Much of the rural population in Senegal still has no access to electricity. In many cases, this is an obstacle to community development. The Senegalese government has therefore set itself an ambitious target: to electrify every village by 2017.
 
Solar power plays a key role in this electrification strategy. Senegalese experts are confident that, in many areas, energy can already be generated more cheaply from the sun than from oil-based sources. The example of Baïla, in the south of Senegal, shows the positive force which can be unleashed within a village infrastructure from the operation of solar power plants.
 
Dierk Jensen
Freelance journalist
Hamburg, Germany
Dierk.jensen@gmx.de