Mars Spirit Rover Gets Energy Boost From Cleaner Solar Panels
Adapted from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
ScienceDaily (Feb. 17, 2009) — A small but important uptick in electrical output from the solar panels on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit this month indicates a beneficial Martian wind has blown away some of the dust that has accumulated on the panels.
The cleaning boosts Spirit’s daily energy supply by about 30 watt-hours, to about 240 watt-hours from 210 watt-hours. The rover uses about 180 watt-hours per day for basic survival and communications, so this increase roughly doubles the amount of discretionary power for activities such as driving and using instruments. Thirty watt-hours is the amount of energy used to light a 30-watt bulb for one hour.
“We will be able to use this energy to do significantly more driving,” said Colette Lohr, a rover mission manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. “Our drives have been averaging about 50 minutes, and energy has usually been the limiting factor. We may be able to increase that to drives of an hour and a half.”
Spirit has driven about 9 meters (about 30 feet) since getting around a rock that temporarily blocked its progress on Jan. 31. The team’s goal in coming weeks is to navigate the rover over or around a low plateau called “Home Plate” to get to an area targeted for scientific studies on the other side of Home Plate.
JPL’s Jennifer Herman, a rover team engineer, found the first evidence for the new cleaning event in engineering data from the Martian day 1,812 of Spirit’s mission on the Red Planet (Feb. 6, 2009) and confirmed it from the following two days’ data. Before the event, dust buildup on the solar array had reached the point where only 25 percent of sunlight hitting the array was getting past the dust to be used by the photovoltaic cells. Afterwards, that increased to 28 percent.
“It may not sound like a lot, but it is an important increase,” Herman said.
The last prior cleaning event that was as beneficial as this one was in June 2007. Winds cleaned off more of the dust that time, but a dust storm in subsequent weeks undid much of the benefit.
Spirit’s twin rover, Opportunity, drove 135.9 meters (446 feet) on Feb. 10. Opportunity’s cumulative odometry is 14.36 kilometers (8.92 miles) since landing in January 2004, including 2.58 kilometers (1.6 miles) since climbing out of Victoria Crater on Aug. 28, 2008.
Spirit and Opportunity have been operating on Mars for more than five years in exploration missions originally planned to last for three months. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Scientists developing spray-on solar panels
February 6, 2009 Researchers in Australia have started a three-year project to develop a spray-on coating for solar panels and more efficient cells that are less costly than today’s PV. Australian National University (ANU) is working with new Australian solar company Spark Solar and Finnish materials company Braggone Oy on the method, which could be commercially available by 2011.
Solar cells are typically made of silicon coated with a thin layer of silicon nitrate – which is used as an anti-reflective agent to increase cell efficiency. However, these types of cells are costly to produce because the anti-reflective layer must be deposited in a vacuum.
The new method uses a spray-on hydrogen film and spray-on anti-reflective film. Instead of needing a vacuum, the cells travel along a conveyor belt where the films are sprayed on. The simplified process could reduce about $5 million in capital equipment costs per medium-sized factory with these savings resulting in cheaper solar cells. Testing of the process is now taking place at the ANU, and the technology should be available toward the end of 2011.
“It will provide an opportunity for significant manufacturing cost reductions by replacing the conventional, expensive manufacturing techniques that are currently employed industry-wide with the spray-on films,” said Dr Keith McIntosh from ANU, the chief investigator in the first project.
Improve efficiency
The second project will investigate methods to change the surface of a solar cell to improve its efficiency. Presently, solar cells on the market range from 5 to 24 % efficient. Most of the cell energy is lost at its surface where the material is roughened. This is to increase the surface area that can absorb solar energy. However, roughening the material also disrupts the cell’s crystalline structure in the process.
Once an optimal surface is found, the cost of the cells would remain the same, but their efficiency and power would be improved. This project will be run in conjunction with German solar company GP Solar and led by chief investigator Dr Klaus Weber from ANU. “We aim to develop a range of industry-ready cell fabrication sequences that will offer significantly improved conversion efficiencies” Dr Weber said.
