The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has proclaimed 17 Goals for sustainable development, to which 191 of 208 countries in the world have subscribed. Which of these goals does the SolSol project address?
The full description of these Development Goals (“SDG”) can be found at www.undp.org. Here is also a booklet containing and explaining all 17 SDG goals, very worthwhile to read: (SDGs Booklet.pdf (345 kB))
There are two goals which directly hit the “bull’s eye” of the SolSol project:
SDG #7: “Affordable and Clean Energy” with the aim to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”.
The current energy supply situation in PNG is in the hands of a single state-owned company, which has heavy challenges keeping its network of very limited reach in operation and approaches further expansion in a very selective way. This makes access to electrical power a rather costly, unreliable option with high chances of interruptions. This is not acceptable for life in the 21st century. Solar energy production can be installed at any remote location without the need for connection to a public power grid.
SDG #13: “Climate Action” with the aim to “take urgent action to combat climate change and its impact”.
Running diesel-powered generators as the source of electricity in many rural locations is the most expensive and wasteful form of energy production, and directly contributes to climate change with its exhaust fumes and emissions. Solar energy production is completely silent and does not require any additional materials for fuel which will further accelerate the climate change.
Apart from these two direct SDG goals, there are a group of other SDG’s, which are at least enabled by the SolSol project. These are:
SDG #3: “Good Health and Well-Being”: Bringing power to rural Health Centers and Clinics enables access to medicines, vaccines and life-saving operations even during night-hours.
SDG #4: “Quality Education”: Bringing power to rural schools and family homes enables teachers to use lights, computers and other equipment for teaching and learning and enables children to do studies and reading even after sunset.
SDG #5: “Gender Equality”: SolSol’s “Engineering School” component actively encourages girls to learn engineering skills or to participate in the maintenance of the SolSol stations. Other women are enabled to use electrical appliances for daily work chores or start revenue-earning activities. This creates equal chances between men and women.
SDG #6: “Clean Water”: Bringing solar power to remote villages enables the use of electrical water pumps with hygienic water conduits instead of manually carrying water from the source to the village in all sorts of containers.
SDG #12: “Responsible Consumption and Production”: SolSol’s “Community Ownership” component includes awareness-training on the value and responsible usage of solar power. The community learns to understand that solar power is provided “for free” by the Sun and is limited by the size of the solar installation and energy storage systems installed. This encourages responsible usage and preservation of valuable electrical energy.