Ep. 223: Solar Power That Actually Works

Guest: Justin Woodward, JCM Power

Solar power has been held out as a reliable and viable source of electricity.

The biggest challenge to relying on solar is access to direct sunlight. In Canada, there are a few places where it works as a supplemental source of energy.

For solar to be the primary and solo source of reliable energy, the panels need to be exposed to direct sunlight for extensive periods of time each day and the sun has to shine bright just about everyday.

Africa is one such place – Malawi in West Africa in particular. It’s a place with limited access to hydro power. In fact, you’re lucky if you can get electricity 25% of the time. The problem is a dwindling supply of water: the reservoir is too low. When the turbines in the dam stop spinning, diesel generators turn on and produce what amounts to stop gap power.

It’s costly, it’s environmentally unfriendly and, until now, it was the only option. With advances in solar technology and a drop in the cost of the panels, solar is now competitive with diesel. Even better, solar is hyperlocal: the appropriate number of panels can be installed within metres of the community that requires electricity. This reduces costs and environmental footprint, as well as creates economic opportunities and creates wealth.

We invited Justin Woodward to join us for a Conversation That Matters about transforming economies that until now lived with intermittent and unreliable electricity.