CLEAN (Community Led Energy Action Network)

CLEAN is a mobile app that recommends renewable energy services using machine learning, while supporting renewable energy solutions and digital equality in underserved communities.

The CLEAN app takes in user information such as location, energy usage, weather, and budget and uses recommendation systems to match individuals, households, schools, or businesses with renewable energy options that best satisfy their energy needs while protecting the environment. CLEAN further advocates for climate action by presenting the benefits reaped from switching to clean energy -  the app provides projections of environmental impact and visualizations of reductions in energy usage costs and carbon emissions. To elicit communal support for climate action, CLEAN also functions as a social network, allowing users to share progress of sustainability goals, read reviews, share stories about climate change, and connect with others. To promote sustainability and further decrease the carbon footprint, CLEAN will incorporate a section for sustainability-related advertisements, such as renewable energy providers, electric vehicles, clean packaging, and solar panels. Income generated from the app will be given to organizations/nonprofits that aid underserved communities to make renewable energy and technology more accessible to all.

The devastating effects of climate change are undeniable. Temperatures and sea levels are rising, droughts are becoming more severe, ice caps are melting, natural disasters are growing in strength, and the habitats and migration patterns of countless animals are gone. Globally, the burning of fossil fuels including coal, natural gas, and oil for electricity and heat is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2019, the world hit a high of 36.7 billion metric tons in carbon dioxide emissions. In order to reach zero-emissions by 2050, it is imperative that citizens of the world change their lifestyle and strategies to be more eco-friendly and sustainable.

Renewable energy such as wind power, solar energy, geothermal energy, and hydropower don’t emit greenhouse gases and have a less detrimental impact on the environment than fossil fuels.  But there is a problem: renewable energy is inaccessible in many areas, especially in underserved communities, due to the lack of resources and awareness. The areas affected most by climate change often lack the technological access and means to attain renewable energy. In areas where clean energy is available, renewable energy is not  widely used because of lack of information on available options and costs. People who would like to switch to clean energy often find it daunting to research and compare renewable energy options based on their needs, affordability, and environmental impact. The CLEAN app aims to solve these problems.

This solution aims to serve a global audience by providing accessibility to renewable energy services regardless of class, while raising awareness and popularity of renewable energy applications and extending support to the underserved population with the ultimate goal to combat climate change. My solution serves the general public by easily connecting users to cleaner, more affordable energy options currently available,  as well as underserved communities by providing financial support for building renewable energy and digital equality. My target population is ultimately everyone including those who would like to switch to clean energy from conventional fossil fuel, those who want to lower their electric bills while saving the environment, and people in underserved areas who lack technology and renewable energy access. For underserved communities, many have to choose between heat or food, not to mention access to technology such as electronic devices and internet connection. Not only will affordable and accessible clean energy options lessen their energy costs burden, it will also improve their overall living standards.

I’ve spoken to some members in my local community and done research about why or why not people use renewable energy, their knowledge about clean energy and climate change, and what might be helpful in an app as sustainability solutions. I’ve also spoken to someone from a rural village in India, who described the lack of internet access and available information on renewable energy in their communities, allowing me to keep the needs of these underserved areas in mind.

My solution is at the early prototype stage of development. I’ve made mockups and maps of app functions, features, and user interfaces to help me visualize, design, and organize plans for the app. I’ve analyzed information collected from research to identify goals and evaluate feasibility. I’ve also done some research on different programming languages, cloud platforms, methods to build the recommendation systems, software, languages, and social networks. I’m in the process of designing a basic version of the app as a prototype, brainstorming additional app features, and making different versions of mockups. As I progress in the prototyping process, I will continue to investigate how a sample of users feel about the solution and examine the practicality of the design.

The CLEAN app uses machine learning by utilizing recommendation systems to match renewable energy option attributes to user preferences and data. CLEAN also uses a social platform to connect people with similar profiles to share, discuss, review, and promote renewable energy as a community. CLEAN plans to use regression for environmental impact projections, and statistical plots for the visualizations of reduction in energy costs and carbon emissions.

CLEAN is in the prototyping stage, so it has not been launched. In the next year, I hope to serve at least 10,000 people.

• Impact Goal 1: 10,000 users using the CLEAN app.
• Impact Goal 2: Generate $1000 to give to organizations building digital equality/renewable energy solutions in underserved communities.
• Impact Goal 3: Raise awareness of renewable energy, climate change, and sustainability.

• Impact Goal 1 Indicator: Download statistics of the app.
• Impact Goal 2 Indicator: Use statistics of revenue gained from the app.
• Impact Goal 3 Indicator: Increases in renewable energy use, renewable energy and climate action discussion on CLEAN and social media, decrease in carbon emissions from energy.

The possible barriers would be technical and financial. Due to the multifunctionality of the app, an effective and coherent app may be difficult to execute. Developing and growing this app, as well as operational costs for running the technology involved in CLEAN, may also be expensive.

I am qualified for this prize as the HP Girls Save the World Prize is open to solutions addressing sustainability issues and led by girls aged 13-18. My CLEAN app addresses energy sustainability issues by making renewable energy options more accessible, affordable, and equitable. The CLEAN app provides users with recommendations for renewable energy utilities to suit their needs and minimize their impact on the environment, making renewable energy more accessible, effective, and convenient while raising awareness of alternative energy and global warming, and supporting organizations building digital equity and renewable energy solutions in underserved communities. Therefore, the goals of CLEAN app align with HP’s commitment to climate action, human rights and digital equity.

I would use The HP Girls Save the World Prize to advance my solution by investing in professional software development, consultation, and testing, resulting in a more robust application that can interact with users efficiently to maximize climate impact and ultimately delivering on CLEAN’s pledge for global sustainability.