Creating an intense demand for energy, the third world is waiting to be filled with the light of solar energy resources.

It’s more common in many areas of third world countries to have no electrical power than it is to have it. Even though solar energy is more than plentiful, most rural residents live in small one-room homes that have no source of electricity whatsoever. They survive with kerosene lamps for light and minimal heat. For those who have a little extra money, or bartering material, a car battery may be purchased to power a small lamp or heater. When the battery is depleted, it either has to go to a nearby village for recharging, or sit until there is money or someone to go into the village with it. Such meager resources create economic impoverishments of various kinds. Probably the most notable of the unavailable resources (especially light) is felt by the children, who are attempting to study, learn, and grow in order to have a better future.

A conventional energy supply grid just costs too much for the government or a local entity to install, especially in remote areas. Solar energy, however, both at individual sites and in larger arrays for communities in rural areas can provide a real opportunity for both “on-the-grid” and “off-the-grid” living. It’s not only a viable solution; it’s something that makes good sense.

There are a number of United States charities, including the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, that are contributing heavily to worldwide efforts to bring clean, renewable energy to third world residents. The focus is bringing solar energy that will be used for access to water, as well as light and heat.

Another very involved partner is SELF, Solar Energy Light Fund. Their mission is to “provide solar power and wireless communications to a quarter of the world’s population living in energy poverty.” It’s a daunting mission…one they’ve not only taken on, but have been very successful at. Bringing solar power in western China to 1,000 households in fourteen villages, they have worked in many areas with local governments and agencies to help self-fund the building and distribution of small-scale photovoltaic systems. They have worked to help scattered Masai herder tribes acquire solar-powered telephones in Tanzania. They have installed photovoltaic systems in schools and clinics in many third world countries, and are currently very involved in a project in Haiti that will help bring solar-powered medical clinics across the country into being.

One of the primary ways third world residents obtain fuel and build shelter is by stripping their trees. This uses up with minimal foliage they have, and results in a loss of natural shade and shelter, as well as the forest’s filtering capabilities. They also burn animal dung for fuel, creating toxic fumes, and diminishing this source of natural fertilizer. With just one or two PV panels connected to a battery pack, and properly located to maximize capture of the sun’s energy, they can have year-around heat and lights in many locations, as well as small televisions or radios, without using trees or animal dung.

Walking many miles daily to the nearest village for water, rural residents have spent valuable hours that they can use more productively. Adding pipes and solar energy power pumps to homes or central village locations brings water directly to rural residents for both drinking and irrigation. This allows them to grow more crops and to create a more sustainable lifestyle.

Solar energy is making a difference in third world countries…for some the difference between living in poverty and living in abundance. With solar panels, many are now producing enough electricity for computers, radios and televisions. And they have the basics…water for drinking and irrigation, heat and lights.

To help individuals and communities in those countries build an infrastructure that will support solar energy use…and production…will make it not only a better world for them…but for us.

As all of us rely less on fossil fuels to support our basic needs, and more on renewable energy like solar, we will have more and more freedom…from energy barons…and from our own self-destruction through pollution and global warming.

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