Photon Energy Foundation is a Dutch non-profit organisation focusing on the development of local communities by providing clean and safe solar power solutions that help to electrify households and to ensure clean drinking water supply. Using the application of PV systems we electrify rural regions, while cutting-edge water management technologies enable us to provide clean drinking water. Our projects improve the lives of local communities by giving them the means for a healthier and sustainable lifestyle.
With our projects we are keen on fulfilling our mission of bringing clean and affordable solar power solutions and fresh drinking water to the people worldwide. To do so, we are constantly broadening our portfolio of projects that we support, while further exploring the energy and infrastructure needs of remote communities globally.
Photon Energy Foundation’s mission is to improve living standards of people in the developing world by delivering individually customised solar power solutions to non-electrified regions as well as providing suitable water technology solutions to ensure accessibility to fresh drinking water.
Our ultimate aim is to ensure a healthy and sustainable lifestyle for remote communities using renewable and sustainable energy sources. We aim to empower and transform local communities and help lift households out of poverty by delivering customised solar power and water management solutions. Our intension is to free resources that are urgently needed in the developing world. In this way households can spend a higher proportion of their income on improving their livelihood.
Just as remote off-grid communities need sustainable power solutions, developing countries need sustainable, long-term projects to help transform the lives of their citizens. We believe that instead of one-off donations, local communities must be truly transformed through long lasting activities. We advocate development through enabling a healthy environment, encouraging local entrepreneurship, supporting education, and prolonging hours of household and business activities.
29 per cent of the world population has no access to clean and safe drinking water at home. 84 per cent of those people live in rural areas. If there is no access to clean water, communities are forced to drink from water sources that are frequently contaminated with, amongst others, bacteria, herbicides or pesticides. Moreover, people often have to cover impressive distances to fetch water, a task usually assigned to women and young girls. Not only does this consume a lot of their time, it also harms their health because of the heavy load they have to carry on a regular basis as well as preventing them from attending school.
Even when water is available, the quality is often far from safe and drinkable. Nonetheless, since it is the only source available, people are left with no choice other than consuming this water. The health hazards suffered from drinking unclean water include cholera, diarrhoea, under-nutrition and parasites. Nearly 1 out of 5 deaths of children under the age of 5 worldwide is caused by diseases developed after drinking contaminated water.
Since we believe that clean drinking water should be available for everyone, we bring suitable water treatment technologies to remote communities worldwide.
The goal of our projects is to electrify communities and to provide clean and safe drinking water. Our intension is to work together with local partners and non-profit organisations, in order to work as efficient and fast as possible. We cooperate with organisations on the ground as well as commercial and financial institutions globally to provide financial support and human resources.
We currently invite like-minded entrepreneurs, decision makers and industry leaders willing to work together in long-lasting partnerships that share our mission and approaches on improving the lives of communities.
Until 2012, the children in the Ugandan village of Butega – Mityana had to carry two 5-liter canisters full of water from the local water pump to the school every morning. To do this they had to climb a hill to access the water source and cover a distance of 450 m in the scorching heat.
Photon Energy Foundation joined a long-term project by a partner organisation from the Czech Republic. Solar technology for a small solar PV system that delivers electricity and powers a water pump has been provided. The water pump fills the local reservoir with 2000 litres of water within 8–10 hours by using the abundant Ugandan sunlight. The solar power system electrifies the school as well as a small guesthouse that is rented out to tourists and thus provides necessary funding for school operations.
Five years after commissioning the solar installation, the Ugandan school continues to enjoy the electricity from the solar system as well as the clean water that it helps pump. Moreover, the awareness of the benefits of solar applications among the local community is spreading and further improves the perception of alternative energy resources. This project made local citizens realize that with supervision and regular maintenance solar systems are applicable, efficient and socially beneficial in small and detached areas where grid electrification is still uncommon.
Photon Energy Foundation believes that clean energy and renewable resources will enable a global transformation towards a healthy and sustainable future. Since habits and attitudes are established in early childhood, we believe in introducing the concept of an environmentally conscious lifestyle to the youngest generations, increasing their immediate exposure to and experience with clean energy. In this light, in 2014, Photon Energy Foundation installed solar panels on the roof of a kindergarden in a suburb district of Prague, Czech Republic. Photon Energy Foundation ensured the mounting as well as regular maintenance of the solar panels. Besides the technology, a monitor has been installed in the school foyer in order to display the amount of electricity produced by the solar power plant and to explain the concept of transforming sunlight into energy to the children. Another benefit of the solar panels is that the electricity produced by the solar system lowers the energy bill of the building, thus releasing more funds for children facilities and educative trips.
The solar installation has been going through regular preventive maintenance provided by Photon Energy Foundation, ensuring that the effects of the project are long-lasting and the benefits for the children are maximized.
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Anastasia Hotar, Chairwoman of the BoardAnastasia Hotar has been with Photon Energy since 2010, starting as a public relations manager. Anastasia’s background is in media relations and PR, while her activities and passions have always been concentrated around renewable energy and social entrepreneurship and roused by her genuine devotion to solving the existing complexities of energy access and power distribution worldwide. |
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Mark Crandall, Board MemberMark Crandall has extensive expertise in renewable energy industry, having founded Continental Wind Partners LLC, a global developer and installer of large-scale wind power plants. Previously, Mark co-founded Morgan Stanley’s energy business in the early 1980s, while in 1993 he became a founding partner of Trafigura, a global energy trading company, which grew during his tenure to €25 billion in sales and 1,000 employees in 58 offices worldwide. |
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Boguslawa Cimoszko Skowronski, Board MemberBoguslawa Cimoszko Skowronski has an impressive international career, starting with a BS degree from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She worked in investment banking, corporate finance and as fund manager. Boguslawa founded multiple companies and foundations including the Foundation for Technology Entrepreneurship and CMS Corporate Management Services in Zurich. Boguslawa is passionate about providing assistance to start-ups and is interested in different cultures. |
Photon Energy Foundation does not charge fees for project supervision or management. Being a non-profit organisation with a charitable ANBI status in the Netherlands allows us to minimise administrative costs and to channel the maximum amount of resources in the realization of our projects.
The ANBI status is a Dutch tax status allowing granting tax exemption to donors and partners in the Netherlands. We obtained this status because we spend 90 per cent or more of our resources on the actual projects, thus keeping our administrative costs at minimum.
Stichting Photon Energy Foundation can be found in the Dutch registry here.
Let us know how you would like to help transforming the lives of remote communities; get in touch!
Barbara Strozzilaan 201
1083 HN Amsterdam
Netherlands
E: contact@photonenergyfoundation.org
T: +31 20 240 2570
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