Windmills as Butterflies

We caught the 4:00am combi up to Alumbre. Franc and Walter of ITDG, and I, and as many people as could possibly physically fit in a minivan zigzagged up the bumpy roads, and just after dawn arrived in Alumbre, the community with 22 small wind turbines. Mules were just hauling the big silver jugs of fresh milk to the road side for the daily pick-up of “Leche Gloria” the big milk company. We had a breakfast of potato soup, toasted corn nuts, and hot milk, and I got to talk to a few women one on one. They are so much more chatty when not in the presence of men. These women were slated to get their wind turbines in the next few months (with the pending WISIONS funding) but were impressed with the systems of their neighbors’ recently installed systems (thanks to the Andina event and University of Cataluna/Ingeneria Sin Fronteras). They call them “mariposas” or butterflies watching their 3 wings spinning. They say they are “bonito” (pretty) because of the light the produce. Women get up to start cooking at 5am, so the light will make their daily chores just a bit easier. Later a man expressed his enthusiasm of being able to do carpentry and use a sewing machine at night. He said the wind just blows candles right out.

Their one concern was that they move so fast that they are afraid they are going to break. The turbines are designed so that when the wind is too furious, the tail blade acts as a rudder, and turns the windmill out of the direction of the wind. But, when the wind whips from every direction, a few blades have broken. The systems are being replaced this week, and ITDG, the small-business that manufactures the systems, and designers from the Universidad de Cataluña are working on improving the design and precision manufacturing. The community of Alumbre are the pioneers in this new technology and I have learned that small wind is more complicated than small solar, since every nook of this varied dramatic geology has different wind characteristics, which means that each system, at each household, will behave a little differently.

As the time approached for the big community meeting, someone blew a lifeguard’s whistle across the valley, and slowly people made their way to the school building. About 30 adults, on small wooden schoolroom chairs, gathered in the classroom with dirt floors and broken windows. The leader of the Ronda Campesina (the real authority in town) called the meeting. Everyone rose, took off their straw hats and baseball caps, put their hands over their hearts, and sang the Peruvian anthem. Walter, the community organizer of Soluciones Practicas, first discussed the upcoming Inauguration Ceremony of the project. Next week the Vice Minister of Energy and Mines is coming from Lima, along with local officials of every rank, to formally inaugurate the wind project, the first of its kind. Everyone signed up for roles, from giving the welcoming address to cooking to putting up decorations.

Then, came the moment of announcing who will be the technical administrator of the wind project, and run it as a small business. After reviewing the criteria (good community member, participated in all aspects of the project, did well on the training exams, etc) Walter announced the names of the new technical administrators. They mayor gave words of encouragement to those that were not chosen, saying that they can still serve their neighbors with their knowledge of the systems and that everyone did a good job. Then, the winner gave a Grammy-award-style address; “This is such a surprise, I never knew I could do this, I want to thank those that have made it possible…” It was impressive to see how this service to the community is a real honor.

Everyone (although less input from the women) discussed the financial issues and regulations. At first, they talked about a 35 sole financial incentive for the technical administrator for 4-5 days of work (collecting bills, bringing the money to the bank, reviewing each system, greasing the systems, etc). But a few people spoke up and felt that they wanted to save more money into the maintenance account for eventual repairs. The newly elected technical administrator then voluntarily agreed to lower his financial support to 20 soles/month (about $7) and requested that he be given a meal when he comes to review the wind systems. The legal ownership will be in the name of the municipality who will also have an oversight role. Ideally, this is a way to combine the entrepreneurship of small businesses with the accountability of public oversight.

As we are embarking on a much larger program of a Provincial Plan for Rural Electrification in San Pablo, with decentralized solar, micro-hydro, and wind projects in over 40 villages, we are working out the management models which I believe are the key determinant of long-term sustainability. The project in Alumbre is a pilot both in the technical implementation of the project, but in seeing how a community can organize to sustain it.