retroremakes
January 12th, 2010, 19:40
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2010/01/500x_eggenergy1_504x379.shkl.jpg (http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/4/2010/01/eggenergy1_504x379.shkl.jpg)Created by a team from MIT and Harvard, Egg Energy (http://gizmodo.com/tag/eggenergy/) is taking the Netflix style subscription model and applying it to a very unique for-profit business: supplying energy for populations in developing countries (http://gizmodo.com/tag/developingcountries/).
I'm not sure about the value of a dollar in Tanzania, but the Egg Energy's service seems like a decent deal. For a $27 first-year subscription, customers will get their home wired for electricity and receive a fully-charged, relatively compact battery that can be swapped out for a fresh one at a cost of 40 cents.
The company explains in its executive summary that its target customer spends $5 per month on kerosene and $3 per month on AA batteries, with an average total of $96 per year for lighting and the use of a radio. But with eight swaps per month, the annual cost of the service in total is $65. "Switching to EGG-energy therefore saves a typical household $30.60 a year on its lighting and radio needs," says the company.
The first Egg Energy distribution center is already up and running on a well-trafficked route in rural Tanzania. They have acquired 60 customers since November and plan a rapid expansion in the coming year. [Egg Energy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=111568831303#/pages/EGG-energy/111568831303) via Eart2Tech (http://earth2tech.com/2010/01/12/egg-energy-the-netflix-of-batteries-for-the-developing-world/) via @Timoreilly (http://twitter.com/timoreilly/status/7677276784) via @TomRaferty (http://twitter.com/TomRaftery)]
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More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/tNdqNonK9yM/egg-energy-takes-netflix+style-approach-to-supplying-power-in-the-developing-world)
I'm not sure about the value of a dollar in Tanzania, but the Egg Energy's service seems like a decent deal. For a $27 first-year subscription, customers will get their home wired for electricity and receive a fully-charged, relatively compact battery that can be swapped out for a fresh one at a cost of 40 cents.
The company explains in its executive summary that its target customer spends $5 per month on kerosene and $3 per month on AA batteries, with an average total of $96 per year for lighting and the use of a radio. But with eight swaps per month, the annual cost of the service in total is $65. "Switching to EGG-energy therefore saves a typical household $30.60 a year on its lighting and radio needs," says the company.
The first Egg Energy distribution center is already up and running on a well-trafficked route in rural Tanzania. They have acquired 60 customers since November and plan a rapid expansion in the coming year. [Egg Energy on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=111568831303#/pages/EGG-energy/111568831303) via Eart2Tech (http://earth2tech.com/2010/01/12/egg-energy-the-netflix-of-batteries-for-the-developing-world/) via @Timoreilly (http://twitter.com/timoreilly/status/7677276784) via @TomRaferty (http://twitter.com/TomRaftery)]
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More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/tNdqNonK9yM/egg-energy-takes-netflix+style-approach-to-supplying-power-in-the-developing-world)