OFF-GRID SOLAR PANEL POWER IN RURAL AFRICA: This is a VOA report.

More than 600 million people in Africa have no access to electricity, according to the International Energy Agency. But new technology could provide the solution. So-called off-grid solar systems have plummeted in price. Now consumers can spread the cost by renting the equipment and paying for the electricity as they need it, for less than a-half-dollar a day.

This isn’t a new idea. Developmental aid groups have been pushing this for at least two decades, in Africa and elsewhere. In 2003 I attended a presentation in Washington by an Afghan-American who had an off-grid “solar home” concept. He wanted to help isolated areas in Afghanistan but he believed his concept had utility in any locale with sufficient sunlight. If I recall correctly, the fellow was an electrical engineer. His design was simple, but included a storage battery so that a family could have a light for three or four hours during the evening. This was an aid to education. The light would give children the opportunity to read and do homework. As solar panel electrical generation efficiency improved and storage batteries improved (and over time he thought both would), he hoped his system could support a very small refrigeration unit to store medicines and milk. This would help improve family health.