If you’re reading this, you have access to electricity. High five, that is a wonderful thing! Unfortunately, hundreds of millions of people in the world don’t. Electricity to most of us who have it is a matter of comfort — it means cold beers, hot showers, and infinite youtube videos of cats. (Rock on, piano kitty)
To those who don’t have it, access to electricity means something a little bit different. It means proper education because children can do homework at night. It means better eyes and lungs because it replaces burning kerosene. It means access to information and media like radio, television and internet, and lets citizens be politically involved.
There is a universal need for electricity but a fundamental lack of access. Grids are expensive and difficult to build in rural areas, especially in developing countries. But all those places where grids can’t reach get touched by sunshine. Could solar be the solution? A growing number of for-profit businesses are saying yes.
Eigth19 is one such business, and its product IndiGo is providing Solar For Universal Need. Their product is a solar panel and light kit that customers pay a little upfront for ($10), and then just $1/week for the electricity it produces. Going solar with IndiGo saves customers money, it is cleaner, and it is more effective than the kerosene they would alternatively use. And it’s pay-as-you-go, like Sungevity’s Solar Lease — so you don’t have to buy the expensive equipment outright, but rather get to pay it off as you use it, and experience the savings in real time without waiting years to see a return on investment.
There is a universal need for solar. Sungevity is spreading it to homes in the United States, Europe, and Australia, and we love companies that spread it to the developing world. SFUN is serious business — but when it comes down to it, solar is just fun plain fun too! Who doesn’t love sunshine!?
Eight19, we salute you. Shine on!