Kyocera delivers solar power to Nepal schools

Electricity-poor Nepal will get an energy boost starting this year, thanks to a programme in which Kyocera Corporation will donate solar power systems to middle schools across the nation.

For the next five years, Kyocera will install a 600-watt solar energy generating system in three different schools, for a total of 15 schools. Each system will also include storage batteries, lights and audio-visual equipment.

Only 20 percent of Nepal currently has access to electricity, according to the Asian Development Bank. Even those regions with electricity are at the mercy of nature, as much of the power generated comes from hydroelectric systems that don’t produce during dry seasons.

Kyocera’s work in Nepal began in 2000, when it partnered with a local firm — Lasersun Energy — to supply small-scale solar energy systems for homes, along with other solar technologies and LED lighting.

According to the company, “With the donation of solar power generating systems, Kyocera believes it is meaningful to provide light for the classrooms and to power televisions and radios that can be used in the education of the children who carry the future of the country on their shoulders.”

Kyocera has also installed solar energy systems in other nations, including Pakistan, China and Tunisia.