Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

Sunrise Spectrum is Tangelic's flagship initiative dedicated to breaking the cycle of energy poverty in rural Ghana by providing reliable, affordable, and sustainable clean energy solutions. This initiative addresses the critical energy needs of communities without consistent access to electricity, enabling them to thrive economically, socially, and environmentally.

At its core, Sunrise Spectrum takes a community-led approach, ensuring that solutions are tailored to meet the specific needs of the people it serves. The program delivers a multi-faceted impact by integrating solar home systems, clean cookstoves, and solar-powered microgrids that power essential infrastructure, such as schools, health centers, and small businesses. These systems offer a reliable alternative to hazardous and costly energy sources, significantly improving health outcomes, particularly for women and children, who are most affected by indoor air pollution from traditional biomass fuels.

Key Program Components:

Solar Home Systems: Provide households with consistent electricity for lighting, charging, and basic appliances, enhancing safety, educational opportunities, and daily productivity.
Clean Cookstoves: Address the dangers of indoor air pollution by replacing open-fire cooking with cleaner, efficient stoves that reduce carbon emissions and fuel usage, empowering women with safer, healthier cooking options.
Community Microgrids: Deliver renewable energy to entire villages, powering community hubs, schools, and health clinics, strengthening local infrastructure and enabling essential services.
A distinguishing element of Sunrise Spectrum is its focus on economic empowerment. The program trains local residents in solar energy installation, maintenance, and entrepreneurship, creating job opportunities and fostering the growth of a sustainable, local clean energy sector. This training ensures that the systems remain functional long-term and builds local expertise that contributes to the region's resilience and self-sufficiency.

Impact Highlights:

Improved living conditions and public services through reliable electricity.
Reduced health risks associated with traditional cooking methods.
Increased educational access for children who can now study after dark.
Economic uplift through job creation and small business support.
The initiative also plays a vital role in addressing the intersection of energy access, climate change, and gender equity. By prioritizing rural women in job training and leadership roles, Sunrise Spectrum fosters inclusivity and amplifies women's voices in community development.

The initial implementation sites, including Soalepe/Bunyanto (West Gonja Municipality) and Yolyiri and Kodanyina No. 1 (Sawla/Tuna/Kalba District), serve as a blueprint for expansion. These communities face significant challenges due to their remote locations, reliance on biomass for energy, and limited economic opportunities. Through Sunrise Spectrum, they are gaining the tools to build a sustainable future.

With a holistic approach to energy access, economic empowerment, and environmental sustainability, Sunrise Spectrum exemplifies Tangelic’s mission to create lasting, community-driven solutions that uplift underserved communities, helping them unlock their potential and build a brighter, cleaner future.

How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:

['Replaces/avoids GHGs (e.g., projects that replace sources of GHGs, such as the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat, transport, or other energy uses)', 'Reduces GHGs (e.g., projects that reduce sources of GHGs, such as through efficiency or other changes in consumption)']

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

Sunrise Spectrum empowers climate-vulnerable communities by prioritizing inclusive access to clean energy and creating economic opportunities in underserved rural areas. Women, youth, and marginalized groups, who are disproportionately affected by energy poverty and climate change, are central to our initiative’s design and implementation.  

We provide women and young adults with training in renewable energy installation, maintenance, and entrepreneurship, equipping them with marketable skills and leadership roles within their communities. This approach not only fosters economic independence but also ensures long-term system sustainability through local ownership and expertise. Our clean cookstove program directly improves the health and daily lives of women and children by reducing exposure to harmful smoke from traditional cooking methods.  

Representation is also a core value at Tangelic. Our leadership and operational teams reflect diverse perspectives, with roles held by women, people of color, and local community members who bring lived experience and cultural insight to guide our work. We partner with local organizations to further amplify the voices of those we serve and ensure their needs shape our solutions.  

By embedding equity and inclusion into our mission, Sunrise Spectrum advances climate justice by empowering underrepresented groups to lead sustainable change in their communities.