Renewable energy technologies are driven by the natural energy flows of the planet. They do not deplete the world's finite energy resources and sensibly used don't risk destroying the environment. For six months of the year the Andean village of Chal n in Northern Peru is cut off from the nearest town, Celend n. Candles are expensive so villagers used to go to bed when it got dark. Now all that has changed, thanks to the village's new micro-hydro scheme.
Hydroelectric power is a dirty word in more enlightened development circles.
But on a small scale it's quite another matter. And the power goes directly to homes, school, workshops, the health clinic, even to the local dentist. Anticipating the demand that the Chal n example would generate in the surrounding area, Intermediate Technology has funded a workshop in the town of Cajamarca to make the turbines and equipment necessary for micro-hydro schemes. Micro-hydro is bringing change to other parts of the world too. In the Himalayas, the Hilly Hydro Project has ingeniously gained World Bank funding.