This is the VOA Special English Development Report.
Electric power has yet to reach some places in the world. Infact, a group called SELF estimates that about two-thousand-millionpeople, or one in three, do not have electricity. Thisnon-governmental organization is working to change the situation.
SELF is short for the Solar Electric Light Fund. The organizationis based in Washington. It provides communities and governments withsolar electric systems. These systems use what is calledphotovoltaic technology to change sunlight into electricity. Thegroup says solar electric systems can be set up quickly in anyvillage anywhere in the world. And they are safe for theenvironment.
A small solar electric system canfeed a home, school or health center with several hours ofelectricity each day. Collectors placed on top of a building take inheat from the sun. This energy is then sent to a storage batteryused to power equipment. A special charge controller is also neededto help direct the flow of electricity.
SELF has solar electric programs in many developing countries. InSouth Africa, two schools along the country’s east coast use solarelectric systems for lighting, televisions and computer centers. Inthe Solomon Islands, in the South Pacific, SELF is working to bringelectricity to twelve health centers in the eastern province ofTemotu. The islands within this province are aboutthree-hundred-fifty kilometers away from the rest of the nation.
And in Brazil, scientists working in the Amazon rainforest use asolar electric system to power satellite communications equipment.Researchers communicate with other teams working in the rainforest.
SELF says energy from the sun is the only dependable way to meetthe electricity needs of poor villages. Many communities still usecandles, batteries and fuel-powered lights at night. Health centersdo not have power to keep medicines cold. Schools have noelectricity for copy machines or computers.
The group says solar energy, combined with wirelesscommunications technology, can help bring less developed parts ofthe world into the twenty-first century. SELF is on the Internet atwww.self.org.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss.