By Michael D. Kane ISLA International From MASS LIVE

WORCESTER — From a co-working space in the recesses of downtown Worcester, ISLA International, a company run by a trio of North High School graduates, is quietly trying to improve the lives of the people of the Caribbean, while simultaneously looking to create a model that could bring clean energy and water to places all over the world.

Federico Sotomayor, Edwan Batista and Anthony Morocco were friends in high school who, after going their own ways for college, kept in touch via social media. Now the trio has reunited under the banner of social entrepreneurship.

ISLA International has lofty goals of making life easier on resource-scarce island nations. And Isla de Culebra and Isla de Viegues, two small islands to the east of the main island of Puerto Rico, is where it will start.

Puerto Rican born, Sotomayor and Batista moved to Worcester as a small children and attended Worcester schools.

Upon graduation in 2005, Batista attended Wentworth. Morocco headed to WPI and Sotomayor attended The College of the Holy Cross and is now studying for his master’s degree at Clark University.

Sotomayor’s family ties his given him loyalty to two places, the Caribbean and Worcester, both of which he said can be served by ISLA International.

“In studying climate change, I realized that it is the islands that are going to be hit the worst, and would most benefit from clean energy,” Sotomayor said. “Yet, that has been very difficult.”

While looking at the unique challenges of Puerto Rico, where his family still lives, that Sotomayor said he realized the technology is available to solve some of the islands problems, but it all stems from energy.

Like any island, goods are shipped in. Fluctuations in the price of oil especially hit places where all of the electricity is generated by fossil fuels that also have to be delivered by ship.

Space is limited, landfills need to be capped and Puerto Rico is currently suffering from a major drought that can cut residents off from running water for days at a time.

And yet, there are micro-solutions to these individual problems that, combined, could eradicate many of them, according to the Isla International founders. And solutions start with energy, Sotomayor said.

Primarily, ISLA International needs to generate revenue to proceed. Right now, not only is clean energy a hot commodity worldwide, but generating sustainable energy can lead to other solutions, according to Sotomayor.

For example, the company expects to sell energy back to local energy providers for decades at a set rate. No volatility means lower costs for consumers. In addition, some plans call for the islands to be able to export excess energy, creating a new revenue source.

Desalinization of ocean water could help alleviate water issues, but it requires more energy than can be produced affordably at this point. Sotomayor said his team is looking at clean-energy driven desalinization as one option.

In all, the ideas are numerous, Morocco said. They include the well-known solar and wind, but also lesser-known ideas like aerobic, bio-digestion, which Batista described as a mechanical stomach: Waste goes in, energy and usable soil comes out.

On an island where much of the waste generated is from food, its benefits are multifold: It reduces the landfill’s burden, it creates and captures methane, which can be used to produce electricity, and it replenishes soil for future growing of food.

“We’re trying to figure out as many ways to work clean energy as possible,” Morocco said. “We are finding a lot of different ways to do things. There are not a lot of companies doing that.”

“Right now, we are working step-by-step,” Batista said. “Once we get our foot in the door, we will be able to implement more systems in the Caribbean.”

It is that kind of versatility that is leading to success, the trio noted. Sotomayor has visited Puerto Rico 10 times in the past six months. With each visit, the company’s plans inch forward. Politicians are showing support, the U.S. Military, which owns some of the land in question, is considering the plans and other landowners are in discussion, Morocco said.

“Knowing the language, being able to truly communicate what you are trying to do and to listen to their needs has helped,” Morocco said.

Other energy companies have tried, and failed, to create clean energy facilities on the islands, Morocco noted; reasons for that have varied.

Like anywhere else, large scale, out of area developers are met with resistance from local residents. Residents have felt like they were being exploited by large corporations and there is a lack of knowledge about the immediate effects of clean energy would have locally, Morocco said.

“The residents do not know a lot of renewable energy,” he said. “You have to go in with solid plan and let them know how it will benefit them.”

That goes back to finding multiple solutions, which may require more work and cost more, but would be more favorable to local residents. Ultimately, the goal is to create a system of providing similar but locally acceptable solutions from island to island.

“It’s not just Puerto Rico that has this problem,” Morocco said. “We’ve looked all around the Caribbean and it is very difficult to make energy. “As we move on, we’ll look at how to implement them so we get the solid design that meets everyone’s needs.

“It’s showing proof of concept,” he said. “We need to show that not only are we here to make money, but we are here to help them.”

And that kind of attitude is part of the company’s very fabric, Sotomayor said.

Working in the Caribbean but incorporating in Massachusetts is sometimes problematic, but intentional. Massachusetts is one of a handful of states that allows corporations to register as so called “benefits corporation.”

“That legally requires us to place community and environmental impact above profits,” Sotomayor said. “We could be sued if we don’t follow that plan.”

And the trio has embraced that role.

“As long as we benefit the public, we benefit ourselves. That is the best kind of company,” Morocco said.

And it is among the “the many reasons to stay in Worcester,” Sotomayor said.

“Even though we are concentrating on islands, want to be able to give back to Worcester,” Sotomayor said.

Primarily, the city’s colleges are mostly untapped, he said. Worcester is long known as a manufacturing city, but the colleges are graduating many who specialize in modern industries then go elsewhere, when research and development and other types of work would fit well with the city.

“Something Worcester very much needs to do is capitalize on is its intellectual capital,” he said. “We don’t retain many of these students.”

And, the city continues to give back. The three friends did not rush into their current track. The idea first percolated in the back of Sotomayor’s mind for a year before he reached out to his friends. Before incorporating, they, in turn, reached out to industry experts, many from this area.

“It’s been an ongoing process,” Batista said. “We are learning as we are going.”

“The level of support we are receiving, from business professionals to experts in this industry has been amazing,” Morocco said. “Everybody has been willing to talk to us about their experiences and help us out.”

“We all have work experience, but none of us have ever run a business,” Sotomayor said. “I’m very grateful for all of the support we have received.”

Yet, having a solid plan in place is exactly what has already gotten the company noticed in Worcester. Earlier this year, the company was one of 12 start-ups that received an inaugural StartUp Worcester entrepreneur award.

StartUp Worcester is a joint program among the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, The Venture Form and Running Start, a co-operative workplace, with support from sponsors Commerce Bank and DarrowEverett LLP.

The award comes with memberships to the chamber and running start, as well as mentorship opportunities and connections to potential financiers and business partners.

Karen Pelletier, director of the chamber’s Higher Education Business-Partnerships Initiative, said the awarding committee “looked at applicants’ potential for business viability and growth, business model, potential for obtaining funding, team readiness, filling a need in marketplace and if they would benefit from the program.”

That has been a boost for a group of friends who all work full-time jobs, but who believe they can do something more.

The goals are ambitious, Sotomayor acknowledged, but “with big risks come big rewards.” For example, building a large-scale wind farm in the Caribbean would be very costly, and require much more work, but, with 40 planned towers, generating power for a life-expectancy of two to three decades, will generate billions for investors, and for the islands in which ISLA International wants to see the money further invested.

“We want to do things the right way,” Morocco said.

“We are the merging class of social entrepreneurs,” Sotomayor said. “We want to be global leaders in clean technology. We’re ready to change the world.”

IMAGE: Federico Sotomayor, Edwan Batista and Anthony Morocco, founders of ISLA International, at their workspace at Worcester’s Running Start. (Michael D. Kane | MassLive)

For more on this story go to: http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2015/07/isla_international_looks_to_ma.html