Photovoltaic Cells Bring Light and Power to World's Rural
Dwellers
Enthusiasm and ferment surround solar PV technology which is
a particularly attractive alternative for the 400 million households
in the world with no electricity.
In Indonesia, whose population - the fifth largest in the world
- lives on 6,000 islands, the US Solarex Corporation has contracted
to supply 36,000 solar home systems to rural inhabitants. Each
system consists of a 50W module and a battery unit to power light
fixtures, a TV or small radio. Excess power generated during the
day will charge the batteries for power use at night. These individual
home systems are much more practical than a national power grid
for the 69 percent of rural Indonesian homes without electricity.
Solarex, a joint company owned by the Enron Corp. of Houston
and Amoco Corp., one of the largest producers of crude oil and
natural gas, has many other ventures in the works. It is supplying
solar cells for what will be the largest solar roof at a training
facility in Herne, Germany: 500 kW solar cells laminated between
sheets of glass. Spaces between each cell will make the roof partially
transparent, allowing sunlight into the building and providing
natural light to reduce the building's energy requirements. Solarex
has signed an agreement for a 50 MW solar facility in the state
of Rajasthan, India. India has other photovoltaic programs, with
installation of solar-power lanterns and street lights and plans
for more than 150 village power plants.
Rather than selling solar systems as Solarex does, SunLight Power
International works under a "fee for service" concept,
installing and maintaining its own power systems at affordable
costs. SunLight Power has recently received a $2 million investment
from GAIA Kapital, a German venture capital firm, enabling SunLight
to expand its existing business with partners in the Dominican
Republic and Morocco by providing photovoltaic services to unelectrified
communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The goal of David
Freeman, chairman of the board and CEO of SunLight, is to supply
clean, renewable energy at almost the same price presently off-grid
customers now pay for batteries, kerosene and candles. Freeman
is former chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the New
York Power Authority.
On Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, the remote village of Xcalak -
population 350 - is 68 miles away from the nearest utility. Formerly
the village depended on diesel generators which kept breaking
down. Now it has added solar electric modules and wind generators
to form a diesel-hybrid system which is much more reliable and
has made it possible to add service for more people and businesses.
In the US, the ferment in the photovoltaic community shows up
in many individual projects:
-
Kaiser Permanente in partnership with the Enron Corp., decided
in 1995 to move massively into fuel cell power for its hospitals,
medical offices and office buildings. Starting with its southern
California headquarters in Pasadena, it is installing a 200
kW fuel cell which will provide electric power, domestic hot
water space heating and absorption heating to a 7-story building
housing 1200 employees. Kaiser is aiming for 160 installations
in five years which it believes will show savings over its
present fuel bills. Enron will buy the units from ONSI of
South Windsor, CT which will own, install, operate and maintain
the plants and sell the electricity to Kaiser for a guaranteed
pay base.
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The City of Littleton in Colorado has chosen PV to irrigate
1400 newly planted native trees along a bike path in a park
along the South Platte River.
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PV powers appliances and lights in a remote house in Florida
where it would cost $15,000 to extend a line to the nearest
utility.
