Every week, we read dozens of articles on our favorite industry trends and relate to our investment thesis. We pick the most popular trend from the week and share the top articles along with our thoughts.
This week’s topic is solar power in emerging markets. Headlines included updates on India’s National Solar Mission and the practical use of solar power on-the-ground in Africa.
“Waiting for the Sun: is the sun the answer to India’s energy problems?” on The Economist
The Economist presents the debate on the feasibility on India’s goal to install 20GW of solar. We chimed in on the topic a few months ago, which you can read about here. The Economist, like us, believes that the cost of solar energy will be the biggest determinant in how much solar capacity India can install and how quickly.
“India’s Solar Sector Has Grown Rapidly, Driving Down Costs and Slashing Pollution” by Frances Beinceke on The Energy Collective
The National Resources Defense Council and the Indian Council on Energy, Environment, and Water released a new report, Laying the Foundation for a Bright Future, which provides evidence of increasing solar power capacity in India. In keeping up with India’s Solar Mission to install 20GW of solar by 2020, solar capacity jumped from 18MW in 2010 to 500MW at the beginning of this year.
“Powering tomorrow’s minds” by Lezette Engelbrecht on ITWeb South Africa
Samsung recently developed a school with solar-powered Internet to provide long-term access to ICT in rural South African communities. Samsung’s project has been recognized as the “African Solar Project of the Year.” Samsung is committed to educating the staff on how to use and maintain the solar technology and build a long-term relationship with the school in order to ensure that students continually receive the maximum benefit of Internet access.
“Uganda: New, Easy Method to Access Solar Energy” by Jerome Mukasa on East African Business Week Distributed by AllAfrica
Although Uganda is emerging from a severe energy crisis, still less than 10% of the population has access to electricity. Due to its proximity to the Equator, solar power can play a powerful roll in increasing accessibility and affordability of power. Local engineers discuss the practical and cost benefits of increasing dependence on solar in Uganda and ways to make it more accessible for consumers.
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