E7 is an international environmental NPO comprised of the world's leading electric utilities. Major global environmental and social issues that affect the electric utility industry are considered to be the top priorities of the E7.Each E7 member considers the management of environmental issues among its highest corporate priorities, and all support the concept of Sustainable Development. The E7 electricity companies operate on the national territories of the G8 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom and United States). Membership in the E7 is by invitation. The E7 may also invite other organizations from around the world to become Partners and contribute to the implementation of the E7’s goals.
The number of E7 members from any single country is limited to a maximum of two (2) and these. must be the largest, or among the two largest, electricity producing companies, in the country that is under consideration. The E7 has a unique operational knowledge of the electricity sector. In other words, the E7’s diversity of experience and expertise complement each other granting it an all-encompassing scope of the global electricity industry. Sharing this wealth of experience with countries facing new pressures on their electrical industry is the most valuable way the E7 can contribute to sustainable development throughout the world.
Innovation
In pursuit of its mission to play an active role in global electricity issues and to promote sustainable development, the E7 carries out various types of activities. Through the E7 Network of Expertise for the Global Environment, the E7 provides human capacity building to developing and emerging country utilities, government entities, and organizations on electricity related issues. The Network’s newest activity is the E7 Micro-Solar Distance Learning Program– an innovative experiment around energy, technology, and sustainable development.
Through the E7 Network of Expertise, a human capacity building program has been established to promote long-distance education, tele-medicine, and e-commerce support in deep rural communities of developing countries. These areas are located beyond the reach of existing power and communication grids.
As part of the Micro-Solar Distance Learning Program, solar panels, or photovoltaic systems, are installed in learning centers in remote villages to power advanced information and telecommunications technologies. E7 works with local partners to train people to use and maintain these technologies.
These systems can power lights and computers, a refrigerator for vaccines and a satellite receiver-transmitter to link communities to the Internet. Because of electricity’s direct relationship to economic and social development, the E7 anticipates that the program will accelerate sustainable economic development for these communities as well. To ensure the program’s success, the E7 establishes in-country partnerships with government and development agencies.
While communities will directly benefit from individual installations, the program’s long-term goals are to make the technologies affordable to more communities by reducing the equipment’s power and cost thresholds and to offer governments and development agencies a well-tested model that they can immediately deploy on a large scale. For example, each time a solar project is installed in a community, it will be evaluated to determine ways to decrease power consumption and the number of solar panels required, thereby lowering costs. The E7 can rapidly conduct many community training sessions and enhance technology integration into social, medical and economic services that are delivered to the communities, and develop revenue sources to pay for recurring satellite use fees and other costs.
To ensure that communities will be able to continue to use these communication tools, financial sustainability plans are developed and implemented before installations and training occur. The initial Micro-Solar installations under the program are in Bhutan and the Galapagos Islands.
Impact
E7 was involved in the construction of a 70 kW run-of-river hydro power plant on the Lamchela Chu River in Bhutan. Construction was completed on this first E7 CDM project in July 2005 and the facility inaugurated in August. The villagers of Chendebji now enjoy access to electricity. The project will power more than 50 households, a dispensary and a school in the nearby village of Chendebji.
The site was chosen by an E7 working group, led by Kansai and including Electricité de France, Hydro-Québec and American Electric Power, that began studying the potential for a micro hydro project in 2001. In addition to pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, a complete environmental impact assessment was carried out in conjunction with the Bhutan National Environment Commission. The Chendebji villagers expressed their agreement with the proposed project during a public consultation held in the village in July 2003. An environmental workshop was held in July 2004 with all stakeholders to discuss the environmental clearance conditions to be implemented on-site during construction and afterwards.
Environmental benefits from the project include an expected annual reduction of carbon dioxide emissions of about 500 tons that would have otherwise occurred with diesel generation, and a reduction in consumption of firewood, which is currently used extensively. The project will also power a satellite Internet up-link for distance learning supported by the Bhutanese government. The E7 will make this distance learning technology available free of charge to potential curriculum providers, such as the Bhutan Ministry of Education and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
On May 23, 2005, the E7 project became the sixth registered project under the Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), whose dual objectives are to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to sustainable development in the host country.
Inspiration
"Sustainable Energy Development is the heart of the E7. As the world’s leading suppliers of electricity and energy services, the E7 companies recognize that they have a significant role to play in helping society achieve the goal of Sustainable Development."
The World Inquiry editorial team edited this profile from the original submission of the interviewer or other source. The views expressed do not necessarily represent Case Western Reserve University, the Weatherhead School of Management or the Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit. More >>
