Off-grid solar brings light, time and income to remotest villages

By VICTORIA MILKO and DITA ALANGKARA
Associated Press

LAINDEHA, Indonesia (AP) — In Indonesia’s far-east island of Sumba, off-grid solar is lighting up lives for residents still living out of reach of the country’s national electricity provider. For the equivalent of $3.50 per month paid over three years to grassroots social enterprise projects, villagers can buy solar home systems generating enough electricity for lightbulbs, cellphone chargers and other appliances. While financial, maintenance and supply issues remain, experts say the solar schemes on the island could be replicated across the vast archipelago nation and overseas, going the last mile to provide renewable energy to millions across the globe.