by Alec Trihzity

Living in the countryside has its attractions for many: bucolic peaceful surroundings, clean air, wind rustling through trees, sunshine painting shadows on your patio. But few really want to truly rough it at night with just a kerosene lamp and candles with which to read the Farmers’ Almanac. Most of us want to live with the conveniences of modern life, like a fan on those hot summer nights that happen all year round in these latitudes.

Sometimes, the nearest established “normal” electricity is miles away from the homestead and the cost involved in stringing up power lines and a transformer can be prohibitive. Meanwhile, the price of the electricity from the system is steadily increasing, the flow of juice is sporadically interrupted, sometimes for hours at a time, and surges and brownouts damage many appliances.

Between the Waves talked with Max Lacayo, the Sales Manager for ECAMI, a company specializing in energy alternatives for homes and businesses. Asked about the prospects for alternative energy here in Nicaragua, he smiles and says, “We think they are very good. There is increasing awareness of the need to implement alternative energy systems and the electricity grid in Nicaragua shows no signs of a feasible solution being reached in the medium term.” Alternative energy sources are a good and reliable solution.