Tony Woods, owner and director of SESA, was interviewed on CNN’s Big I—Ideas, Innovations, Imagination—together with Jeff Chu, writer and editor for Fast Company magazine. CNN highlights the importance of SESA’s work in Afghanistan by not only providing electricity to remote areas of the country, but also providing jobs to Afghan men and women and improving lives in remote communities.
No comments yet“In Afghanistan, living off the grid isn’t a tree hugger’s dream—it’s reality…[SESA] is lighting up Afghans’ lives, with the help from the sun and the wind,” writes April Rabkin in the April 2011 issue of Fast Company Magazine.
The article tells a story of SESA’s beginnings, successes so far, and plans for the future of community-based renewable energy in Afghanistan.
Massey University alumni Tony Woods, owner and director of SESA, is featured in the latest edition of the university’s publication, DefiningNZ. The feature story tells of how Tony came to Afghanistan and decided to build a company that is financially self-sustaining and, at the same time, bringing much-needed development to rural Afghanistan.
DefiningNZ is Massey University’s full-color publication that features articles, OpEds, and profiles of staff and alumni.
SESA published its updated brochure, which features technologies it has introduced and uses for rural electrification projects in Afghanistan. Also featured are some of the projects it has implemented in the provinces of Panjshir, Paktika and Paktiya. The brochure is available electronically and for download from the website, while print copies may be requested from the SESA office in Kabul.
Kabul Mayor Muhammad Yunus Nawandish, U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry’s wife Ching Eikenberry, U.S. Army Col. Thomas Magness and other Afghan and U.S. officials flipped a switch at sunset to light up solar-powered streetlights on one of Kabul’s most important commercial corridors on Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2010. SESA implemented the project awarded last September and staff were on hand to ensure of the project launch.
Read full news release from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
USAID news release on project launch.
No comments yetSESA recognizes that essential to any development initiative is the availability of reliable, affordable and quality electricity. We bring much-needed electrification to rural Afghanistan through renewable energy systems using the sun, wind and water. Our projects embody SESA’s long-term commitment to Afghanistan and our understanding that service and support services must extend throughout the lifetime of the project.
No comments yetSESA gains recognition in Tony Woods’ home country of New Zealand for its community-based renewable energy projects in Afghanistan. Besides providing much-needed electricity to remote rural villages, SESA also works with the Shura and community members in identifying economic activities that is anchored on existing livelihood and Afghan values. This approach not only ensures that Afghan homes get electricity for lighting and basic household appliances, but also gives the residents the power over their crops and livestock from which they get much of their income.
by Rob O'Neill, BusinessDay/stuff.co.nz, 08/08/2010
After three decades of violence, tragedy and destruction, Afghanistan is seeing the light and it could be going green.
“Wind, solar and small hydro have enormous potential in Afghanistan,” said Tony Woods of Sustainable Energy Services Afghanistan. “There’s often an assumption that developing countries can’t work with high tech. We’ve found that not the case in Afghanistan.”
No comments yetThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded the Kabul Streetlighting Project to SESA for immediate implementation. The project will consist of 28 solar-powered streetlights on a segment of road nearly 1 kilometer in length between Embassy Row and Jumhoriat National Specialized Hospital. The project is expected to support economic development, security and emergency response capabilities to the city and its 4.5 million residents.
