According to recent reports, more than 1.5 billion people worldwide currently lack electricity, while another 1 billion are faced with inconsistent power in their homes. Many of these people live in developing countries, where infrastructure has been slow to develop and where the money to build a state of the art power grid may not have ever been accessible.

It is quite heartening, then, to learn that many of these developing countries are turning to renewable energy sources such as solar power. While the lights might not be on for everyone in the world for years, or possibly decades, the technology — and the way in which solar is scalable — is leading to steadily growing implementation and growing return.

Large Populations, Inadequate Supply

In both India and China, the two most-populous countries on Earth, large percentages of the populations are without regular electricity. This problem has led to growing dependence on fossil fuel power plants, increased pollution and risks to the environment and the population.

In India, solar power is the fastest-growing energy source, and government officials are promising power to every household by 2019.

“Solar power is India’s opportunity of a lifetime. It has the power to address not only India’s development problems, but it could also be a game changer for global climate change,” said Tobias Engelmeier, director of the group Bridge to India. “Reaching a capacity of 100 gigawatts in 15 years is realistic.”

Meanwhile, in China, experts agree that the huge current investment in solar and other renewables makes it technically and economically feasible for the country to phase out fossil fuels in the next few decades.

Good for The Planet

While the growth of solar energy in developing countries is moving in a positive trajectory, many of these countries — from Thailand and Bulgaria to Ukraine, Morocco and Vietnam — are still reliant on fossil fuels for now.

As the costs of technology decrease, solar will become a more viable option for these countries, and the trend has already begun to increase in speed and trajectory.

“Clearly the trajectory is that the market is expanding, that clean energy is going to meet the majority of demand,”  said Phyllis Cuttino of the Pew Clean Energy Initiative.

Whether the growth in solar and other renewables is happening quickly enough to stem the tide of global climate change is up for debate, with some experts saying the growth must be much quicker. However, it is inarguable that the growth of solar power is helping.

In fact, renewables have become such a draw for emerging economies that some are “leapfrogging” fossil fuels and moving straight to building a grid based on solar and other clean energies.

“Emerging markets can deploy solar, wind  and other renewable technologies without costly grid infrastructure, making it possible for developing countries to leapfrog the 20th-century model of energy service provision and employ the 21st-century solution of distributed service delivery, as they have done successfully in the telecommunications sector,” according to a recent Pew report.

The progress is still slow in many developing regions, but solar power is making a difference around the world, leading the globe toward a renewable energy future.

If you’d like to find out how installing solar panels on your roof can help you drive your electric bill down to zero, contact us today for a free quote.