The projects are a further extension of solar research at ANU, which is recognized internationally as a leader in the research and development of photovoltaics. The Australian Research Council under the Linkage Projects scheme supports both projects.
19 Million cells a year
New Australian Company Spark Solar will build a $70 million high-tech solar cell factory in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) to commence solar cell production in 2010. The factory will be designed to produce 19 million solar cells a year enough to power 20,000 homes, with exports worth more than $400 million to Europe’s booming solar markets.
Spark’s Interim CEO Dr Michelle McCann said that in the current booming solar market it is essential for photovoltaic companies to be dynamic and innovative in order to be successful. “Spark plans to stay at the forefront of advances in manufacturing technology via innovations likely to arise from collaborative research projects such as these,” Dr McCann said.
Global demand for solar cells is so strong that Spark is now finalizing a contract to sell half its output to one of Europe’s biggest solar panel manufacturers. Dr McCann said, ”The market for solar cells is enormous and there are not enough cells being made globally to meet demand. Even before the factory is built, we expect to pre-sell almost all of our output for the first five years.”
The global market for solar cells is growing at a faster rate than markets for laptops, mobile phones and digital cameras.
Last year, the global photovoltaics market grew by 70 per cent, to A$ 21 Billion (US$ 13.8 B). Dr McCann said ”Australia is a world leader in solar technology. But sadly the small manufacturing base that exists here means that a lot of really excellent talent and research has gone overseas in the past. We want to change that.”
The company will initially export 90 per cent of its product and will be Australia’s biggest manufacturer of solar cells. A state-of-the-art factory, designed and pre-fabricated in Germany, will be built next year, with the solar cell production beginning in early 2010.
Paul Evans
Environment Texas Wants More Solar Power (Big Surprise)
By Melanie Pang in Environment
Environment Texas held a press conference today in front of the Mirabeau B. Sales Center at the corner of Waugh and Hyde Park to, excuse the pun, shed light on the positives of solar energy, specifically in terms of promoting “green” collar job growth in the solar power industry and reducing energy costs in Texas.
“Texas is somewhat behind, quite frankly,” said Ralph Parrott, founder and owner of Alternative Power Solutions in Houston. He admits that Texas needs to give the same level of incentives that California, Colorado and other states offer in order to get over the hump of upfront costs.
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| Alejandro Savransky, Eric Goodie, Ralph Parrott and Joe Meppelink |
For those in the dark (sorry, more bad puns), photovoltaic (PV) systems are what is used to convert our blazing Houston sunlight into electricity. Discovery Green, City Hall and clusters of parking meters are already equipped with the new technology, while a proposal awaits authorization on a large system set out on the roof of George R. Brown Convention Center, says Joe Meppelink, principal at MetaLab and adjunct assistant professor at the University of Houston College of Architecture.
The Mirabeau B. Sales Center holds the place for its forthcoming condominiums and served as the poster-child and backdrop for the press conference. Designed by MetaLab, the meters do indeed spin backwards here, said Meppelink.
The plug for solar power is not solely to encourage commercial use, but also home owners as well.
“If the system increased your property value by $30,000, that will not increase your property taxes,” said Parrott, “and that’s a direct bottom line increase on your property value that pays itself back day one.”
Another proposal would make sure that homeowners’ associations across the state would be relinquished of their right to ban solar panels on their properties. Some are already taking progressive action; the mayor’s office even sent a letter to HOAs, encouraging them to allow solar on their properties, Parrott said.
According to Environment Texas’ report, “Wildcatting the Sun: A Texas Solar Roadmap,” the Renewable Energy Policy Project estimates that, by 2015, a national move to encourage PV could create as many as 5,500 jobs in Texas.
“What we see is not necessarily new jobs creation, but the innovation of existing jobs,” said Eric Goodie, Director of Workforce Development, Houston Area Urban League.
“Construction will be less shovel-oriented, and more solar-panel-installation oriented.”
One would hope.
Goodie and the Houston Area Urban League are collaborating with Houston Community College and Lone Star Montgomery College to help create specific academic career paths for students interested in the field, as well as reaching out to other members of the community in need of a job.
