Reducing light poverty through solar-powered streetlights

08 May 2023

In April 2023, we implemented the ‘Lighting Up Lives’ Solar Streetlight Installation Project across remote villages in Gurugram and Tiruppur, India. Although these communities have access to electricity, they did not previously have any outdoor streetlight facilities, which made movement in dark areas challenging and risk-prone for both people and livestock.

The installation of these streetlights has greatly helped to reduce light poverty and brought safety, sustainability and a better quality of life to more than 64,000 local people. In addition, the use of solar energy removes the need to take power from the local electricity grid. The 29 megawatts which would have been used each year if the streetlights relied on grid connection is enough electricity to power 725 average rural Indian households per month.