Subsidised Solar Lighting: The Only Option for 1 Billion People

Despite massive programs for grid expansion in the developing countries more than one billion in the remote rural provinces have no chance of getting access to electricity within their life-time for “economic” and technical reasons unless the current paradigms are changed. Dr Bruce Robins, a pioneer in the use of solar electricity for community development in the developing world, has more than 20 years experience and implemented more than US$100 million of solar development projects in Asia and South East Asia. He argues that without capital subsidies and operational cross subsidies, as already occurs in the developed world, the immediate needs of 1 billion people will not be met - a whole generation lost to development.