The income that “green collars” can expect vary, from six-figures to $20/hr, depending upon one’s education and experience in the field. Programmers and technical services managers can anticipate an annual salary ranging from $65-80,000, meanwhile, with outside sales, the sky’s the limit, Goodie said.
And what green initiative would be complete without the obligatory Obama mention:
Goodie said, “President Obama’s administration is aggressively pursuing going green, and we look to really enhance the scale of economy with those available resources to train and employ consumers that walk through the doors of the Houston Area Urban on an ongoing basis.”
Alejandro Savransky, Field Organizer for Environment Texas, announced that two of the 15+ bills filed at the state level in support of solar technologies would result in the installation of 500,000 solar roofs.
“What we need to have is more incentives so that it’s affordable for people to actually make the investment,” Savransky said. He also stated that solar power can be stored as a liquid that heats up, which can then be released, producing steam that can be used to power turbines and provide energy, etc.
It seems that solar energy can power just about anything, so why not power our pocketbooks? You know, while the sun’s at it and all.
Akeena & Enphase Introduce AC Solar Panels
Akeena Solar Inc. and Enphase Energy have announced a strategic partnership to develop and market Andalay solar panel systems with ordinary AC house current output instead of the high voltage DC output that is produced from most solar panels. Andalay AC panels are expected to cost less to install and provide higher performance than ordinary DC panels.
Under the agreement Akeena will purchase a minimum of 5,000 microinverters in each of 2009 and 2010, and Enphase will supply up to 100,000 microinverters to Akeena during this same time frame. These microinverters will be built into Akeena’s Andalay solar panels.
Akeena estimates that up to 25 percent of the total costs necessary to design and install a solar power system can be eliminated with solar panels that have integrated racking, wiring and grounding, and that operate with standard AC wiring. According to Enphase research, panels outfitted with Enphase microinverters boost solar energy collection by 5 to 25 percent.
As a result, systems using Andalay AC solar panels could be less expensive to design and install, and have the potential to provide higher efficiency and better long-term performance for both residential and commercial customers.
“Since George Westinghouse founded the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1889, the world’s electric grid has operated on AC power. But the solar industry has always installed DC panels. A big challenge for every solar installer has been to design, install and wire high voltage DC solar panels on rooftops,” said Barry Cinnamon, CEO of Akeena Solar. “Now — finally — we can dramatically simplify the design and installation of a rooftop solar system with standardized AC solar panels.”
RenewableEnergyWorld.com talked with Raghu Belur, co-founder and vice president of marketing at Enphase about the company’s product at Solar Power International in October where there was a lot of buzz surrounding the micro-inverter. To hear more from Belur about the micro-inverters, play the video below.
Investments in solar and wind power urged
BAHRAIN should invest in wind and solar power before considering other renewable energy sources, a UN official said yesterday.
Wind is the most preferable because the equipment is available and it is cheaper than solar energy, said UN Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) programme development and technical co-operation division managing director Dmitri Piskounov.
“But according to a recent assessment there will be a much better improvement in solar panels and they will be more economically feasible.
“Still we must think about energy efficiency on the existing resources we are using.
“In Unido, we have proved in theory and practise that through better efficiency energy use can be reduced by up to 30 per cent in industry.”
He said hydropower is another renewable energy source worth considering.
“The cost of moving from tradition to renewable energy can be costly, but mini hydropower stations are do-able and we are working in places such as Rwanda on this,” he said.
“We are supporting the transfer of these (clean) technologies and we are looking for partnership with financial institutions to help with these programmes.”
He said biofuel (plant materials used as fuel) as an energy source was not economically effective at the moment and could affect food supply and increase prices.
“We feel it has many implications and so we should be cautious,” he said.
“We are now looking at the third generation of biofuel technologies which we feel will increase the efficiency of biofuel and make it more economically viable.”
Mr Piskounov said although caution was needed there was actually enough food grown to supply demand but the problem was that up to 50 per cent of crops were lost post harvest due to underdeveloped infrastructure that were not able to process and distribute food.
