Greenlight Planet marks milestone with 17m Kenyans on solar power

Greenlight Planet, a global leader in solar home energy products has successfully delivered clean and reliable energy solutions to seventeen million Kenyans.

The adoption of these Sun King solar solutions have replaced 2.2 million kerosene lanterns and cumulatively offset 4.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Without access to clean and affordable energy, rural Kenyans spend a large share of their scarce income on expensive and unhealthy forms of energy, which provide poor or unsafe services, e.g., dry cell batteries, rudimentary and inefficient kerosene lamps, charcoal, and candles.

Kerosene, for example, is an expensive and dangerous source of energy and its continued usage leads to serious health implications and a significant negative environmental impact. According to the World Bank, the underserved households in Kenya spend approximately 10 to 25 percent of their monthly household income on kerosene.

Beyond CO2 emissions, incomplete combustion of kerosene leads to the release of soot or black carbon, which also contributes to global warming and poor indoor air quality. One kerosene lamp emits about 200 lbs of CO2 every year but the black carbon emitted is equivalent to about 4,000 lbs of CO2.

Given this context, rural households adopting clean energy and leapfrogging the grid is a significant way forward towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of 'Affordable and Clean Energy' and 'Climate Action'.

As a pioneer in the industry, Anish Thakkar, Co-founder of Greenlight Planet shares, “Replacing the millions of kerosene lamps, candles and flashlights used worldwide with modern solar lighting like Sun King solutions not only saves people money, it reduces carbon emissions, indoor air pollution and health risks, all while boosting green jobs.”

Under the Paris agreement, the world’s governments have committed to two objectives for global temperatures: limiting global warming since pre-industrial times to “well below” 2° C, and “pursuing efforts” to restrict it to 1.5° C.

To make it likely that the world can stay within the 2 °C limit, global carbon dioxide emissions need to drop to net-zero by around 2070. For the more demanding 1.5° C goal, they need to do it by around 2050.

The upcoming summit COP26 conference implies a huge shift towards lower-carbon forms of energy.

“We extend our support to national governments and international organisations working towards the goal of reducing carbon emissions to net-zero by delivering high-quality solar products and educating local communities about their benefits,” adds Anish.

About Greenlight Planet 

Greenlight Planet is a multinational, for-profit business that designs, distributes and finances solar home energy solutions with an underserved population in mind: the 800 million population for whom the traditional electrical grid is either inaccessible or too expensive.

Greenlight Planet has sold over 15 million Sun King™ solar home energy products to off-grid households around the world.

Greenlight Planet reaches remote, off-grid customers through a vast network of micro-entrepreneurs, more than 300 global strategic distribution partners, and its proprietary Sun King EasyBuy (“pay-as-you-go”) instalment payment technology that makes safe, high-quality solar energy products affordable for all.

Greenlight Planet’s Sun King™ products are currently installed in 65+ countries and serve more than 70 million beneficiaries. Find out more at https://www.greenlightplanet.com.