Bennet Cohen and Anya Chernoff: Two Exemplars in the Quest to Bring Electricity to Those Who Don't Have It!

As discussed in my previous post, the future of bringing access to electricity to those who don't have it seems to be in renewable energy sources. The idea that the world's unelectrified populations should be electrified is pretty much agreed upon. The controversy exists in just how to do that. While proponents of traditional systems using fossil fuels may be quite vocal, their voices are louder than their impacts. In fact, the majority of new electricity providing projects being undertaken throughout the world today rely on renewable energy sources.

Two movers and shakers in this field today are Bennet Cohen and Anya Cherneff. Not surprisingly, they are a romantic as well asprofessional couple. Cohen worked for the Rocky Mountain Institute, or RMI, “an independent, non-partisan nonprofit that drives the efficient and restorative use of resources.” What does this translate to in the real world? RMI “advances market-based solutions, engaging business, communities, and institutions to cost-effectively shift to efficiency and renewables.” In other words, RMI is the ideal embodiment of today's trends in providing access to electricity to those who do not have it. It combines sustainable methods that take advantage of the latest, cleanest technologies, and ensures local ownership of these assets.

Bennet and Cohen have achieved a lot in the way of providing access to electricity to those who do not have it, In fact, they single-handedly developed, initiated, and reviewed a program that resulted in real and meaningful changes in one particular community.

Bennet noted that not only are there 1.3 billion people across the globe who do not have access to electricity, but that 1 billion people do not have electricity on demand and oftentimes must go almost an entire day without it. Therefore there are 2.3 billion people in the world with no access to electricity at all or no meaningful access. What does this mean? It means that these persons cannot take advantage of much of modern technology. Not only can they not use it, but they cannot build their lives around it.

Bennet and Cohen chose a place to start. They knew from their work experience in resolving problems related to insufficient or unsustainable fuel sources that a lot of the world's population that does have power gets it from burning kerosene. Kerosene is both expensive and dangerous, but it is available. It provides light but does not provide electricity in general. It dangers are documented quantitatively. Therefore it is an inefficient means to an incomplete end.

Bennet and Cohen saw the situation regarding kerosene use in Nepal as a source of heat and light as an opportunity for a grand solution. The solution was not to just provide a resource of heat and light, but to provide a source of electricity that could provide not only heat and light but power everything electrical under the sun.

Under the sun is the key word, because Bennet and Cohen sought to utilize solar technologies. They found through their mutual fields of research—his in clean energy, and hers in women's empowerment—that small-scale solar power generators would simultaneously solve the kerosene problems of Nepal while creating many new opportunities as well.

The solution: Solar LED lighting. It is small, portable, bright, renwable, and inexpensive. Utilizing Cohen's technology, Chernoff established Empower Generation—a non-profit dedicated to delivering the solutions to Nepal's population. Chernoff took advantage of the fact that women in Nepalese society are typically tasked withproviding energy and used her gender as a way in.

Through Empower Generation, Chernoff instituted a program that successfully delivered solar powered units to a local entrepreneur who sold 825 of them—325 more than her goal of 500 in 2013. Furthermore, Chernoff has begun a “buy one give one” system that provided one solar-powered LED light to someone who does not have access to electricity in Nepal for every one sold domestically.

It's overwhelming to think of the success that Cohen and Chernoff have achieved in terms of providing electricity for those who do not have it. Their success is a testament to the fact that technology, ingenuity, and the right associations are the key to change. While large-scale efforts may be underway in many places...the bulk of success stories involve individual- or community-based, small-scale, renewable energy products. Duplicate the success of Cohen and Chernoff today by starting your own one-on-one-off program!