World Bank Study: Off-Grid Solar Is Now the Cheapest Power for Nearly 400 Million People.

Specifically, for people still living without electricity. And it’s relatively cheap. Writing for OilPrice.com, researcher and analyst Alex Kimani notes:

The report estimates that bringing reliable off-grid electricity to those 398 million people will take $11.4 billion between 2027 and 2030. That includes $1.3 billion a year in grants and affordability subsidies and $1.6 billion a year in equity, debt and receivables financing. It is a small but critical slice of the $3 trillion to $5 trillion in average annual energy transition investment the world needs by 2030.

And from the report’s press release:

The off-grid solar sector is a growing engine of jobs, income, and enterprise. The report estimates that 7.4 million people use off-grid solar to power microenterprises or support income-generating activities, such as agriculture, retail, and services. Over the past 15 years, these products have generated an estimated USD28 billion in additional income and savings for customers. Employment is also growing. The off-grid solar market surveyed for this report employs 219,000 people, up 29% in the past two years, most of them agents and technicians working in the communities they serve.

Link. (via The Crucial Years.)