Billions Lack Electricity
Billions Lack Electricity
Two billion of the worldÕs people lack access to electricity, and despite massive electrification programs over the past decade, the situation has hardly improved. In Sub Saharan Africa, for example, population growth outpaces the number of newly connected households: Between 1970 and 1990, the population with access to electricity increased by 55 million, but the total population grew by 220 million.
Grid-based electrification approaches are capital intensive, and demand large amounts of capital and, to ensure sustainability, a good return on investments. A good return can normally be realized when the demand for electricity is concentrated within a limited area and is relatively high, which is not the case in most rural areas in developing countries.
The actual market for solar electricity is perceived to be small and dependent on financially assisted programs. However, recent studies, such as the ESMAP study, show that rural people actually spend considerable amounts of money on very inefficient energy supplies. This implies that there, indeed, could be a large potential for PV electrification largely financed by the users themselves.