Introducing our solar power project in Mauritania

Imagine growing up without electricity. No movies, video games, or internet. Even worse, straining to do homework by candlelight, broiling and freezing without heat or air conditioning, and watching your food spoil fast without a fridge.

In Mauritania, that’s daily life. Over two thirds of people in this Saharan country still don’t have access to the electricity grid. They rely on candlelight, firewood, or fossil fuel-guzzling generators to get by.

Classified as one of the world’s “least developed countries,” Mauritanians want and deserve access to electricity. By offsetting your carbon footprint with Klima, you help make this electricity green, not brown. Even better, your offsets help make the region’s most ambitious solar power project successful. Together, we’re reducing carbon dioxide and providing access to modern life for hundreds of thousands of people.

How offsets make green energy possible

The key to this green energy transformation? Harnessing the power of the Saharan sun. In Mauritania, the Sahara desert covers most of the country. And with an average of 7 days of rainfall each year, the sun is an extremely reliable energy source.

Even with all of those advantages, solar power wasn’t the obvious choice for Mauritania. Here, and across Africa, building coal-based infrastructure is a cheap and easy way to expand the grid. It’s the default, and often the only choice available.

Offsets helped Mauritania make a different choice and bring new green tech into the region. Our Mauritania Solar Power Project stretches nearly 600,000 square meters across the landscape, and powers a full 15% of the country’s energy needs. That means over 100,000 people now have access to power and the advantages in health, education, and empowerment that brings. It’s part of an ambitious effort to power 25% of the country through renewable sources alone — a huge step towards healthy, climate-positive energy for this growing nation.

Planting the seed for a wave of sustainable power

The project also partnered with a local university to create an academic course sharing the knowledge and skills needed to build and maintain renewable power facilities. They host interns at the solar power plant and give students hands-on experience. That means your offsets help displace fossil fuel infrastructure immediately, and spread the knowledge needed to build more solar power in the future.

This is a massive shift of technology and resources, one that helps bring clean power and light to communities that need it and plants the seed for a wave of sustainable power across Africa.

This project wouldn’t be possible without funding from carbon offsets. For countries like Mauritania, expanding access to energy is critical. Offsets help make sustainable expansion the smart choice — improving lives on the ground and helping protect the whole planet.

Want to support our Mauritania Solar Power Project and offset your carbon footprint right now? Awesome news! Simply download Klima from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and you’re ready to go.