Solar Pioneer Spreads Word In Central America

SolEnergy owner Ken Olson has seen remote villages in Central America with no light. He knows the impact a small, two-watt solar panel can make.

“What does strike me is the great gap between these two worlds,” he said, of his recent travels to El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.

“On one hand, we provide two-watt systems, basically the panel is the size of a paperback book — and on another we’re filling roof tops and yards with solar here. Everyone here asks what’s the payback.”

Olson said payback is the last thing on the minds of the remote villagers he has helped in the 10 years he has traveled for international rural development work. He estimates he has made at least 15 trips to Central and South America in the last decade, installing systems of all sizes. His average solar system size for his August relief trip was between two and 15 watts.

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