The efficiency of solar power cells and declining price of storage batteries means it has become possible for isolated villages and whole islands to generate their own electricity off-grid. Indeed, in the aftermath of the two hurricanes that struck Puerto Rico, Elon Musk tweeted that independent solar power linked to batteries could rebuild that island’s entire electricity system.
Across Asia and in other parts of the developing world, many villages still lack an adequate and reliable supply of electricity. Often governments cannot afford to help every isolated community and banks are reluctant to lend.
ADB Institute Dean Naoyuki Yoshino and Farhad Taghizadeh–Hesary of Keio University have proposed local communities might be able to put together enough seed money to jumpstart a village-level energy project to improve their living standards and productivity.
GRANT STILLMAN
Source: The Himalayan Times
