Nonprofit leverages Gurobi to cut solar design time, lower costs, and expand clean energy and technology access in Peru

Gurobi Optimization, LLC, the leader in decision intelligence technology, today highlighted the work of Light Up the World (LUTW), a Canadian nonprofit social enterprise, which has leveraged Gurobi’s mathematical optimization solver to bring solar energy and Internet access to remote communities in Peru.

By applying Gurobi to optimize solar system designs, LUTW dramatically increased efficiency and impact — reducing design times from days to minutes, lowering costs, and reinvesting savings into community-focused projects.

“With Gurobi, now that we have satellite Internet, I can input real usage data from the community and generate a fully optimized design that’s both technically sound and cost-effective,” said Aaron Cohen, Executive Director at Light Up the World. “It gives us confidence that the systems we install are the best possible fit.”

Optimization Driving Real-World Impact

Before using Gurobi, LUTW’s engineers relied on Excel-based calculations and manual testing, a time-consuming process that risked overdesigned or inefficient systems. After integrating the solver through the Gurobi Gives Back program, which provides licenses at no cost to qualifying non-profits, LUTW was able to:

• Reduce design time from 1–2 days to just 10 minutes, accelerating system deployment.
• Optimize systems for cost and performance, ensuring both technical reliability and affordability.
• Reinvest savings into community initiatives, such as a brand-new computer lab in the village of Huarcaya, giving children access to laptops, digital literacy instruction, and Internet connectivity.
• Support other NGOs by offering rapid and accurate off-grid energy designs, enabling partners to deliver effective solutions without specialized technical expertise.

“We’re not just doing our work better, we’re enabling other organizations to do their work better too,” Cohen added.

“Light Up the World is a powerful example of how optimization can drive real social impact,” said Duke Perrucci, CEO of Gurobi Optimization. “By applying advanced modeling to complex energy and logistics challenges, LUTW is delivering more value to communities and enabling broader, positive change.”

To learn more about how Light Up the World is using Gurobi to help communities gain access to energy, technology, and education, read the complete case study.

Source: BUSINESS WIRE