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India’s big move into solar is already paying off
The price of solar power has plummeted in recent months to levels rivaling that of coal, positioning the renewable source as a viable mainstream option in a country where 300 million people live without electricity. Solar prices are now within 15% of coal, according to KPMG. If current trends hold, the consultancy predicts electricity from solar will actually be 10% cheaper than domestic coal by 2020.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- solar
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The Developing World Faces a Silent Killer. Could a $1 Solar Light Help?
Every day at around 6pm, 40 families living in a remote corner of Andhra Pradesh in southeast India – a 6km walk from the nearest road – would be swallowed by darkness. With no access to electricity, sunset was a non-negotiable curfew – going outside was dangerous, people couldn’t cook and children were unable to do their homework.
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- Energy
- Region
- South Asia
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OPIC and Greenlight Planet Partner to Expand Off-Grid Energy Access in the Developing World
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. government’s development finance institution, signed an agreement withGreenlight Planet to finalize $5 million in OPIC financing to support the scaling up of Greenlight Planet, Inc, a provider of affordable off-grid solar energy systems to homes and businesses across the developing world. Greenlight Planet’s global development starts with a passion for delivering clean, affordable energy to underserved communities, paired with a sustainable business and distribution strategy. Today, they impact 15 million users across 40+ countries.
- Categories
- Energy
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Bill Gates’s Clean-Energy Moon Shot
It’s hard to think of a tougher challenge than accelerating humanity’s transition to nonpolluting energy sources and limiting global warming, especially in a world with abundant fossil fuels and fast-growing energy needs.
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- Energy, Technology
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Samsung to Launch Pasha Centre-Like Digital Villages In Kenya, Others
Samsung said that it will be launching Pasha Centers-Like Digital Villages in Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania this year that will focus on the challenges in undeserved and rural communities, provide people in this areas with access to ICT so they can learn about and utilize educational and health solutions, reports Footprint to Africa.
- Categories
- Energy, Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- solar
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Could Solar-Powered Drones Deliver Electricity to the Developing World?
Distributed energy systems are a good idea for homes that aren't hooked up to the grid. But distributing solar panels to remote areas in the developing world is hard. That's why Mobisol, a German installer, is testing whether drones could do some of the heavy lifting.
- Categories
- Energy
- Tags
- renewable energy, solar
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This Solar Innovation by a Swedish Artist Uses Surprisingly Simple Technology to Save Lives
Petra Wadström, a Swedish designer and artist now in her 60s, doesn’t have an engineering background. Back in 2005, when she came up with the idea for Solvatten—a piece of equipment that makes contaminated water safe to drink—she also didn’t know much about solar power.
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- Energy, Health Care, Technology
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Your Cheap Solar Lamp is Garbage
It’s easy to think of “the poor” in two-dimensional, homogenous terms and rattle off assumptions like "They’re poor people, aren’t they happy with anything?" or "Isn’t something better than nothing?" Incorrect. As the charity research organization SolarAid once put it, “The quickest way to fix a problem is the best,” and in most cases, that means quality.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Tags
- Base of the Pyramid, solar