TOPIC 'Solar Energy' on Dec 22, 2008 (CET)
Solar Systems Being Donated To Nepal
A total of 15 middle schools in Nepal will receive solar power generating systems from Kyocera beginning in 2009. Kyocera Corporation, a Japanese firm, will install the solar systems in the schools. The donated materials will include storage batteries, audio-visual equipment, and lights. Three schools each year for the next five years will be the lucky recipients of this generous donation.
It is estimated that only 20 percent of Nepal’s population has access to electricity. The majority of the power in the country now comes from hydraulic power which relates to the problem of severe power shortages for the population during the dry seasons. The European Union plays a key role in providing the inhabitants with energy assistance, but more help is needed.
Kyocera’s donations of 600 watt units are aimed at providing electricity for schools and educational purposes. The company believes that children “carry the future of the country on their shoulders” and, as such, are an important group to reach where electricity can aid knowledge and learning. Light for classrooms and electricity for television and radios is needed to help with a child’s learning abilities.
Kyocera began a partnership with Lasersun Energy, a local Nepalese firm, in 2000. The two companies have supplied small scale solar power systems for residential uses since that time. In 2007, Kyocera’s shipments of solar equipment to Nepal had increased 2.6 times the amount that was seen in 2006.
Kyocera has been in the solar energy business for 33 years and it has a philosophy of “Contributing to society through clean energy around the world.” Approximately 1.6 billion people across the globe live without electricity. The company has also donated systems to Pakistan and China in past years. In the fall of 2008, Kyocera began supplying solar systems to Tunisia with a Japanese Government program of “yen-loan.” The company has also made a similar commitment to Nepal’s in Tanzania, installing solar systems in 20 schools over the next five years.
Sherry Irvin
on behalf of the
BascoTec Internet Limited
Technologie Park 13
33100 Paderborn
Germany
