Microgrids energize towns

EarthSpark's microgrids are community sized electricity systems that deliver affordable, reliable, 24/7 electricity to homes and businesses in towns that have never before had any (or any reliable) electricity service. 

Community-size electricity grids powered by the sun and managed with smartgrid technology, “solar powered, smart grids”, can fundamentally change today’s energy systems. These small, clean grids are more resilient and cheaper and faster to build than the ‘big grid’ infrastructure that currently delivers most of the world’s power. 

​EarthSpark goes beyond kilowatt-hours. Deep community involvement, ‘Feminist Electrification’, local business support, demand-side management programs, and local governance all invite people to be full, equal, and active participants in their power systems.

​EarthSpark’s integrated approach to clean, smart, participatory microgrids prioritizes the community nature of power systems. As local energy becomes more relevant around the world, this participatory multi-solving will be essential everywhere. 

EarthSpark's "proving what is possible" and "de-risking by doing" proactively overcome barriers with innovation, research, and deep participatory engagement with communities - all of which enhance the sustainability and impact of energy access microgrids. ​

One of the first customers connected in Tiburon  turns on the light in her shop.

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Les Anglais, Haiti

 Working in Haiti since 2008, EarthSpark began by partnering with organizations in the small town of Les Anglais to develop a supply chain for small household-scale solar lights that could displace kerosene lamps and efficient cookstoves that could reduce charcoal consumption both delivering better energy services at a lower overall cost. While these kinds of small stand-alone systems were and remain important, everyone aspires to have higher levels of electricity. Even in the first conversations, community microgrids were discussed as an aspirational future model. Microgrids can deliver more power and can cost-effectively energize commercial and small industrial processes to not only save customers money otherwise spent on kerosene, candles and diesel but to also unlock new economic opportunities and build local resiliency.

​In 2012, EarthSpark turned on a first-of-its-kind privately operated pre-pay microgrid in Les Anglais, a small town that had never before had grid electricity. The initial grid served just 14 and then 54 customers. In 2015, EarthSpark expanded the grid to 430 connections, directly serving over 2000 people with 24-hour electricity powered primarily by solar energy and battery storage, cutting customers’ energy costs by up to 80% over previous energy sources.

The grid now serves over 500 homes and businesses, and has become a reference grid for its pioneering role in "proving what is possible" -- solar energy + storage + smarts can indeed power a town.

Want the details? Click here for the current Les Anglais grid factsheet.

Tiburon, Haiti

In 2019, EarthSpark launched its second solar microgrid in Tiburon, a small fishing town in Haiti's southern peninsula. ​The system was the first grid ever to receive regulatory approval from Haiti's newly launched energy regulator.

The grid now has over 400 connections, directly serving about 2300 people. So far, Tiburon customers have shown higher per capita consumption and higher per capita transactions across all tariff levels compared to the Les Anglais system. 

In 2022, the team expanded the grid by adding a 16.2 kWp / 77 kWh grid-connected 'distributed energy resource' (DER) solar + battery system at the health clinic to further enhance energy resiliency for the critical loads of the clinic and the adjacent telecommunications tower.

In 2026, EarthSpark's local affiliate launched a further expansion of the Tiburon grid, adding 62 kilowatts of solar pv generation to the site and fully replacing power electronics and batteries for a combined system of 173 kWp / 507 kWh.

The next six grids in Haiti - Under construction now

After the foundation building of launching first grids and conducting national microgrid market study to assess microgrid potential in 80 towns, EarthSpark worked with mayors across the Haiti's South and with national officials to structure a scale-up plan that would bring reliable electricity to 22 new towns. With financial backing from the Green Climate Fund and the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO), and additional support from the Haitian Ministry of Public Works with funding from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development bank, EarthSpark put together a blended finance project with additional grant and impact investment to meaningfully and quickly accelerate access to electricity in Haiti. 

The map below shows two operating grids (Les Anglais and Tiburon) in orange, the six grids under construction now (La Cahouane, Marfranc, Beaumont, Chambellan, Anse d'Hainault, and Dame Marie) in purple, and the other grids for which EarthSpark's consortium holds the provisionally approved bids in Haiti's minigrid public procurement "PHARES" process. An interactive version of the map is here. 