He said if losses could be reduced even by five per cent there would be a huge difference in the amount of food supplied.
Referring to nuclear power, Mr Piskounov said Unido with various organisations and investors were conducting a global energy assessment to see which energy combinations would prove the best.
The first presentation of this assessment will be made in June at an energy forum in Vienna.
“We will try to elaborate different scenarios of the energy mix to make some progress to see what will be the best energy sources,” he said.
“Renewable energy and energy efficiency is crucial for any country aside from atomic energy.”
Mr Piskounov was speaking at a Press conference held alongside the opening of the International Forum on Cleaner Technologies for Economic Development.
The three-day event concludes tomorrow at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Nazar Al Baharna said Bahrain was supporting Unido’s initiatives and other projects that could help in reducing emissions of unhealthy gases.
“Bahrain participated at a conference in Bonn, Germany (last week) for establishing an International Renewable Energy Agency, as well as supporting all initiatives in promoting renewable energy programmes,” he said.
“We hope this gathering will come up with programmes that can be linked with business in Bahrain.”
Solar Power Lighting
Lighting is important to everyone. When the sun goes down we expect the lights to be just a click away. Sometime we may take advantage of our lighting and miss it when it is out. Lighting is used in many different ways. You can have different wattage bulbs of your lighting as well as different colors. Your lighting source may be a lamp, an overhead light, a porch light and a flash light, just to name a few. Light can be taken with us or left behind. The source that powers your light is what this article is about. Learn about indoor and outdoor lighting using solar power and ways you can get this type of lighting.
Indoor Lighting
Some really great ideas for indoor solar lighting include using it inside of your sheds, gazebos, garages, or inside your home. You don’t need to continuously change light bulbs. The installation is easy and your maintenance is minimal. You need to install a solar panel that can receive the most possible sunlight in your area. That’s it. Enjoy your lighting system all through the night. You will need to find a solar panel that is right for the size of building you will be providing light to. Once your indoor lighting has been installed you will be able to use the lighting both night and day. During the day you may not need it except on cloudy days. During the night you should have enough energy from the solar power to last you through the night. It is becoming the latest in lighting barns on farms as well because there is no wiring needed to get lighting out to the barn.
Outdoor Lighting
When you are outside during the day you won’t need much light but at night you will appreciate the lighting that you have installed using solar power. There are different types of outdoor lighting using solar power; flood lights, pond or pool lights, garden lights, post lights, spot lights, security lights, solar flag lights and sign lights. If you have a pool or pond in your yard that you like to add lighting to it is easy to do and there are several choices to choose from as far as the design and shape. Everyone wants an eye catching yard that has been well taken care of and now your efforts can be reflected at night. If you display a flag out in your yard people only see it at night, until now. Add your flag to a stand that is solar powered so it can be seen at all times. If your yard is too dark invest in security lighting that will work even when the power is off and trees are down. When the sun is out you are sure to have light at night.
The soft glow from solar power lights calm and relax. They are not bright and in your eyes but they are eye catching. Investing in solar power lighting is a smart economical and practical choice that is also very affordable.
Report: CIGS Could Supply 3GW of Solar Panels by 2012
This year is critical for copper-indium-gallium-selenide panel makers to show that all those huge private equity founds and factory plans will make them formidable competitors in the global solar market in the next few years, says report.
They have raised huge capital. They have built factories and even attracted some buyers. Could this year be the starting point when stronger CIGS players emerge?
In a new solar report forecasting production and comparing technologies, Greentech Media analysts certainly believe so.
“We expect some of them to ramp up production in 2009 – they are getting to commercial volumes. That will give them a definite edge when it comes to cost,” said Shyam Mehta, a senior analyst at Greentech Media. Mehta co-authored the report, “PV Technology, Production and Cost, 2009 Forecast,” with Travis Bradford, founder of the Prometheus Institute and a Greentech Media advisor.
By 2012, companies that make copper-indium-gallium-selenide solar panels could produce 12 percent, or nearly 3 gigawatts worth of the worldwide supply of solar panels, the report said.
