Alternative to grid power explored

KARACHI, June 25: Affordable solid-state lighting systems using renewable energy sources could be employed by the two billion people living in the rural areas of the underdeveloped world who have no access to grid electricity.

This was stated by Dave Irvine-Halliday, Scottish-Canadian electrical engineer who has put together a solid-state lighting system, at a press conference organized by the Light Up The World Foundation on Friday.

Mr Halliday said that an incandescent bulb dissipated a lot of heat energy. "It gives off only five per cent of its energy as light. The remaining 95 per cent of energy vanishes as heat. Using solar voltaic panels with storage batteries for powering incandescent bulbs or compact economy fluorescent light has been tried, but these bulbs utilize much power, necessitating installation of high-capacity solar panels which are still expensive," he said.

Holding up a solid-state lighting system, consisting white light-emitting diodes connected to a rechargeable solar panel, Mr Halliday explained that these systems used a fraction of the energy of a regular incandescent bulb. "They also have a very long life - about 100,000 hours. They are a one-time capital investment and they are physically very robust. Apart from being reliable and safe, as compared to kerosene lamps which are used in villages and other underdeveloped areas, they are environment- friendly," he said.

He said that a pilot project involving the use of solid-state lighting systems was initiated at Mubarak Village and was run quite successfully.

Mr Halliday said that the government could initiate micro- credit schemes so that people in rural areas could switch over to this new technology which was fast gaining acceptance in the world.

Former information minister Javed Jabbar introduced Mr Halliday and spoke about his solid-state lighting system. He also spoke about the various micro-credit schemes already in place which could enable the poor to purchase these lighting systems.