SEI's Upcoming Workshops

SEI has some exciting new workshops coming up in the next couple of months. We're offering PV workshops in new locations like New Orleans and Costa Rica in February. We have a new Solar Industry Seminar in March, and we are offering an Appropriate Technology for the Developing World workshop in Chiapas, Mexico in April. And if you can't make it out to any of our workshops don't forget about our upcoming online courses.

Sustainable Home Design Online - Jan 8 - Feb 16
PV Design Online - Jan 8 - Feb 16

Adopt a Biodigestor in Rural Mexico

Help improve the lives of people in rural Mexico by adopting a biodigestor, a system that converts organic waste into a methane gas mixture which can be used for cooking, heating, and generating electricity. Through the International Renewable Resources Institute (IRRI) and SEI you can provide a custom installed biodigester for a family in rural Mexico. These systems receive manure and agricultural waste from small family farms and convert it into a high quality soil amendment, while producing methane gas. In many cases it can provide enough gas for all of a family’s cooking and heating energy needs.

A full digestor costs $1000. Any size donation is welcome, but people donating $500 or more receive an IRRI Mexico Biodigester Manual, photos of the construction process and digester you helped install, and a certificate for your participation in the program.

Please send your tax deductible contribution to SEI with Biodigestor written in the memo, or donate online by clicking here. (See SEI and IRRI's workshop in Chiapas, Mexico to help build a biodigestor!).

SEI's International Program

2006 was a banner year for SEI's international program. We worked in Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Pakistan, and Khazakstan. The Khazakstan project came about from an SEI alum, John McGill, of the USAID funded organization Eco-Links which has been working in the region for several years to promote renewable energy technologies. SEI instructors “trained the trainers” of four countries in the region, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. These four countries formed an Eco-Alliance to bring renewable energy technologies to the area through a cooperative partnership. Read about the full Ecolinks event here.

Solar Cell Reaches 40% Efficiency

A photovoltaic (PV) cell achieved a milestone earlier this week with a conversion efficiency of 40.7 percent. Produced by Spectrolab, Inc. -- a subsidiary of Boeing -- and funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the breakthrough could lead to PV systems with an installed cost of $3 per watt and produce electricity at a cost of $0.08 to $0.10 cents per kilowatt-hour.

For more information read the entire story on RenewableEnergyAccess.com

Solar Home Systems in Thailand

SEI graduate and Border Green Energy Team (BGET) director Salinee Tavaranan was on Bangkok TV for a 45-minute show on the sustainability of Thailand's solar home system program.

The government program installed roughly 190,000 solar home systems since 2003. This show was an important step forward in BGET's efforts to bring about a national discussion about the sustainability of the solar home systems in Thailand. The systems are appreciated by villagers, but with inadequate maintenance support they fail in significant numbers.

BGET, with help from SEI alumni volunteers, has done twelve 3-day workshops, training over 200 local technicians to repair broken solar home systems, and to teach users about operations and maintenance issues.

Design SEI's T-shirt!

Design SEI's t-shirt and win $400 towards an SEI workshop of your choice! We are looking for a design to be put on the back of our t-shirts that reflects our mission of renewable energy education. It can be up to 6 colors and should be sent to us as an adobe illustrator (version 3) file or as a high resolution pdf. Designs must be received by January 31, '07.

If your design gets chosen you will receive 2 free t-shirts and a $400 coupon to be used towards any SEI workshop.

Your Generosity Ensures our Success!

SEI would like to welcome new members! As a membership-based non-profit, SEI's members are the heart of our organization and allow us to continue our educational programs. SEI Staff are passionate about the work we do and membership dues help sustain our renewable energy endeavors.

Please join us! Membership benefits include (depending on membership level) discounts on workshops, a one year subscription to either Home Power magazine or E magazine, an organic cotton/hemp SEI t-shirt, a SEI bumpersticker, and more!

Click here for details on how to become an SEI member.

To all SEI members . . . SEI sends thanks!