NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

SolarAid, the international development charity, has today announced the launch of a new pilot project that will provide solar lighting to all homes in a single super-rural Malawi community, with a view to proving a model that could bring renewable energy to all super-rural households across the continent.

SolarAid will equip every household in Ntchisi, a largely off-grid district in central Malawi, with pay-as-you-go solar home systems and provide access to a period of free lighting. Households can either buy the solar home system or rent the device, paying only for the energy used. The pilot will run for 12 months and cover 500 households.

Photo courtesy of David Monje.