Question
It's 7 p.m. in Kenya. A restaurant is packed. The patrons aren't talking, the music is off, and everyone's doing the same thing—watching the news on TV. Some of the people walked miles to get there. It's common to do so in a country of more than 50 million people where only 30 percent have a television. This restaurant scenario highlights one of the biggest problems facing the second biggest continent: lack of access to electricity.
In sub-Saharan Africa, about 625 million people live without electric power. Most of them are in areas too remote for a network like an electrical grid to reach them. But even those who are connected don't enjoy nonstop light. In lots of places the electricity is unreliable. In Ghana, people call the power dum/sor, or "off/on," because it flickers so much. To make do, people often use pricey, polluting portable generators for power and expensive kerosene lamps for light.
Africa does have easy access to a potential gamechanger, though: the sun. For years, solar panels were really expensive. But falling prices have made them a reasonable option. At the same time, light bulbs and appliances have become more efficient. These advances have enabled entrepreneurs to come up with off-the-grid ways to bring power to the people.
One idea has been to engineer microgrids. These are just what they sound like: small electrical grids. Instead of running wires across a huge continent to create a humongous grid, individual towns would be connected to a smaller source of solar electricity. That idea has already taken shape in Bisanti, Nigeria, where the Green Village Energy company installed 126 solar panels that power the entire town.
Another idea has been to design individual kits made up of a small solar panel, battery, wires, and plugs that can power a single house. Several Africa-based companies are trying out this method in Africa. One of them, Lumos, provides Nigerians with enough inexpensive power for two to three hours of TV watching and cell phone charging a night. Another, M-Kopa, has brought power to more than 600,000 houses. Its kits come with a fan, lights, and a television complete with 30 free channels.
Uganda-based Fenix is another company that's sold 140,000 of its customizable kits to power everything from a single cell phone charger to a stove, radio, and satellite TV. These systems are inexpensive, but they're not free. To make them affordable, most are "pay as you go." That means customers are charged an upfront fee, then make small payments for years. When a customer pays off the debt, they own the kit, and power is free.
The availability of electricity is greatly changing lives. Something as small as a fan makes a big difference, since many parts of Africa are blazing hot and houses often don't have windows or air conditioners. Power also allows for refrigeration, which is critical for hospitals to store perishable items such as vaccines. Students benefit, too. Light at night means more time for them to read and study.
Off-grid solar has been so successful that wealthy individuals, governments, and the World Bank all have pledged money to help jumpstart the industry. Some even see parallels between solar technology and another modern gamechanger, the cell phone. In Africa, phone access was once rare. Many people lived beyond the reach of telephone lines. But cellular networks made those lines unnecessary, opening the door to phone service across the continent. The hope is that off-grid solar will have the same impact—bringing power to places where it was once thought to be unattainable.
QUESTION 1
1 / 8
What is this Article primarily about?
Only 30 percent of the more than 50 million people in Kenya have a television, so walking miles to watch the news on TV is a common practice.
The company Green Village Energy installed 126 solar panels in Bisanti, Nigeria, powering the entire town.
Off-grid solar power is changing lives in remote areas of Africa by bringing electricity to places where it was once thought unattainable.
Customers of the Uganda-based company Fenix are allowed to pay a fee upfront for their kits and then make small payments until the debt is paid off.
In sub-Saharan Africa, about 625 million people live without electric power. Most of them are in areas too remote for a network like an electrical grid to reach them. But even those who are connected don't enjoy nonstop light. In lots of places the electricity is unreliable. In Ghana, people call the power dum/sor, or "off/on," because it flickers so much. To make do, people often use pricey, polluting portable generators for power and expensive kerosene lamps for light.
Africa does have easy access to a potential gamechanger, though: the sun. For years, solar panels were really expensive. But falling prices have made them a reasonable option. At the same time, light bulbs and appliances have become more efficient. These advances have enabled entrepreneurs to come up with off-the-grid ways to bring power to the people.
One idea has been to engineer microgrids. These are just what they sound like: small electrical grids. Instead of running wires across a huge continent to create a humongous grid, individual towns would be connected to a smaller source of solar electricity. That idea has already taken shape in Bisanti, Nigeria, where the Green Village Energy company installed 126 solar panels that power the entire town.
Another idea has been to design individual kits made up of a small solar panel, battery, wires, and plugs that can power a single house. Several Africa-based companies are trying out this method in Africa. One of them, Lumos, provides Nigerians with enough inexpensive power for two to three hours of TV watching and cell phone charging a night. Another, M-Kopa, has brought power to more than 600,000 houses. Its kits come with a fan, lights, and a television complete with 30 free channels.
Uganda-based Fenix is another company that's sold 140,000 of its customizable kits to power everything from a single cell phone charger to a stove, radio, and satellite TV. These systems are inexpensive, but they're not free. To make them affordable, most are "pay as you go." That means customers are charged an upfront fee, then make small payments for years. When a customer pays off the debt, they own the kit, and power is free.
The availability of electricity is greatly changing lives. Something as small as a fan makes a big difference, since many parts of Africa are blazing hot and houses often don't have windows or air conditioners. Power also allows for refrigeration, which is critical for hospitals to store perishable items such as vaccines. Students benefit, too. Light at night means more time for them to read and study.
Off-grid solar has been so successful that wealthy individuals, governments, and the World Bank all have pledged money to help jumpstart the industry. Some even see parallels between solar technology and another modern gamechanger, the cell phone. In Africa, phone access was once rare. Many people lived beyond the reach of telephone lines. But cellular networks made those lines unnecessary, opening the door to phone service across the continent. The hope is that off-grid solar will have the same impact—bringing power to places where it was once thought to be unattainable.
QUESTION 1
1 / 8
What is this Article primarily about?
Only 30 percent of the more than 50 million people in Kenya have a television, so walking miles to watch the news on TV is a common practice.
The company Green Village Energy installed 126 solar panels in Bisanti, Nigeria, powering the entire town.
Off-grid solar power is changing lives in remote areas of Africa by bringing electricity to places where it was once thought unattainable.
Customers of the Uganda-based company Fenix are allowed to pay a fee upfront for their kits and then make small payments until the debt is paid off.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The article is primarily about how off-grid solar power is changing lives in remote areas of Africa by bringing electricity to places where it was once thought unattainable.