Our lives are filled with smartphones, computers, appliances, and other things that run on electric power. As a result, it is easy to forget that more than 2 billion people live without electricity. Providing electricity to people in the developing world is a daunting task. But many of these people live in sunny places, where solar power provides a good solution.
One small company – known as “d.light” – has been working for nearly a decade to provide solar power to the developing world, one customer at a time. Their product is a small system that includes two hanging lamps and a portable lantern that lasts for 15 hours on a charge. The cost per system is about $120.
Given the target market for these systems, purchases often happen through micro-financing institutions. Many customers gain access through a “pay-as-you-go” system that uses scratch cards, like those used for mobile phone minutes. Lack of electricity is one element of pervasive poverty in the developing world. Solutions must combine both creative technology and creative financing.
The non-profit company SolarAid has installed more than one million solar lights in Africa and is now selling more than 50,000 a month. There are many barriers for market penetration but education and distribution remain the most significant.
Opportunities for improving the lives of billions of people by providing electricity are very large, and it is still quite early in the story of this important effort.
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Solar Making Big Strides to Power the Developing World
Photo, taken April 16, 2013, co0urtesy of the University of Salford Press Office via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.