While solar power has proven to be profitable and easily adopted in developed nations, it is also one of the renewable energies most suitable for the developing world. Countries such as India, Brazil, and Nigeria, where sunlight is plentiful and the costs of climate change are likely to be high, are well suited to adopting measures such as solar-powered water pumps and street lamps. However, projects involving photovoltaic panels, the most popular form of solar technology, don’t come cheap. This is where the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) steps in.

SELF is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization that provides technical and financial assistance for solar energy and wireless communication systems in the developing world. It was founded in 1990 by Neville Williams, a former journalist who used to work as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Energy during the Carter Administration, and its current Executive Director is Robert Freling. With solar electrification and enterprise programs in China, Bhutan, and Tanzania, and other countries, SELF aims to help rural communities obtain electricity and connect to the Web—without plugging into an electric grid, which carries significant environmental and financial costs. This is particularly true for remote, rural villages, where it would be costly and impractical to construct high-voltage lines that would ultimately only serve a few communities.

Seventy percent of the developing world lack electricity. Most of these two billion people rely largely on kerosene for light and on dry-cell batteries for power. Productivity is low, as it is difficult for them to study or work solely by candlelight or by lantern. What’s more, the use of kerosene in enclosed places has been linked to persistent respiratory problems. SELF provides villagers with sun-powered facilities, funded in large part with donations and with microcredit options—small loans acquired for part of a larger payment, which are typically made over short periods. The organization financed and installed water purification facilities, and has helped bring electricity to health clinics and small businesses. While considerable challenges remain at both the local and global scale, SELF’s work is evidence that development goals aren’t necessarily incompatible with efforts to mitigate climate change.