As pointed out in a recent article by R K Pachauri (Rajendra Kumar Pachauri), Chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 1.6 billion people of the world are living without power supply and depend on kerosene lamps or similar crude and inefficient lighting devices after sunset. According to Pachauri 400 million of these unfortunate people are in remote Indian villages.

The evenings of these people, who live in darkness like their ancestors for centuries, are lit up for only one or two hours till they finish their day’s remaining chores. They do not see any possibility of getting electric connections in the near future, mainly because of inaccessibility and inadequate production of power, even in rapidly developing countries like India.

Under R K Pachauri’s guidance The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi plans to introduce solar energy based lighting systems in rural India where electric connections could not reach so far. Solar panels set up at one place in a village can produce enough electricity that can power lamps for all the village households. According to plans, lamps can be recharged using the solar energy by one person and rented out to all the households. This will provide better, pollution-free lighting and reduce carbon dioxide emissions produced by burning oil.

If solar energy is used for power by all these 1.6 billion people who do not have electric connections, it will not only provide them with better and cheaper lighting but also considerably reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. With the use of other renewable energy sources like winds, tidal waves, and others, renewable sources of energy not only can light up lamps but also meet other requirements of energy that these households need.