CIGS is among several in the thin-film solar technologies that use little or no crystalline silicon to make solar cells. Although the majority of the panels today are made with crystalline silicon, thin-film panels are gradually gaining market acceptance.
CIGS panels aren’t as efficient at converting sunlight as the crystalline silicon variety. But efficiency isn’t the only selling point. CIGS advocates say they can offer cheaper products, which would then lead to a lower cost of buying and installing a system.
Nanosolar, Miasolé, Honda Soltec (owned by Honda the carmaker) and Showa Shell are some of the CIGS companies that could set themselves apart by expanding their production capacity quickly to deliver that low-cost promise, Mehta said. Showa Shell uses only copper, indium and selenium (CIS).
Both Nanosolar in San Jose, Calif., and Miasolé in Santa Clara, Calif., have raised huge sums of private equity. Nanosolar attracted $300 million only last year while Miasolé raised $50 million in late 2007 and was reportedly looking for $200 million in 2008.
To compete effectively, CIGS companies will have to have the capacity to produce 500 megawatts worth of panels by 2012, Mehta said. Today, many of them have less than 100 megawatts in annual production capacity.
Showa Shell, meanwhile, expects to start producing CIS cells at its second, 60-megawatt factory in Japan this year. Its first factory has a 20-megawatt annual capacity. The company said it plans to start building a new plant in 2011 that would be capacity of producing 1 gigawatt worth of CIS cells.
While the report takes into account the current economic crisis, it remains difficult to predict which solar companies will likely survive with minimal bruises. Austin-based HelioVolt, which just opened its first factory last October, recently laid off about 15 people. Fremont, Calif.-based Solyndra, which has announced $1.5 billion worth of contracts with customers, recently lost its chief scientist, Markus Beck, to First Solar.
CIGS companies will not only have to compete against each other, but also against a host of others that use different types of technologies.
Crystalline silicon cell maker Suntech Power already has reached a 1-gigawatt annual capacity. First Solar, which uses cadmium tellurium in its cells, expects to have an annual capacity of 1.1 gigawatts by the end of this year, according to its most recent quarterly filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Companies making cadmium-telluride panels could produce nearly 1.5 gigawatts, or 6 percent, of the global supply by 2012, the reported said. Amorphous-silicon panels are likely to reach roughly 3.5 gigawatts, or 15 percent, while crystalline silicon panels will still dominate with 15.6 gigawatts, or 66 percent.
San Mateo company nets “green” award with creative solar project
The maple floors of BarkerBlue Digital Imaging are covered in black scuff marks, an homage to the roller skaters who frequented the floorboards during the 52 years that the building stood as the popular Rolladium skating rink.
The hill-like roof, however, is a testament to modernity, covered almost completely by powerful solar panels, which helped the company win its first sustainability award earlier this month.
BarkerBlue was presented with the San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce Green Business Award on Jan. 15. A week later, the company was certified as a green business by the Bay Area Green Business Program.
This recognition reflects a success in the company’s business goals, which focus on adapting the printing business to suit today’s technological abilities and environmental needs.
“We’re a printing company that cannibalizes our product,” said Gene Klein, BarkerBlue’s chief executive since 1990. “We’re helping our clients print less. We feel that paper is just one form of communication, and not always the best one. Everything about our business model is to print less and make the information more relevant.”
The steps taken by the company to attain that model include printing exclusively on recycled paper and hosting an online digital planning room where drawings for construction projects can be scanned into the site and accessed from anywhere, resulting in 25 percent to 50 percent less physical printing for each job, Klein said.
Other sustainable moves include banning paper plates and cups from the kitchen in favor of permanent flatware, low-flow toilets, fluorescent lighting, and of course, the 654 solar panels coating the roof. The idea to go solar was presented to Klein two years ago by his general manager, John Roach, a vegan who has led the sustainability charge in the BarkerBlue family.
“John is very much an environmentalist, and I’ve learned from him,” Klein said. “He’s inspired me.”
