http://newsblaze.com/story/20070501074016tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.htmlAn estimated 100,000 people in poverty-stricken rural India are now receiving several hours of reliable solar-powered lighting every night thanks to a United Nations-led pilot project that is set to expand to a number of other developing countries.
"The project underlines the multiple benefits accruing by providing clean and renewable energies in developing countries," said UN Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=504&ArticleID=5570&l=en">UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner.
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The $1.5 million pilot, managed by UNEP, has already inspired a sister effort in Tunisia, where the market for solar water heaters has been shifted from cash to credit, with over 16,000 systems financed. Similar programmes are planned for China, Indonesia, Egypt, Mexico, Ghana, Morocco and Algeria.
Even a few hours of 20 to 40-watt solar-powered lighting in homes and small shops nightly has been credited with better grades for schoolchildren, better productivity for needlework artisan groups and other cottage industries, and even better sales at fruit stands, where produce is no longer spoiled by fumes from kerosene lamps, UNEP said in a news release.
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