The “Solar in a Tube,” or SIAT, uses a 20 watt roll-out flexible solar panel and a battery storage unit to provide power for aid workers, researchers and travelers in remote locations.

The concept for this product was developed through GreenMountain’s involvement with Engineers Without Borders. Tyler Palmer, President of GreenMountain and head of the EWB West Coast region was particularly aware of the limitations of similar products currently on the market. “From our own experiences and those of our colleagues, we realized that the available remote power options didn’t meet the needs of today’s travelers and aid workers.”

The SIAT provides a bunch of useful features in a convenient size and shape. Compared to similar products the design features over two times the energy storage capacity in a 40% smaller package. The roll-up design allows for a larger surface area for solar cell charging, and other features include a 12V LED Light, a 120V AC plug and 240 watt-hours of battery storage capacity, enough to run a laptop for over 10 hours.

All these features came in handy when GreenMountain engineer Dave Youmans took the SIAT to Tanzania last August. While he worked with an Engineers Without Borders team to assist a community in the construction of a medical dispensary, Dave used the device to power several key electronic devices. “The SIAT was very convenient for traveling and stood up to a lot of abuse. It ran my computer for longer than heavier units I’ve used in the past. I used it run my laptop, recharge camcorder batteries and light up a room – and it worked great for all.”

Seeing as how solar power is on the verge of getting very cheap, I can see this sort of thing (and future models that provide even more energy) being absolutely key to lifting the developing world out of poverty without destroying the planet. We need a way to provide energy to these people without burning more gas/coal/oil.

It also wouldn’t hurt if people already very addicted to oil kick a bit of the habit by using things like this.