Comprehensive Analysis: ATA's Solar Project in East Timor

This report analyzes the solar energy project undertaken by the Alternate Technology Associations (ATA) in East Timor, a nonprofit organization focused on utilizing alternative forms of energy. The project aimed to address the lack of electricity in approximately 35% of East Timorese households by providing renewable solar electricity, particularly in rural areas lacking access to the national grid. The report outlines the project execution plan, including objectives, scope, financial strategies (primarily funded by Google Impact Challenge), and design plans. It details the project management methodology, which involved partnerships with local organizations, village committees, and the training of local solar technicians. The report also addresses the installation and logistics plans, project risks such as language barriers and procurement challenges, and the risk management strategies employed. Finally, it offers recommendations for future improvements, such as utilizing bio solar cells and reshaping the solar spectrum, and concludes that the project has significant positive impacts on the lives of the East Timorese people.

Running head: ATA: SOLAR ENERGY PROJECT IN EAST TIMOR
ATA: Solar Energy Project in East Timor
Name of the Student
Nam of the University
Author’s note

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ATA: SOLAR ENERGY PROJECT IN EAST TIMOR
Executive Summary
The main objective of this report is to analyze the solar project of ATA in East Timor. It
discusses about a well defined problem that East Timor was facing and the main aim of the solar
project. This report sets out a well defined project execution plan for setting up the solar energy
system in East Timor. This report also gives recommendation on what can be done in the future
for the betterment of this project.

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ATA: SOLAR ENERGY PROJECT IN EAST TIMOR
Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................3
Problem Statement...............................................................................................................3
Project Execution Plan.........................................................................................................3
Project Objective.............................................................................................................3
Scope................................................................................................................................4
Financial plan...................................................................................................................4
Project Design Plan..........................................................................................................4
Project Management Methodology..................................................................................4
Installation Plan...............................................................................................................5
Logistics Plan...................................................................................................................6
Project Risks....................................................................................................................6
Risk Management or Control Plan..................................................................................6
Recommendation.................................................................................................................7
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................7
References............................................................................................................................8

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ATA: SOLAR ENERGY PROJECT IN EAST TIMOR
Introduction
ATA stands for Alternate Technology Associations. It is a nonprofit organization. It aims
to make the most utilization of the alternative form of energy. This report focuses on a solar
project by ATA in an underdeveloped country called East Timor. This report explains about the
project execution plan of this solar energy project.
Problem Statement
The Alternate Technology Associations is a nonprofit organization. Its project in East
Timor is a solar energy project. Solar energy is an alternative form of energy that is required in
every place. It is a renewable energy. East Timor is the neighbor of Australia and it is an
underdeveloped country. About thirty five per cent of the houses in East Timor do not have the
supply of electricity ("MGT5IPM Introduction of the ATA and Its East Timor Project", 2017).
This country does not have access to the national electricity grid.
Project Execution Plan
Project Objective
The small scale solar project in East Timor aims at providing the houses at East Timor
with solar electricity that is renewable in nature. The main project that they have worked for ten
years is Village Lighting scheme that aims to supply clean solar powered basic electricity and
lighting for the households that are located in the rural and remote areas and have no access to
the national grid of electricity("MGT5IPM Business Case & Planning", 2017). And now they are
planning to expand it.

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ATA: SOLAR ENERGY PROJECT IN EAST TIMOR
Scope
The scope of the Solar Energy project in East Timor is to provide solar electricity to at
least 800, houses in the country. Training of around 30 to 40 technicians in the locality and set up
village committees also fall under the scope of the project.
Project Completion Time: 2 years
Financial plan
The financial worth of the project was 300,000 dollars from the year 2014 to 2016.
Google Impact Challenge was the main fund providing source for this project. Previously ATA
had relied on donations from the members and small donations from any other nonprofit
organizations and groups ("The Alternative Technology Association » ATA solar projects in
East Timor", 2017). But Google had contributed the most in this project that helped ATA to
successfully develop the solar energy project in East Timor. The East Timor Friendship groups
had also played an important role in funding the solar energy project.
Project Design Plan
ATA had planned to design a solar system that was specific for the purpose of this
project. It needed a lot of technical designing and developmental work. This was carried out by
long term volunteers of ATA (Kerzner, 2013). These volunteers had electronics skills. A microbe
controller in the system was developed that was extremely powerful in nature. This was very
hard to get tampered.
Project Management Methodology
A systematic approach has been followed by ATA to carry out this solar energy project in
East Timor. Their previous Lighting project had helped them to develop a good idea about the

