Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

Chedza Solar Backpack is an innovative, eco-friendly solution designed to empower students in rural and off-grid communities across Africa by providing access to clean, renewable energy. Equipped with integrated solar panels, the backpack captures sunlight during the day and stores it in a portable power bank. This energy can then be used to power LED study lights, charge mobile phones, tablets, and other small electronic devices, enabling students to study after dark and access digital learning resources without reliance on the electrical grid.

The project addresses two pressing challenges:

Educational access and performance – By eliminating the barrier of poor lighting and charging facilities, students can complete homework, access online learning, and participate in the modern digital economy.

Environmental sustainability – By replacing kerosene lamps and other fossil-fuel-based lighting, the project reduces carbon emissions, improves indoor air quality, and fosters a culture of renewable energy adoption from the grassroots level.

Since its launch in 2020, the Chedza Solar Backpack has reached thousands of students, creating social, environmental, and economic impact. It supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

The vision is to scale this innovation across Africa, ensuring that no child’s education is limited by lack of light, and that every community can take part in the transition to clean, sustainable energy.

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How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:

1) What changes because of the project (Theory of Change)
Baseline: Students rely on kerosene/paraffin lamps and ad-hoc phone charging (often diesel or grid).

Intervention: Solar backpacks provide daily clean electricity for study lights and device charging.

Result: Fossil fuel use (kerosene/diesel/grid kWh) is avoided, lowering CO₂e emissions.

2) Main GHG impacts
Direct reductions (Scope 1 & 2 avoided):

Kerosene lighting displaced. Small wick lamps emit ~2.52 kg CO₂ per liter burned.

Grid/diesel charging displaced. Phone/torch charging shifts from fossil sources to solar.

Upstream/embedded emissions (Scope 3):

Emissions from manufacturing, transport, and end-of-life of backpacks and batteries.

Net impact: Avoided emissions from use phase minus embedded emissions.

3) Quantification method (simple and defensible)
A. Kerosene displacement (dominant effect)

Assumptions (adjust with field data):

Lamp fuel rate: 0.03 L/hour

Emission factor: 2.52 kg CO₂/L

Average lighting hours replaced: H hours/day

Per-backpack annual CO₂ avoided:

Avoided CO₂
=
𝐻
×
0.03
×
365
×
2.52
  
  
kg CO₂/yr
Avoided CO₂=H×0.03×365×2.52kg CO₂/yr
Example values

Conservative (H=2): 55.2 kg CO₂/yr

Moderate (H=4): 110.4 kg CO₂/yr

Optimistic (H=6): 165.6 kg CO₂/yr

B. Device charging displacement (optional add-on)

Phone charge ~10 Wh; 1 full charge/day → 3.65 kWh/yr.

If grid intensity ~0.7 kg CO₂/kWh (diesel-heavy), then ~2.6 kg CO₂/yr avoided per backpack.

C. Embedded emissions

Use supplier LCAs or proxies (battery + electronics + textile). If not available, apply a placeholder range 10–40 kg CO₂e per backpack and refine once LCA data is in.

Payback: at 110.4 kg CO₂/yr avoided, embedded 30 kg CO₂e is “paid back” in ~3–4 months.

4) Scale to your deployment (10,000 backpacks; moderate scenario)
Use-phase avoided: 110.4 kg × 10,000 = ~1,104 tCO₂/yr

+ charging displacement (optional): +26 tCO₂/yr → ~1,130 tCO₂/yr

Minus embedded (placeholder 30 kg each, once): 300 tCO₂e (one-time)

Net Year 1: ~830 tCO₂e avoided

Net Year 2+ (no new embedded): ~1,104–1,130 tCO₂e/yr

Over 4-year life (moderate): ~4,400–4,520 tCO₂e net avoided

(Replace placeholders with your measured hours, grid factor, and LCA figures for precision.)

5) MRV plan (Monitoring, Reporting & Verification)
Baseline survey: Household lighting sources, fuel spend, charging practices.

Usage logs: App/QR check-ins or periodic phone surveys on nightly hours and charges.

Fuel displacement evidence: Spot audits of kerosene purchases; photo records of retired lamps.

Sampling & verification: 5–10% random checks per quarter; partner school sign-offs.

Data to metrics: Convert hours → liters → kg CO₂ using stated factors; document assumptions.

Reporting cadence: Semi-annual dashboards; annual third-party review where feasible.

6) Risks, leakage & how we manage them
Rebound: Extra light hours increase learning but don’t raise fuel use (since solar).

Fuel switching: If households still burn kerosene for other rooms, reductions are lower → we measure lighting hours actually replaced.

Device failure: Spares, warranty, and repair training to keep systems active.

End-of-life: Battery take-back and recycling partners to minimize disposal emissions.

7) Co-benefits (non-GHG but important)
Better study time and safety after dark, reduced indoor air pollution, household savings on fuel, and climate education embedded in program delivery.

Best Estimate of GHG Avoidance/Reduction of This Project (Tonnes CO2 Equivalent/Year):

Sustainable Development Goals:

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

Chedza Solar Backpack project directly benefits communities in rural, off-grid, and economically disadvantaged areas, where access to reliable electricity is limited. These areas are disproportionately affected by educational and economic inequalities, and often underrepresented in national development agendas.

Key impact pathways include:

Girls and Young Women –

In many rural settings, girls carry a heavier share of household chores, leaving evening hours for study. Reliable solar lighting extends safe study time without exposure to harmful kerosene fumes.

Reduced household spending on fuel can free resources for school fees, uniforms, and menstrual health products.

Students with Disabilities –

Accessible charging enables assistive devices (e.g., tablets, e-readers, audio devices) to function consistently.

Solar lighting improves mobility and safety after dark.

Low-Income & Marginalized Households –

Eliminates the recurring cost of kerosene and phone charging services, which disproportionately burden poor families.

Builds resilience by enabling small-scale income generation, e.g., phone charging for neighbors.

Remote & Isolated Communities –

Addresses geographic inequality by delivering technology where grid expansion is slow or economically unfeasible.

Promotes inclusion in digital learning and national educational programs.

By targeting these groups, the project closes access gaps, improves educational equity, and contributes to long-term social and economic empowerment.

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