low-cost solar brightens lives in the developing world - solar powered street lights

Ten years ago, Catherine Lucie supervised a $1,500 solar subsidy.
Lighting equipment in rural areas of Mpigi in central Uganda. The 60-
Watt roof solar panel system can be in four-room, off-the-grid house.
The father in the family wants the lights in the office, bedroom and main room.
But his wife successfully defended the lights in the room where she was cooking, the safety lights outside and the lights in the chicken house.
After all, more light will produce more eggs for chickens.
Lucey recalled how something as simple as light profoundly changed family life.
In fact, after solar
With electric lighting installed, the family flourished by selling more eggs, and over time they bought a cow, a goat and a pig.
The woman even started a school and a women's literacy club.
"This is such a simple, basic intervention," Lucey said . " He now runs a solar light nonprofit called solar Sisters.
Today, solar lights make similar differences in the lives of millions of people in the developing world --
When Lucey is installed in Mpigi, their cost is only a fraction. (
Related: "Sunshine in the dark ")
Thanks to advances in technology, simple solar lights cost only $10 to $20 each, and the price of sockets with multiple brightness settings and charging your phone won't be much more expensive.
For daytime use, there are even cheaper options, such as a $2 to $3 bottle bulb made of plastic bottle purified water and bleach, sealed on the roof.
Water helps to disperse sunlight into the room when chlorine prevents mold growth.
Cheap fossils in rich countries
Fuel power from the grid is almost universal, and solar power is still seen as an expensive energy option.
This is especially correct when considering a roof photovoltaic installation large enough to power electronicsand appliance-
It costs tens of thousands of dollars to pack home.
But when powering homes and communities without electricity for the first time, calculus makes a big difference in order to provide basic needs such as lighting and batteriesphone charging.
The development agency found that solar energy is one of the most expensive sources of energy.
Not only provide power, but also provide effective choices for a better life.
In addition to candles and candles, private companies and non-profit organizations are taking advantage of huge global demand. An estimated 1.
6 billion or more
Instead of a public grid, the world's fifth-largest population relies on other lighting methods such as kerosene and candles.
Nearly 0. 6 billion of energy
The poor live in Africa. (
Related: "solvable problems in energy poverty ")
Buying kerosene fuel can put pressure on already tight home budgets, which often means that when children can learn and parents can work indoors, there is little or no light at key nights and at night.
Kerosene also produces toxic smoke and soot that can damage the lungs and cause other serious health problems.
Kerosene lamps, especially temporary ones, are also dangerous.
Every year, thousands of children and adults in the developing world die or die badly in kerosene accidents.
It is unclear how fast the solar light market is growing, but India's 2011 census alone estimates how fast.
There are 1 million families with solar lighting equipment.
Example scope of operation :(
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"Dark Haiti" and "Lincoln Park working for" world powers ")
"The solar bulb only works during the day because the sun is the light source, but it is also useful at night if the moon is bright or has a light source (nearby)
For example, "a street lamp," said Katrina Cardenas, the interior director of a one-liter light . ". U. S. -based d.
Light Design is one of the pioneers in the distribution of robust solar lamps and now sells products in 40 countries, especially in Sub-
Sub-Saharan Africa and India.
In just five years, the company has issued more than one copy.
4 million lanterns, priced from around $10 for student lights to around $45 for sturdy hand-held lanterns with four light settings and batteriesphone charger.
The collaboration with the shell * Foundation aims to implement a market awareness program and support local entrepreneurs.
Donn Tice, chief executive, said that although d. light is a for-
Profit company, its social mission is to help people replace kerosene lamps, cheap flashlights and other disposable items with safer, cleaner and more permanent lanterns.
"If these products want to survive and finish their work in development, they must be strong and durable --
Tice said on the phone at the company's Delhi office. Atul Mittal, d.
Light's India marketing director says a family can recover costs in three to four months, provided it buys a kerosene lamp for $2.
Spend $3 a month on fuel.
The survey conducted in India shows that students' learning time has increased and their grades have improved.
Toyota energy in Ghana is known for selling energy.
But use the same network to sell lamps lights.
The company sold 5,453 solar lanterns and small household solar systems in 2011, mainly in northern Ghana, but also some near Togo and Nigeria.
Founder Suraj Wahab.
He expects the numbers to double this year. (
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A lantern with three light settings, a small plug-in
In solar panels and batteries
The phone charger costs $30.
Toyota Energy found that "very basic" lanterns can change the lives of rural residents, Wahab said.
"They have the desire to live a good life like everyone else and are willing to pay for it," he said in an email . ".
In fact, he said that some customers pay for their system by building businesses to charge villagers' mobile phonesCell phone battery.
In rural areas without public electricity, people have to rush to find places and ways to charge their phones.
From light to economic development families in Mpigi, Uganda, who use solar energy to power eggs
The sales business inspired Catherine Lucie to form an American company. S. -
Two years ago, the non-profit organization called solar sisters trained women to become entrepreneurs selling solar products in Africa.
The Women's Economic Opportunity initiative of the ExxonMobil Foundation provides a key Grant to initiate a comprehensive
Scale enterprises. (
Related: "The solar project in Nigeria is both failed and successful ")
The Solar Sisters are targeting women because they are usually the ones who manage household utilities.
The nonprofit now has 143 entrepreneurs who have sold over 3,500 solar lighting products in Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan, with an estimated 17,600 people benefiting.
According to industry rules of thumb, a solar street light system will benefit an average of five people in a family.
Lucey spoke frankly about the challenges, which included significant investments in training, in part to bridge technical knowledge --how gap.
About 50% of women who are interested in becoming entrepreneurs have passed the first stage of training, and only about 40% of women end up doing well, she said.
Others are less involved, perhaps selling a few lights a month to supplement other income.
The Solar Sister provides a "business in the bag" for entrepreneurs, including inventory, marketing materials, ledgers, bags and T-shirt.
The organization also provided Microcredit.
Offering products-
The front line and the entrepreneur pay back within 30 days after getting cash from the sale.
"This allows them to start a business without capital," said Lucey . ".
"They can get a full refund if they can't sell the product.
"A successful entrepreneur usually sells 10 products per month at an average retail price of $45 (
Student lights, lights/phone chargers, one or two home systems)
Get a 10% commission, which is $45.
This is an annual income of $540, at least in line with Uganda's per capita income.
Lucey said women's participation was in line with their needs.
"We have a lot of people who sell less and they are happy to make $10 a month to make a living or pay tuition for the fifth child at home, and some who sell a lot more. "(
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She gave an example of a woman named Grace whose husband earns $250 a year as a consultant to families with AIDS.
Grace became a sister solar entrepreneur, doubling her family's income.
Money is needed at home: Grace and her husband raised 10 children, 6 of whom were relatives who died of AIDS.
The extra income enables all children to go to school.
At this point, market saturation is not a problem, says Lucey.
For example, Solar Sister has a team of 15 entrepreneurs in Mityana, Uganda, "looks like a typical rural community with dirt roads, mud bars
Thatch with walls
Houses with roofs and chickens wandering around.
"But the rural town has a population of 350,000 and is growing rapidly. And the worst.
The situation with this type of business is that the entrepreneur disappears with a small amount of inventory, and when a woman wants to sell fish from the roadside market to replenish her income, the Solar Sister encounters the worst situation.
"It didn't work very well for her, to say the least, the product wasn't for her customers, and the lights were a bit of a stink for us, Lucie said.
She said it prompted the solar elder sister to introduce a policy of "must be returned in good condition. (
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* Shell is a sponsor of the National Geographic Energy Challenge program.
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