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R/£ Despite more investment, solar power is not reaching the poor
February 22, 2008 Edition 1
LONDON: A surge in investment in solar power is bringing down costs of exploiting the alternative energy source, but affordability problems still dog hopes for the 1.6 billion people worldwide without electricity.
The sun supplies only a tiny fraction - less than one tenth of 1% - of mankind's energy needs. But its supporters believe a solar era may be dawning, boosted by western funding to combat oil "addiction" and climate change.
Governments from Japan to Germany and the United States are helping the public wean themselves off fossil fuels.
An average German household, for example, can earn more than R23 000 a year from subsidies to encourage the installation of solar panels - double their electricity bill - and pay off all costs within 10 years and earn a pure profit for a further 10.
But there are few handouts in developing nations where it could be argued that solar power is more relevant - in sunnier countries where many people have no electricity at all.
A scientific body which groups academies worldwide - the InterAcademy Council - said efforts to curb climate change should target vast numbers of people who lack basic energy.
"It's sad that 1.6 billion people live without electricity and 2-3 billion use energy in a primitive way very damaging to health," said Steven Chu, a Nobel laureate physicist based at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-chairman of the report for the Dutch-based body.
Low incomes and low subsidies, if any, can make clean energy a hard sell in developing countries.
In the Indian state of Karnataka private firms, backed by state government subsidies, have, over the past three to five years, been pushing solar power for households in towns and cities, including giving discounts on power bills if solar is installed.
The picture is very different for rural Indian communities that until now were dependent on kerosene or paraffin lamps for lighting, having no access to electricity.
"Kerosene is quite heavily subsidised but has limited availability in some rural areas, which has helped solar PV (photovoltaic) sales," said J P Painuly, a senior energy planner at the Denmark-based Risoe National Laboratory.
"There are some solar PV programmes that provide an extremely limited capital subsidy. It's not at a scale that makes it viable. Solar PV is still really expensive, more expensive than kerosene."
Worldwide about 1.5 million people die annually from indoor pollution caused by faulty lighting and cooking equipment.
The more expensive panels sell because of the health benefits, together with the promise of a much brighter source of light than paraffin lamps so users can work and make money after dark, or read and educate themselves or their children. - Reuters
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