Energy technology company ZOLA Electric announced the partnership with local renewable energy pioneer Haiti Green Solutions for the deployment of its flagship energy technology platform to help address the energy crisis in the country, where the vast majority of its 12-million population lack access to reliable and affordable energy. The launch in Haiti is also ZOLA's first time tapping into the North American market.
The economy in Haiti has a heavy reliance on fossil fuel energy which is entirely imported. But rising energy prices caused by the recent global social and economic turmoil have hit the domestic energy market hard. Today, Haiti sees some of the highest diesel costs in the world, peaking at $15 per gallon. Public facilities such as schools and hospitals relying on power from diesel-fuelled generators can even hardly maintain regular operations. The poor grid architecture resulting from aging and natural disasters also poses another challenge to electrification and smooth power recovery.
Reformation based on the current grid is not practical in terms of reliability and efficiency to accelerate the recovery of the country's economic and social activities.
ZOLA's energy technology platform enables community-level electrification through combinations of tailor-made hardware and software solutions, providing both residential and business communities with reliable, affordable and clean energy.
In addition, by facilitating localized solar energy production and providing smart technology with remote management tools, ZOLA empowers Haiti Green Solutions to build out a network of distributed renewable energy devices and manage that network in a centralized fashion. More importantly, as a whole, it contributes to energy independence for the country.
"ZOLA is proud to be driving energy equality in Haiti at this challenging time and we are so proud to be partnering with Haiti Green Solutions who are the true heroes in this story, building out a Haitian-owned and managed energy network under the most extreme conditions," said Bill Lenihan, CEO of ZOLA Electric.
The project demonstrates why countries need to locally produce their energy, be it solar energy or other renewable energy sources, while investing in a sustainable energy architecture distributed and built by local players.
The domestic market in Haiti for reliable clean energy systems is largely untapped, with electricity demand expected to increase by 50% by 2030. The island's tropical climate makes it an ideal location for solar deployment.
