Solar Power and Regenerative Agriculture in Burma

As I am sure you have noticed, Solar Roots is giving fewer trainings and making fewer overseas trips than in days gone by. There are several reasons for this - Covid disrupted our usual travel patterns - our staff is aging (I myself will be 75 this year) - Burma has descended into full scale civil war - and for the last couple of years I have focused on building my house in Thailand. But we are not giving up - just slowing down!

This report is about the solar system that I installed on my new house in Chiang Dao, Thailand. and, if you compare it to the previous report, Solar at Home Part 2, you will notice some obvious changes, particularly in scale. The first system was about 2,000W of solar panels, large enough to power a mountain cabin, but would be insufficient to get through a snowy and rainy winter without generator back up. Needless to say, the components purchased in the US, were relatively expensive. In contrast, the new system in Thailand is nearly 18,000W of solar and it can charge an EV and/or run air conditioners all day and all night!

But why purchase and install such an apparently over-sized solar system? Isn't this another example of gross consumerism at a time when we should be conserving scarce resourses? The first reason is: because I could afford it!  I imported all the major components directly from the manufacturers in China for less than $10,000, which is about one quarter of the off-the-shelf cost in the US. The second reason is that I am offering my house to the local authorities as a center in times of emergency. Thailand has major challenges due to climate change and in the north, we are particularly vulnerable to heat waves, earthquake and flooding, which can lead to power outages. Although I have utility power available at my gate, I chose to install my solar system as 100% off-grid, so as long as the sun shines, I will have power.

In the event of a heat wave, which in Thailand could mean temperatures over 45 degrees C (113 degrees F), I propose that my house will be used as a cooling center where elderly people can come to cool down for a few hours. I am reminded of the disaster in France in 2003, when over 14,000 people, mainly elderly, died during a heat wave, because they were unable to cool down even for a few hours especially at night. Other services I plan to offer will include phone and battery bank charging. My oasis of solar power will also be useful in the event of power outages due to flooding or earthquake. I'm sure that this rings a bell for many of our loyal supporters in the Bay Area.

I apologize for the bias towards technology in this report as I know that it lacks the appeal of the human interest angle. However, my field is technology based and it is with this equipment that we are able help people make changes in their lives.

If you approve of the way we are using solar technology to change lives, please consider supporting Solar Roots again.

Thank you.