Roach worked closely with a team from Sunlight Electric, the San Francisco-based solar design and retail company that installed BarkerBlue’s $1.1 million system. Rob Erlichman, the chief executive of the 6-year-old solar company, said Klein presented the “desire to make smart business decisions and an open-mindedness to looking for creative solutions” that Sunlight Electric looks for in a client. The 1949 building didn’t hurt, either.
“The historic building presented both challenges and opportunities,” Erlichman said. “The opportunity is to take full advantage of the barrel-shaped roof. The average tilt on the southern side is 14 degrees, which is close to ideal for solar production.”
The challenge, however, was introducing 21st-century technology to a 20th-century structure. Sunlight Electric met this obstacle by installing nearly half a mile of structural reinforcement wood to make sure the equipment wouldn’t pull out of the roof, Erlichman said.
The resulting 155-kilowatt solar power system, which was completed in November and began generating power by mid-December, meets approximately 75 percent to 80 percent of the company’s power needs, saving them “easily” $55,000 annually in operating costs, Roach said.
The panels create enough energy to power 22 homes, and they keep 270,000 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air each year, according to the company, which displays live feeds of the system’s energy production 24 hours a day on its Web site, BarkerGreen.com.
And when the building uses less power on holidays and weekends, the excess energy generated by the solar panels is fed back into the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. grid, supplying clean energy to the surrounding neighborhood. Roach said he hopes BarkerBlue’s highly visible solar efforts will inspire similar actions in others.
“We really try to set an example for our customers and everyone else that it can be done,” Roach said. “I think solar should be put on every house that’s built, because it’s free power.”
Solar power lights up Africa
By Sophie Morris in Mwanza, Tanzania
Friday, 30 January 2009
Xavery Gombifenga is the most popular man in the Tanzanian village of Nyashimba, high in the north of the country in the region of Mwanza by Lake Victoria. On match days his backyard is packed out with neighbours eager to catch the game on his large screen TV over a cool beer or Coca-Cola, and on the afternoon of our visit a group of young men sit playing cards outside his red brick home.
About 20km away in Yichobela, Makungu Rayandema enjoys a similar popularity. As his family begins a lunch of ugali – the wheat-based staple of most East Africans’ diet – and chicken legs stewed in a red broth, they are entertained by the church organ player practising on Rayandema’s electric keyboard. The keyboard is powered by a new solar power system, as is the cluster of mobile phones charging at the organ player’s feet.
Both off-grid and out of the way, the villages of Nyashimba and Yichobela are all but cut off from the rest of the world because they don’t have access to electricity. Affordable solar power, an environmentally friendly alternative, is promising to light up the parts of Africa which power cables do not yet reach.
Gombifenga and Rayandema installed their solar electricity kits earlier this year. They are close to paying off the initial cost and even make an income from the equipment. Gombifenga charges his neighbours a small entry fee to his football screenings and sells them cold drinks from the huge fridge powered by his 280W solar kit, a very large set-up in comparison to most sold in the area. The Rayandema household, one of only two in Yichobela to enjoy electricity, manage on a much smaller system. This allows for a few electric lights and a radio, the keyboard and the phone charging, which brings in about 15 pence per phone. Before solar power came to Yichobela mobile users had to travel six kilometres and pay someone connected to the electricity grid to charge their phones.
“Even in the areas where there is electricity,” explains Gombifenga, “people still prefer solar systems, because after installation it is free of charge. The alternative is kerosene, which is very dangerous and very expensive”.
Developing solar power in Africa is being eagerly pursued by international organisations including the World Bank and the United Nations and a host of smaller NGOs such as the UK’s Ashden Awards, a sustainable energy initiative whose support was the catalyst for the spread of the technology through northern Tanzania. In 2007 Ashden awarded £30,000 to a local solar entrepreneur, Mohamedrafik Parpia, to expand his fledgling business and investigate ways of helping the very poorest Tanzanians access the systems. In just three years, Parpia’s business Zara Solar has fitted nearly 4,000 systems, providing electricity to a much greater number.
