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1998
• Construction was completed on 4 Times Square, the tallest skyscraper built in the 1990s in New York City.
It incorporates more energy-efficient building techniques than any other commercial skyscraper and also
includes building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) panels on the 37th through 43rd floors on the south- and
west-facing facades that produce a portion of the buildings power.
• The Florida Solar Energy Centre undertook a demonstration project called the “Zero Energy Home.”

9.7 PV in Developing Countries 1990-1999

In the 1990s more multi-lateral and bi-lateral projects relating to solar are starting to be implemented in the
developing countries. These were often demonstration projects and typically included subsidies for buying
down the upfront cost. More businesses were opening up in some of the larger markets. New delivery models
were being trialled such as micro-finance and later, fee-for-service.

• In 1990 1.5 billion people in the world did not have access to electricity, representing 28.6% of the total
population. This had decreased to 1.35 billion by 1999, representing 22.4% of the total population.

Note: Though these figures show unelectrified people, there are also many people (estimated over 1 billion
still in 2019) who live on unstable grids.

Table 17: Percentage of Population without access to Electricity 1990-1999
1990 28.6%
1991 28.4%
1992 27.4%
1993 26.8%
1994 26.5%
1995 26.0%
1996 24.8%
1997 24.1%
1998 23.5%
1999 22.4%

Figure 70: Access to Electricity 1990-1999

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