Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Only 25 percent of the 10.3 million people in the country have access to electricity, but one nonprofit organization is testing a solution that could not only change the lives of the un-electrified in Haiti, but also could be a model of how to bring electricity to the 1.2 billion people in the world still living in the dark.

EarthSpark International has built a 93-kilowatt solar-powered microgrid in the small town of Les Anglais (pop. 3,000 in the “downtown” area), which currently supplies clean reliable power to about 2,000 people.

Why a microgrid? Haiti has more than 30 existing municipal microgrids, but most of them do not work, and even when they do function they run on diesel and operate just a few hours a day, a few days a week. EarthSpark’s goal was to provide people with 24-hour clean, affordable electricity.

EarthSpark began working in Haiti providing people with small solar home systems and