What Can Solar Power do for a Community?

What Can Solar Power do for a Community?
Not everyone has access to electricity. Often infrastructure required to connect rural communities is too expensive to set up. In these situations, if the community wants electricity they often have to choose between different generators. Most communities tend to go for gas powered ones, or choose to go without electricity at all. Here’s why rural communities would be better served by solar power instead. Electrical pumps can deliver reliable clean water. Conventional wells run the risk of contaminating the water sources drawn on by exposing them to dirt and the air for extended periods. Walking for water is labour intensive and often unreliable. Electrical pumps can be installed cleanly, and deliver water from underground sources without exposing the water to contaminants. Lit nights increase productivity. Everything from going to the washroom at night to studying past dusk becomes easier once electrical lights are available. One of the most effective ways of breaking the cycle of poverty is by increasing the education available to impoverished populations. Light can let the locals keep studying even after it gets dark. Electricity allows for the introduction of computers. Once students have begun working out of books, the next step on the educational ladder is basic computer awareness. Once students are familiar with operating systems they are able to integrate into the workforce as well as their urbanized peers. Smartphones allow for connection. Back when phones were all cable connected, it was not sensible to introduce them to rural communities. Today however, what with widespread wireless connectivity, communities that have smartphones are able to communicate freely amongst themselves and with the world around them. The internet is suddenly at their fingertips. Solar power can quickly transform local communities.  
  Written by Marcomms Intern, Jack Seaberry


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