Lao Voices

To quote a famous Dutch footbal player and coach, Johan Cruijff, “Every disadvantage has its advantages”. This could also become true for Laos. The people of Laos hunger for electricity to increase productivity and general comfort of life. Unfortunately, only 48 percent of Laotians are connected to the electrical grid.  High costs and a lack of good infrastructure prevent the majority of Laos to reap the benefits of “the power plug”.  Most citizens resort to energy sources such as kerosene and the precious wood of Laos’ rain forest.

Sunlabob and local villagers providing a green source of energy to the village

However, there is a good chance that Laos could provide its people a sustainable and clean form of energy in the near future. The technology is there: solar power. Tapping into that virtually endless source of power could protect the country from cycles of industrial pollution that accompanied the provision of electricity in  industrialized countries. Green energy is the future and Laos could easily make a green shortcut to such a future.

A local company, Sunlabob Rural Energy, is renting solar-based systems to villagers. Sunlabob won last year’s Energy Globe Award and this year’s United Nations Environment prize for their innovative implementations of solar energy in Laos. The company rents solar-powered lanterns at relatively low prices to users who can recharge the lamps for a small fee at a central facility in the village :a central sun-powered power plug. Larger villages can use other programmes such as combination of solar, hydro and generator power to create a grid with enough energy to power its vital resources such as health clinics, rice mills and water pumps.

A typical solar fence used by Sunlabob

Around 1,800 village systems and 500 solar lanterns have been rented to families in 73 villages in Laos. Although the initial costs of setting up a solar system are high, these costs are lowered per capita through Sunlabob’s rental model. This rental model ensures that even Laos’ poorest communities have access to solar technology.

I am very positive about this green Lao company that combines technology knowledge with extensive knowledge of local communities, and, does not rely on subsidies for their business. Perhaps the Lao government will consider Sunlabob as one of the first non-governmental companies to its stock exchange in 2010?

Such a capital injection would strengthen Sunlabob’s financial position which would enable them to increase their projects in Laos. I would invest in Sunlabob and so would many others. Let’s hope for an IPO in 2010.

Source: Irin Asia