POUL DUE JENSEN FOUNDATION WATER Global Solar & Water Initiative In many rural areas in the developing world, solar energy is simply a cheaper and more sustainable energy source than relying on unstable grid power or polluting diesel generators. Nonetheless, relief organisations have been slow in adopting solar energy, mainly because of lack of awareness and technical expertise. This means that there is an urgent task to educate relief organisations, and this task has been taken up by the UN Migration Agency (IOM), EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, Norwegian Refugee Council, and OXFAM. In 2018, they published the findings of the Global Solar & Water Initiative. Solar radiation map Source: https://solargis.com/ maps-and-gis-data 5 key arguments for using solar energy: 1 The cost of a solar PV module has reduced dramatically, making solar the cheaper option 2 Most areas where relief organisations operate receive high and constant solar radiation 3 T he solar private sector is booming in developing countries, making it easier to insource expertise 4 S olar technology is robust and reliable, requiring very little maintenance 5 S olar pumping is scalable and can fit many different contexts Africa has the best solar resource in the world Africa has the best solar resource in the world. In most countries on the continent, a single square metre of solar panel can generate 4 – 6 kWh per day most of the year. Simply put, that square metre could power 400 - 600 10-watt light bulbs for one hour. >> theconversation.com (reference: bit.ly/SolarLessons) Video Key findings of the project are summed up in this short video: >> youtu.be/3H-8qfC68EI Booklet More detailed information for WASH professionals on design, implementation, and monitoring solar water schemes can be found in this booklet: >> bit.ly/SolarWaterInitiative 19
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