Solar loans light up rural India
29/4/2007 BBC More than 100,000 people in rural India have benefited from an innovative loan scheme that helps families buy home solar power systems, the UN has said. The $1.5m project, led by the UN Environment Programme (Unep), supports Indian bankers who offer finance to people who want to purchase a unit.
The sunlight-powered systems are used to light homes and shops instead of expensive and polluting kerosene lamps.
Officials hope to expand the scheme to Tunisia, China, Ghana and Indonesia.
Since the project began in 2003, there has been a 13-fold increase in the number of the solar power units being financed within the scheme’s pilot area in southern India.
A system capable of powering two to four small appliances, or lights, costs about $300-$500.
Before the UN project was set up, purchases were predominately cash only – making the devices too expensive for most people.
The Indian Loan Programme helps its bank partners offer lower interest rates, longer payback periods and smaller deposits.
“This project removes one of the main barriers to the shift to solar power – lack of financing,” said Jyoti Painuly, a UN senior energy planner.