“Most people in this area are lighting their homes with kerosene lanterns or candles, which are expensive and produce nasty fumes and smoke, and poor lighting,” says Ben Dixon, programme manager for the Ashden Awards. “Even a small solar system can provide better light, and a radio or TV socket and a mobile phone charging point can connect people to news, education, family, and buyers for their farm produce. It can also have an impact on education, as school children have decent light for studying in the evenings”.
Parpia now enjoys a certain level of fame in the region and acclaim in his field. An appearance on the BBC World Service’s Swahili station brought clients to his store in the centre of Mwanza, Tanzania’s second city of 717,000 inhabitants, and he has won five awards, including a recent grant of $200,000 (£100,000) from the World Bank. He is one of sixteen winners in a pan-African competition run by Lighting Africa, which aims to provide 250 million people in sub-Saharan Africa with cheap and reliable non fossil-fuel based electricity by 2030. The other winners voted the solar project their favourite across the entire continent. The Tanzanian government, which presides over a country of some 38m people of whom just 10 per cent have access to electricity, are also championing alternative and sustainable energy sources, and recently abolished the hefty taxes and duty on imported solar panels.
In rural areas, the rate of electrification plummets to just two per cent. For those with cars and the money to run them, villages like Nyashimba and Yichobela are only a few hours drive from the growing city of Mwanza by Lake Victoria. But vehicles are a rare luxury. Fuel, incredibly, costs close to what it does in the UK. Of those who do have access to the electricity grid, there is a connection backlog. If your name reaches the top of the list, you will have to shell out over £200 to be plugged in, before the monthly bills start stacking up.
Lighting Africa is giving seed money to small enterprises like Parpia’s Zara Solar to work in such rural areas, though its intention is as much to create a new market for lighting companies as to support development. “This is a commercial prospect,” explains Russell Sturm, who was instrumental in setting up the programme. “1.6bn people on the planet lack access to modern energy and half a billion of those are in Africa. People are spending $38bn a year on off grid lighting, which means that 18 per cent of the global lighting market is going to oil companies like Exxonmobil”.
It is in the interests of the international community to promote non-polluting energy sources because of the hefty carbon emissions and finite supply of traditional fossil fuels. For the average Tanzanian on the ground, solar offers a route away from polluting kerosene lamps which cause headaches and nausea and frequent fatal house fires. By the time they reach 60, women who have spent their lives hunched over kerosene stoves and lamps often find the whites of their eyes have turned completely red and some are murdered on suspicion of being a witch. A UNDP survey has found that on average families use between 10 and 20 litres of kerosene per month, at between 60p and 95p per litre.
Despite the savings it offers, finding the money to have a even a £100 solar kit installed remains incredibly difficult. Credit and bank loans are a near impossibility for anyone without substantial upfront collateral, and local money lenders charge between three and six per cent interest per month on loans, a rate which often leads borrowers into terminal debt. The only alternative is a micro-financing organisation such as Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies, (SACCOs), grass roots savings and lending institutions formed by teachers, nurses and civil servants. Parpia, now the largest solar provider in northern Tanzania, is working to convince SACCOs operating across the Mwanza region and the other three lake zones of Mara, Shinyanga and Kagera to finance solar systems for their members.
Mwanza has been a pilot region for solar implementation since 2004 and it is hoped its success will be rolled out across all the northern lake zones. Zara Solar has also just received a grant to investigate a plan to sell cheap solar lanterns to fishermen, who use around seven litres of kerosene on a single night of fishing. But 9m people live in the area surrounding Lake Victoria, over 90 per cent of them without electricity. As a standalone operator Zara Solar will never build the capacity required to carpet this vast region in glinting silver solar panels.
When Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb, he promised that only the rich would continue to burn candles. “Today,” says Sturm, “there are more people reliant on kerosene and paraffin for lighting than were alive when the lightbulb was invented”. If demand can be facilitated via the savings and lendings clubs, supply will have to be bolstered considerably to give solar a real shot at lighting up Africa, and not just at joining the dots in the darkness.
DuPont Installs its Largest Solar Panel Array to Generate Energy Needs at Research Facility
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![Frozen lake [Explored]](http://static.flickr.com/7154/6775468053_d50864e5be_t.jpg "Frozen lake [Explored]")
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