Lighting Africa

"New advancements in lighting technology, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and light emitting diodes (LEDs), promise clean, portable, durable, lower cost, and higher quality lighting. The challenge is to make these products accessible to the half billion "lighting poor" in Africa. With expenditures on fuel based lighting estimated at US$38 billion annually, the potential exists to engage the international lighting industry in this new market area, while serving consumers, bolstering local commerce, creating jobs, enhancing incomes, cleaning the air, and improving health, safety, and quality of life."

One of the problems in Africa is that the electric grid reaches so little of the continent and so few of its people. While there are many alternative technologies for off-grid micro power generation, the most common is probably the small generator, and it is an expensive alternative. As the new technologies become more efficient in the generation of light from electric power, and as new alternative power generation technologies (such as solar photo voltaic and microhydro) become more common and affordable, Africans should have access to more affordable (and reliable) lighting technology, even when they are off grid.

Lighting Africa is a World Bank Group initiative aimed at providing up to 250 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa with access to non-fossil fuel based, low cost, safe, and reliable lighting products with associated basic energy services by the year 2030.

Read:

"The end of the light bulb as we know it" by Marianne Lavelle
on Eartheasy