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Tony Woods - Source: ONE News -
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In a time when businesses around the globe are feeling the pressure, one South Island company is busier than ever.
Smart energy sets up stand-alone energy systems in rural communities.
But the catch is they are installing them in Afghanistan, one of the world's most dangerous places.
Tony Woods spends much of his year in rural Afghanistan; a far cry from the hills in his home town of Timaru.
"The terrain, the roads, the weather, snow, you know it all conspires in Afghanistan - you have the coldest winters and the hottest summers so yeah it's a challenge," he says.
Last year Woods and his team overcame those challenges to install Afghanistan's first windfarm.
Ten turbines are providing power for local government buildings.
Now his latest project is to install solar power for four villages.
"If they can run their lights or watch TV and charge their cellphone without needing to start the generator then, brilliant," Tony says.
It will be central Asia's largest off-grid energy installation, four times the size of New Zealand's biggest, in Wanaka.
That was also built by Tony.
Over 400 solar panels are currently on their way to Afghanistan. Each of them is valued at over $2,500.
The risks are huge. The Taliban is never far away.
"We're very careful to sit and talk with the community very early on in the project so they know why we're there and what the timeframes will be and that we're not a threat to them or their way of life or their politics - we're just there to do the electricity system," he says.
Tony also trains the community's engineers as they look to the future.
And the future's looking rosy.
In Afghanistan still 90% of the country is unelectrified and the projects are piling up.
Barak Obama has just signed off a $180 million fund for energy systems there and Woods is well-placed to benefit.
Business is so good it can subsidise a showroom back home.
Tony's wife Jeni runs the office in Timaru while hoping the Main Street location will help more Kiwis catch on to renewable energy.
"We want to mainstream this sort of technology. We don't see it as being alternative and we don't want the market to see it as being alternative as well but as viable options," she says.
Jeni also looks after their sons while Tony spends at least six months of every year away.
"I don't spend my time worrying about him no - he's always come home so far," she says.
And when you ask Tony why he really keeps going back: "You never have a dull day at the office in Afghanistan - it really is good fun."
