If you’re the kind of person who watches even more than a tiny bit of cable news, chances of you’ve heard an interview that had a little something like this…
“If we took the (X-dollars) that the government spent on (X-event), we could provide (X-amount of resources) to (X-amount) of people!”
It’s a nice conversation starter, and definitely gives one plenty of hindsight ideas about what could have been done in the past. In the bigger picture of things though, it’s not something that ever really happens, until now.
With the aim of providing a significant improvement in lifestyle for more than two million of its most impoverished citizens, Peru is investing in the future of solar energy and the continued, low-cost benefits that are waiting to be had. Take a look at this article excerpt from cleantechnica.com below…
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Energy and Mining Minister Jorge Merino said that the program will allow 95% of Peru to have access to electricity by the end of 2016. Currently, approximately 66% of the population has access to electricity.
“This program is aimed at the poorest people, those who lack access to electric lighting and still use oil lamps, spending their own resources to pay for fuels that harm their health,” said Merino.
The first phase of the program, called “The National Photovoltaic Household Electrification Program” was initiated on Monday (July 8) in the Contumaza province, where 1,601 solar panels were installed. These installations will power 126 impoverished communities in the districts of Cupisnique, San Benito, Tantarica, Chilete, Yonan, San Luis, and Contai.
The program plans to install about 12,500 solar (photovoltaic) systems to provide for approximately 500,000 households at an overall cost of about $200 million.
Peru is the third-largest country in South America, with a population over 24 million. It has average solar radiation levels which can reach 5 kWh per m2 a day in the Sierra (foothill of The Andes). Peru is also home to the first major PV installation in Latin America.
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What will be interesting to see from here is the success of this program, as well as if any other nations take similar measures. With the interest of progressing technologically, as well as aiming to eliminate health risks that come with the lifestyles of many of its citizens, this looks to be a potentially monumental step forward for Peru. It will be exciting to see the results of this over the next few years.