Name: Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF)
Big Idea: SELF is spreading access to solar power across the developing world to fight energy poverty.
Why It's Working: People can bring themselves out of poverty with access to safe drinking water, a secure food supply, vaccinations from diseases, home and office lighting, and computers — all enabled by the sustainable energy solutions SELF implements.
More than one billion people live without access to electricity, according to World Watch. But now, an often-overlooked natural resource and the development of green technology are connecting people with a stable power source and lifting them out of poverty.
The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), a Washington, D.C. based non-profit, develops solar energy solutions that bring modern connectivity to the most remote parts of the world — in an environmentally sound way.
SELF partners with local governments, non-governmental organizations and industries to create solutions tailored to the needs of the local people, with an emphasis on bringing entire village communities out of the cycle of poverty.
"Solar, renewable energy is the best solution for unconnected, rural villages because the sun will shine everywhere," says Robert Freling, SELF's executive director. "Developing countries have a serious desire to catch up and bring a sense of modernity to their lives. Solar technology offers them the hope of joining the 21st century global community without doing additional damage to the planet."
In one recent project in Benin, West Africa, SELF created the world's first solar-powered combination water pump and drip irrigation system to increase food security. Essentially no food grew in the area during the dry season, so a solution had to ensure a steady supply during those months. The solar-powered system has dramatically increased the region's supply: Now, 20% of food produced is consumed, and 80% is sold to market.
"This Solar Market Garden has provided income that pays for medical treatment," Freling says. "These products in combination are suited to West Africa, where they didn't have the means to pump water by electric sources."
SELF was founded in 1990, though its mission has evolved from its initial focus on home lighting solutions to a wider range of projects, including medical clinics, small businesses and wireless communications. Current projects are mostly centered in sub-Saharan Africa and Haiti, working to generate incomes and empower communities.
SELF doesn't develop technologies. Rather, it implements products that are sold off the shelf with the help of funding from its government and NGO partners.
SELF is active in more than 20 countries including Bhutan, Benin, Brazil, Burundi, China, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Lesotho, Navajo Nation, Nepal, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Vietnam.
"The bottom line is when you look at energy poverty in the developing world and everything that electricity provides, from refrigeration to store vaccines, to power for computers, they're being cut off," Freling says. "There's been a huge push to fulfill the U.N.'s millennium development goals, none of which can be achieved without access to energy. We've been making this case for about 10 years, and others have finally come around to recognize its importance."
Series presented by GE