Solar PV installed in La Cahouane - 2026

Ministry of Public Works site visits to EarthSpark grids in 2025

Beaumont distribution system being completed - 2026

The Enèji Pwòp team and Jean Thaylord from EarthSpark visit a new generation site - 2025

Significant retaining walls need to be constructed for the new grids - this is the La Cahouane site being readied for solar installation - 2025

To ScalE-up Service from 2 to 24 towns, EarthSpark Launches Participant Power

After more than 10 years of advancing microgrids in Haiti, EarthSpark has launched Participant Power, a microgrid development company, to accelerate service expansion. The company, owned by EarthSpark and other social impact investors, allows EarthSpark to invite different kinds of funders to support the scale-up of solar-powered microgrids in Haiti and elsewhere.

So far, a family foundation has committed long-term impact equity and the Green Climate Fund has committed grant and long term concessionary debt to a blended finance model intended to help EarthSpark spring from 2 to 24 community energy systems in Haiti in the next 5 years. Combined with EarthSpark's existing grids, the new grids will directly serve over 80,000 people with clean, reliable, affordable electricity and unlock opportunity for people living in and around those rural towns.

The Haitian Government has granted provisional approval to bids submitted to the government's license process by the EarthSpark-Participant Power-Enèji Pwòp team for an additional 22 microgrids. Excitingly, in July 2023, EarthSpark's Haitian microgrid consortium signed contracts with the municipalities and national government to build, own, and operate the first six of these grids for a period of 20 years.

In Haiti, local affiliates Enèji Pwòp and Enèji Pèp La serve as the operations company and the asset company for EarthSpark's expansion in Haiti. Enèji Pwòp means "Clean Energy" in Haitian Creole. Enèji Pèp La means "The People's Energy" -- it was chosen to be reminiscent of "Participant Power". 

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Scaling Sustainable Energy for All:
EarthSpark International and the Case for Micro-grid Infrastructure

Our Model

Building infrastructure from scratch – where no incumbent exists – means it is possible to leapfrog directly to today’s best technologies and business models, but best practices in smart grid, tariff structures, and grid resiliency have not yet been clearly defined for the ‘energy access’ markets. Enter EarthSpark. When no low-cost, high-functionality smart meters existed on the market for EarthSpark’s inaugural grid in 2012, EarthSpark developed prototype smart meters to meet its needs. In 2013, EarthSpark spun off the smart metering company SparkMeter, Inc., which is now enabling grid operators to increase energy access and improve operations in 25 countries. EarthSpark drives practical innovation to meet the needs of the rural poor, and EarthSpark is now developing a scalable model for microgrid development and operation. Bundling technical innovation, community engagement, diverse partnerships, and novel financing, EarthSpark is building project-based change and ‘de-risking by doing.’

Smart Meters, Scalable Solutions

Globally, the electricity sector is changing. Two megatrends undergird the necessity of the transition: Climate Change and Energy Access. Worldwide nearly one billion people lack access to electricity and instead spend large amounts of money on low quality energy services such as kerosene, candles and charcoal. Each year, 4 million people die due to indoor air pollution from these inefficient sources of energy and countless more remain locked in poverty.

Ironically, important innovation in decarbonizing the global energy supply may come from remote villages that have not yet seen electricity. Where there is no incumbent infrastructure, there is an opportunity to build energy systems with today's best technologies and business models. These models that leverage clean energy, storage, smart grid, and customer participation can be adapted and transferred – South to North – to inform the evolving utility business models in established markets.

A young girl studies by candlelight in rural Haiti

Integrated Electrification: Empowering People with more than Watt-Hours

Electricity in and of itself is useless. It’s what one does with each watt-hour that is truly transformative. With highly efficient appliances, productive uses of electricity, and thoughtful demand management, not only can customers make the most of newly available electricity, operators can maximize customer value and grid revenue. EarthSpark works with communities and customers to deeply assess energy service needs and opportunities. EarthSpark also takes a ‘feminist electrification’ approach to infrastructure planning, ensuring that women’s voices and roles are important throughout the planning and implementation of the electrification process.

Microgrids, Community Resilience + Sustainable Energy for All

To meet the Sustainable Energy for All goals established by the United Nations, 40% of all new connections will come from microgrids. Around the world, local governments are looking to microgrids to harden critical infrastructure and improve resiliency. Innovation is portable, and in building a model for clean, smart, transformative community infrastructure, EarthSpark is pursuing deep solutions to both energy access and climate change. Join us!