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Electrifying India, With the Sun and Small Loans
A few years ago, the hundred or so residents of Paradeshappanamatha, a secluded hamlet in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, gathered along the central pathway between their 22 densely clustered homes, and watched as government workers hoisted a solar-powered streetlamp. As the first display of electricity in the town, it was an object of mild interest, but, being outside, the light didn’t help anyone cook or study, and only attracted moths.
- Region
- South Asia
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Elon Musk: Only a Carbon Tax Will Accelerate the World’s Exit from Fossil Fuels
His message: only a carbon tax—not innovation, conservation, or renewable energy—will accelerate the transition from carbon-producing fossil fuels to sustainable energy.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
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World Bank, IFC Unveil Off-Grid Lighting Solution for Nigeria
The World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have unveiled an off-grid solar power solution for Nigeria tagged Lighting Africa.
- Categories
- Energy, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- renewable energy, solar
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Uruguay makes dramatic shift to nearly 95% electricity from clean energy
In less than 10 years the country has slashed its carbon footprint and lowered electricity costs, without government subsidies. Delegates at the Paris summit can learn much from its success.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
- Region
- Latin America
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Billionaires Launch a Massive Clean Energy Fund, but Can the World Wait for Its Breakthroughs?
Here's some terrific news for early-stage energy entrepreneurs everywhere: a powerful group of investors wants to invest in your ideas.
- Categories
- Energy
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A New Kind of Irrigation Could Boost African Farming—and It’s Powered by the Sun
Pioneered in Israel, drip irrigation saves water and fertilizer by delivering droplets of water to the base of plants. But off-the-grid farmers aren't able to use the technology without expensive diesel generators.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- renewable energy, solar
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How Africa Is Hacking Its Energy Crisis
At a small dispensary in a village just outside Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, I stared in disbelief as I watched health care provider, Recho Mengo, expertly balance a cell phone in her mouth so that she could free her hands to measure a pregnant woman's belly. The phone's flashlight was providing the only source of light in a facility that has no power. I couldn't help but think back to my own pregnancy less than two years prior; the situations were like night and day.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- renewable energy, solar
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Hyacinths and Sawdust Used to Combat Cooking Pollution
A brew made from sawdust and water hyacinth flowers may help reduce the millions of lives lost across the developing world from the fumes of ramshackle cooking equipment.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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