GOVT AGENCIES WILL PARTICIPATE IN A METEOROLOGICAL & SOCIO-ECONOMIC SURVEY OF 25 VILLAGES CONSIDERED AS POTENTIAL TEST SITES FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVICES. 20 OF THE 25 VILLAGES WILL BE SELECTED AS SITES FOR INSTALLATION OF THE DEVICES (PHASE III). SEVERAL DIFFERENT DEVICES & APPLICATIONS WILL BE TESTED -- SOLAR ENERGY DEVICES,MECHANICAL OR ELECTRICAL POWER FROM RADIATION,THERMODYNAMIC CONVERSION,AND PHOTOVOLTAIC CONVERSION. THESE ENERGY SOURCES WILL PROVIDE HEATING,REFRIGERATION,FOOD DRYING,CEREAL GRINDING,WATER PUMPING,BATTERY RECHARGING,AND LIGHTS. THE FOURTH PHASE WILL CONSIST OF A DETAILED ANALYSIS & EVALUATION OF THESE EXPERIMENTS. FURTHER TESTING(FIFTH PHASE) WILL BE BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THAT EVALUATION.