Power to the Poorest

[eridani]

http://www.nationofchange.org/power-poorest-1387113707

An estimated 1.2 billion people worldwide, including 550 million in Africa and 400 million in India, have no access to electricity. Most live in rural areas where the population is sparse and incomes are low, making it uneconomical to connect homes and businesses to a grid. Nor is it feasible to generate power locally with a diesel unit, owing to high fuel costs and the need for substantial initial investment.

A stable supply of affordable electricity is a prerequisite for economic development. In fact, the consequences for people living without electricity can be dire: they may be deprived of adequate health care, or be unable to store fresh food. But one solution, based on the local use of renewable energy, requires minimal initial investment and can be expanded over time.

This “boot-strap” approach is based on the use of photovoltaics – a simple, universal, and scalable technology that is easy to maintain. Typically, in the first stage of this process, consumers would use a renewable energy source such as LED lighting, selling any surplus until they save enough money to buy lamp oil (on which Africans spend around $20 billion annually).

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This is a new opportunity. Until three or four years ago, photovoltaics were prohibitively expensive. But advances in the industry and over-production have reduced their price by as much as 75%. The cheapest system, generating two watts of power, can cost as little as $10-20 and be expanded to almost any level, depending on the size and number of photovoltaic (PV) modules and the size of the battery storage unit.

It is simple, too. A residential solar-power system consists of just three components: the PV modules, a battery storage unit, and a charge controller. Such a system can supply low-voltage DC electric power at five volts for mobile phones, and 12V for LED lighting, pumps for outdoor use, and electrical appliances such as computers and televisions.

[kristopher]

1. This story is part

...of what I consider to be the tipping point in the war on carbon.

You might enjoy reading this also:
Policy Brief #2: Recommendations on Energy for the UN General Assembly Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (OWG on SDGs)
http://www.nirs.org/alternatives/unnlgsbriefforowgenergynov2013.pdf

It isn't nearly as dry as the title makes it sound; it was posted yesterday here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/112760083

Thanks for posting.

[eridani]

2. Very good statement of general principles. Thanks. n/t