Now in consumer trials in Kenya, field testing of the technology and concept will be extended to Zambia, Malawi and the Indian sub-continent over the next three months.
The commercial roll-out of IndiGo will start early in 2012.
Eight19 concept is to combine solar and mobile phone technology. As a result, the company says, solar power is inexpensive to buy and will allow used to light their homes and charge their mobile phones as a service paid for using scratchcards.
Among the first people to use the technology is Samuel Kimani, of Mwiki, Kenya, who has installed the IndiGo system in his house, which he had previously only lit with kerosene.
“My kerosene lighting… has been a very poor quality of light,” Kimani said. “[It] also creates a lot of air pollution.”
Not only does his IndiGo provide his with better light with which to read at night, but it also makes him feel empowered because he can charge it in his own home, he said.
The IndiGo system consists of a low-cost solar panel, a battery unit with inbuilt mobile phone charger and a high efficiency light emitting diode (LED) lamp. Users put credit on their IndiGo device using a scratchcard, which is validated over SMS using a standard mobile phone.
“We are very encouraged by this new way of delivering energy to off-grid applications in emerging markets” said Simon Bransfield-Garth, CEO of Eight19. “Indigo enables a new generation of solar power products that are affordable, providing customers with access, often for the first time, to clean low cost energy that eliminates the health risks and carbon emissions of kerosene.”
About 1.6 billion people – over one-fifth of the world’s population, currently lacks access to electricity via a national grid, and therefore either have to pat high prices for an alternative or have to do without light at all once the sun goes down.
By offering solar power as a service, without high purchase costs, these users can now access clean electricity for less than their current spend on kerosene, Bransfield-Garth said.
Further, the availability of affordable electricity stimulates social and economic development and provides the energy to power Internet connections and electronic devices, according to the company.
Steve Andrews, CEO of Solar Aid, a charity that is supporting the Kenya trials, said, “We are excited to be working with Eight19 on this revolutionary technology”.
“Solar energy offers huge economic, health and social benefits to the world’s poorest people; for lighting and mobile phone charging. Eight19’s technology opens up these benefits to many more people. This is a major breakthrough,” Andrews added.
For additional information: