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10.7 PV in Developing Countries 2000-2009

Donor driven projects increase, and more international organisations are formed with the focus on supporting
the growth of solar home systems being deployed in developing countries. More companies start and close
as the solar home market tries to get established in many countries globally. This decade sees a number of
manufacturers established with the focus on plug and play small solar home systems (SHS) that allows the
end-users to self-install. A number of these are the companies that transformed the SHS market into the
vibrant commodity market that exists today. Near the end of the decade a new World Bank Group Initiative,
Lighting Africa will lead the way in the use of quality plug and play systems that helps initiate the new
commodity market for SHS. The grid connected PV market is growing substantially however a number of
industry people are unaware of, or interested in, the need for solar energy solutions in the developing world.
This led to a new industry association, Alliance for Rural Electrification being formed to focus on this market
from the industry perspective.

• In 2000 1.36 billion people in the world did not have access to electricity representing 22.3% of the total
population. This had decreased to 1.17 billion by 2009 representing 16.8% of the population

Table 26: Percentage of Population without access to Electricity 2000-2009

2000 22.3%
2001 22.7%
2002 21.2%
2003 20.5%
2004 20.3%
2005 19.6%
2006 18.8%
2007 18.3%
2008 17.7%
2009 16.8%

Figure 86: Access to Electricity 2000-2009
Table 27: Access to Electricity by Regions 2000 and 2009

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