According to studies by the US space agency NASA, Niger is one of the sunniest places in the world, making it in effect a 1.2 million square-kilometre (463,322 square-mile) solar mirror. But even in these days of prohibitive oil prices, renewable energy accounts for less than 0.5 percent of the needs of this huge west African country.

The situation is all the more surprising given that in the past 80 years, Niger's solar energy authority, ONERSOL, has promoted solar water heaters, driers and cookers, all made locally. These days, water pumps and community televisions also run on solar power through photovoltaic panels.

So what happened? Put simply, it was the collapse in the price of uranium, on which Niger, one of the world's poorest countries, is largely dependent.

Suddenly the authorities cut off funding to ONERSOL and abandoned their solar dream. What's more, Niger must now keep paying electricity bills to its giant southern neighbour Nigeria -- even though the uranium price has recovered.

"When it's about investing in science and technology one is always told that there is no money. But to fail to make good use of the sun is just plain stupidity," said Albert Wright, an engineer at ONERSOL.

The problems in Niger mirrors that in much of sub-Saharan Africa, thwarting efforts to tap what would seem an obvious and free resource.

For Michel Clerc of the French non-governmental organisation SOS Futur, solar power is the answer to bringing electricity to rural areas where it is too costly to instal power lines and connect to the national grid. Above all, it can be used to pump water in a country that is three-quarters desert.

-- Failing to make good use of the sun is plain stupidity --

In Niger clean water is rare and, according to the UN Children's Fund UNICEF, 80 percent of the deaths of children under five are due mainly to drinking contaminated water.

"You need energy for pumps in certain places, the water table is 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) below ground," said Alzouma Issa, who manufactures solar panels in the capital Niamey.

At the same time, the equipment remains prohibitively expensive. At 240 dollars (167 euros) for a cooker and 600 dollars (417 euros) for a pair of 40-Watt solar panels, few people in Niger can afford it with more than 60 percent living below the poverty line.

According to specialists, you would need 4,000 euros for a 500-Watt solar installation and between 46,000 and 76,000 euros to set up a solar-powered water bore.

Omar Traore, another solar panel manufacturer, blames the high costs on customs duties of more than 20 percent.

"You need to abolish them to substantially lower the price," he said.

Despite the uranium windfall, Niger still relies on foreign funding. This has helped fund a few successful solar projects, including supplying solar power for vital infrastructure in Kananbakache, a small central southern town of some 5,000 people, and in Dangona, a village of about 3,000 people in the west.

The United Nations has also recently provided solar equipment at Diagourou, a town of 50,000 inhabitants in the southwest.

In these three places, the clinics and maternity hospitals now have permanent electricity to refrigerate vaccines and medicine, to light and ventilate the wards and, the biggest luxury of all, water from a tap.

Related Links
All About Solar Energy at SolarDaily.com

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News