WhennightfallsinremotepartsofAfricaandtheIndiansubcontinent,hundredsofmillionsofpeoplewithoutaccesstoelectricityturntocandlesorkerosenelampsforillumination. Slowlythroughsmallloansforsolarpowereddevices,microfinanceisbringinglighttotheseruralregionswherealackofelectricityhasstemmedeconomicdevelopment,helddownliteracyratesanddamagedhealth. “Earlier,theycouldnotdomuchoncethesunset.Now,thesunisuseddifferently.Theyhaveincreasedtheirproductivity,improvedtheirhealthandsocio-economicstatus,”saidPinalShahfromSEWABank,amicro-lendinginstitution. VegetablesellerRamibenWaghritookoutaloantobuyasolarlanternwhichsheusestolightupherstallatnight.Thelanterncostsbetween$66-$112,aboutaweek’sincomeforWaghri.“Thevegetableslookbetterbythislight,andit’scheaperthankeroseneanddoesn’tsmell,”saidWaghri,whoestimatesshemakesabout300rupees($6)moreeacheveningwithherlantern.“Ifwecanusethesuntosavesomemoney,whynot” InIndia,solarpowerprojects,oftenfundedbymicrocreditinstitutions,arehelpingthecountryreducecarbonemissionsandachieveitsgoaltodoublethecontributionofrenewableenergyto6%,or25,000megawatts,withinthenextfouryears. Off-gridapplicationssuchassolarcookersandlanterns,whichcanprovideseveralhoursoflightatnightafterbeingchargedbythesunduringtheday,willhelpcutdependenceonfossilfuelsandreducethefourthbiggestemitter’scarbonfootprint,saidPradeepDadhich,aseniorfellowatenergyresearchinstituteTERIinIndia“Theyarereachingpeoplewhootherwisehavelimitedornoaccesstoelectricityanddependonkerosene,dieselorfirewoodfortheirenergyneed,”hesaid.“Theappliancesnotonlysatisfytheseneeds,theyalsoimprovethequalityoflifeandreducethecarbonemissions.” SEWA,ortheSelf-EmployedWomen’sAssociation,isamongagrowingnumberofmicrofinanceinstitutionsinIndiafocusedonprovidingaffordablerenewableenergysourcestopoorpeople,whootherwisewouldhavehadtostandforhourstobuykeroseneforlampsortrudgekilometerstocollectfirewoodforcooking. SKS,Microfinance,thelargestsuchinstitutioninIndia,offerssolarlampstoits5millioncustomers,whiletheRuralSolarElectricityFoundationhelpspayforlampsandsystemsforhomesandstreetlightingforvillagersinIndia,NepalandBangladesh. InneighboringBangladesh,thestate-ownedandprivate-sectorpowerplantscangenerate3,700to4,300megawattsofelectricityadayagainstademandof5,500megawatts,accordingtothestate-runpowerdevelopmentboard.Withonly40percentofthecountry’speoplehavingaccesstoelectricity,microfinanceinstitutionslikeGrameenBankhavemadeamajorpushtowardexpandingtheuseofsolarpower.Since2001,350,000solarhomesystemshavebeeninstalledinBangladeshand550,000solarlanternshavebeendistributed,bringingsolarpowertoabout4millionpeople. “Rightnow2.5millionpeoplearebenefitingfromsolarenergy,andwehaveaplantoreach10millionpeoplebytheendof2012,”saidDipalChandraBarua,managingdirectorofGrameenShakti,anoffshootofthe2006NobelPeacePrizewinnerGrameenBank,whichencouragestheuseofalternativeenergy.