Solar Power in Rural Venezuela
Sembrando Luz, or “Sowing Light,” is a government anti-poverty program that brings electricity to the country’s most geographically isolated towns by installing solar panels and training the community to use and maintain them. The first phase began in 2007. By the end of 2009, more than 800 systems were installed in 550 communities, along with 110 solar powered water purification systems and 30 water pumps, benefitting an estimated 200,000 people. The second phase began this year in the community of El Quinó and a handful of other Andean towns.
Sembrando Luz, or “Sowing Light,” is a government anti-poverty program that brings electricity to the country’s most geographically isolated towns by installing solar panels and training the community to use and maintain them. The first phase began in 2007. By the end of 2009, more than 800 systems were installed in 550 communities, along with 110 solar powered water purification systems and 30 water pumps, benefitting an estimated 200,000 people. The second phase began this year in the community of El Quinó and a handful of other Andean towns. To read more about the program, click here. Photos by James Suggett and Sembrando Luz.