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country (Burke, 2013). ATA had a partnership with a local organization that had helped them in
the planning and execution of this solar energy project. The initial plan was to enhance the solar
lighting scheme.
The ATA team planned to work with the local communities in the village where they
were planning to install the system. They had planned to set up a village committee that was
responsible for the management of this project in that area (O'Connell, 2012). This village
committee would be responsible for maintaining the solar system installed at every house and
also for purchasing spare parts and repairing any broken part.
In order to make this plan sustainable and successful, ATA trained local solar technicians
in every village. These technicians were trained to install the system and regularly maintain the
systems. They were also trained to repair the systems and take any backup or support form
ATA’s partner organization. This team was able to provide support for any type of complex
process. ATA had planned to design database and solar map for tracking of the ATA’s present
and future projects (Larson & Gray, 2013). This was a new plan that has not been done before in
East Timor.
Installation Plan
There were two types of season in East Timor: wet and dry seasons. The plan of ATA
was to install the systems in every house in two dry seasons. They followed a backward plan.
They had planned to remunerate their partner organizations in order to carry out this plan.
Careful planning and sequencing was done to install the systems in 12 different villages of East
Timor over three different districts.

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ATA: SOLAR ENERGY PROJECT IN EAST TIMOR
Logistics Plan
They had planned that the vehicles that took the systems for installation could take only
certain number of systems at a time. There was only one truck that carried out this function. So
there was proper planning so that the truck is able to take the systems with no delay and made
sure that the condition of the local roads was all right.
Project Risks
The main risk seen in this project for ATA is their inability to speak the Timorese
language. They had the local organization that had been involved in a water management project
and had idea about the local community. They even know how to manage and handle huge
amounts of money. But the risk lies in the indirect communication that takes place in East Timor.
Even if the language was translated to ATA, they could not get idea about the indirect
communication of the people (Bahadori & Nwaoha, 2013). Another main risk or challenge faced
by the project is the purchasing or procurement issue. ATA aimed to get high quality solar
energy equipments that were not possible to be delivered by the local organization or the
Timorese organization.
There is also some kind of exchange rate risk involved in case of importing the
components.
Risk Management or Control Plan
Some of the members of ATA have their own electronic businesses. The other members
are involved in designing and technical activities so ATA can make their own devices. Some of
the components were taken from China following the process of ethical supply chain
management. The main regulator of the system was designed in Melbourne. While making the

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budget plan an allowance was made for the exchange rate risk due to the fluctuations in the
foreign exchange.
Recommendation
This project can be improved in the future by using bio solar cells. Researchers have also
developed photo bioelectrochemical cells that use the reaction of photosynthesis. Another
method that can be used is reshaping of the solar spectrum for turning it into electricity. These
methods are modern and advanced methods that can be used for the purpose of generating
electricity.
Conclusion
This report concludes that the solar energy system in East Timor will help the natives of
the place in several ways. This project report explains the steps to be taken in order to execute
the plan of this project.

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References
Bahadori, A., & Nwaoha, C. 2013. A review on solar energy utilisation in Australia. Renewable
and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 18, pp.1-5.
Burke, R. 2013. Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA.
Kerzner, H. 2013. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and
controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Larson, E.W., & Gray, C. 2013. Project Management: The Managerial Process with MS Project.
McGraw-Hill.
MGT5IPM Business Case & Planning. 2017. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
list=PLE5HAQYUwLAd1tTH_UdzWEleUKVLyHoKw&v=wxrKRPz7MJc, August 18, 2017.
MGT5IPM Introduction Of The ATA And Its East Timor Project. 2017. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB7qM8s8bpY, August 18, 2017.
O'Connell, M. 2012. (Solar) power to the people of Timor Leste. ECOS, 2012(168).
The Alternative Technology Association » ATA solar projects in East Timor. 2017. Ata.org.au.
https://www.ata.org.au/ata-solar-projects-in-east-timor, August 18, 2017.