energy for all

About working group lighting

Lighting

675 million people in Asia lack access to electricity and do depend on conventional fuel burning to meet their daily lighting needs. Solar lighting offers a cleaner, safer and often cheaper alternative. There’s a clear link between poverty and access to light: countries with the lowest levels of electrification often have the highest levels of poverty. Without lighting, nightfall often means that adults have to stop working and children have to stop studying—two critical activities that could otherwise help communities escape their burdens.

 In Asia, solar devices are promoted by an extensive number of small and medium sized companies (SME). Despite existing commercial and semi-commercial models for lighting, up-scaling of these efforts has been challenging due to lack and limitations of finance, of exchange of knowledge and awareness, of common standards and policies and of distribution mechanisms.

 The Energy for All Partnership established the thematic working group Lighting for All to meet these challenges. It expands access to solar lighting technologies among rural communities by linking the international lighting industry (including storage, electrics and solar) with local system integrators, financers and service providers. For local communities, this transfer of technological knowledge strengthens their capabilities to design, develop and deliver high-efficiency, high-quality, reliable and affordable lighting products and services. For the industry, it catalyzes the undeveloped, high-growth rural lighting market by providing cutting-edge technologies and know-how adapted for local challenges.

 By making these connections, the Lighting working group builds strategic partnerships to develop, finance, and deliver modern lighting products and services.