LIFEVILLAGE FROM ENVISION BUILT IN COTE D’IVOIRE

"Infrastructure in a crate."

Designed by architects, LifeVillage(TM) is a self-contained building that can be shipped in 2 containers and rapidly assembled at any location, no matter how remote. It is powered by solar panels and contains a battery system for energy storage. It also has its own water treatment system.

LifeVillage(TM) is the product of Envision Solar International, the company founded by architects Robert Noble, AIA, LEED AP, and William Adelson, AIA, to further their goal of making solar energy more available and more aesthetically appealing.

Noble: "The LifePort(TM) and LifePod(TM) products were always intended to be enabling technologies for photovoltaics and other clean technology. The LifeVillage(TM), by including energy storage and water treatment, adds utility for an off-grid solution for remote areas without access to traditional infrastructure."

Adelson: "We were captivated by what occurred in Africa with the telecommunications industry…With the use of mobile telephones, the system is highly decentralized; effectively, satellite technology evolved more quickly than did the ability to install infrastructure in Africa."

Noble: "The goal is to plant LifeVillages(TM) anywhere decentralized critical infrastructure is needed, starting in Western and Central Africa…"

A demonstration project is planned for Cote d'Ivoire, on the west coast of Africa. An entire village will be built.

To demonstrate that LifeVillage(TM) is not only possible but practical, the demonstration project, at the specific request of the Cote d'Ivoire Ministry of Energy, will have both a small medical clinic and a schoolhouse. There will be housing for a resident doctor or nurse and housing for a teacher. Envision Solar is working with Scripps Health and Hospitals of San Diego on the clinic.

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Envision Solar Creates LifeVillage(TM) Modular Structures with Self-Contained Electricity and Water Treatment for Use in Areas with Limited Infrastructure; Demonstration Project Planned in Cote d'Ivoire, Africa
September 25, 2008 (Envision Solar/Business Wire via MarketWatch)

WHO
Envision Solar International; (Robert Noble, AIA, LEED AP, and William Adelson, AIA, founders); ZBB Energy Corporation; Other partners (Nucon Steel, Kyocera, McElroy Roofing, Worldwater & Solar Technologies)

WHAT
LifeVillage(TM), created by Nobleand Adelson, is "infrastructure in a crate," a modular self-contained, multiple use structure that can be delivered where shelter is needed to provide community buildings powered by solar energy with battery backup and with their own self-contained water treatment system.

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WHEN
A LifeVillage(TM) structure can be assembled and activated within two weeks of arrival.

WHERE
- Prototype will be constructed/tested in the U.S. prior to deployment at 100 villages in Cote d'Ivoire.
- Envision Solar and its founders/architects are based in La Jolla, Calif
- ZBB Energy is based in Wisconsin.

WHY
- LifeVillage(TM) includes:
(1) LifePort(TM) modular steel-frame structure,
(2) LifePod(TM) modular steel-frame structure,
(3) 1.5-to-4 kW solar panel capacity,
(4) Long-lasting ZESS-50TM zinc battery storage system from ZBB Energy Corp.
(5) A self-contained water treatment unit that will capture and recycle water.
- LifeVillage(TM) can be shipped in 2 shipping containers and assembled on-site.
- Nucon Steel will provide the structure framing.
- Kyocera will provide the solar panels.
- McElroy Roofing will provide the standing seam metal roof.
- Worldwater & Solar Technologies will provide the water purification and pumping components.

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QUOTES
- Noble: "The LifeVillage(TM) structures can be used to create medical clinics, schools, housing for doctors and teachers, cell, mobile telephone, radio, TV, WiFi, and WiMax facilities and transmission. The combination of international building code engineered buildings, solar energy generation and battery storage provides all that is needed to improve health, safety, education, economics and general quality of life around every project or team has planned…"
- Adelson: "We hope that the LifeVillage(TM) product will provide renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure for growth and advancement of underdeveloped areas."