The World in 2030

214 The World in 2030
patterns – with the most heat and light being delivered to
equatorial regions.
Clearly, solar technologies will have the greatest
application where there is the most sunlight – areas which
also tend to be home to the world’s poorest communities.
In these areas more than 2.5 billion people, almost half of
the global population, still rely on wood, animal manure
and crop residue for their fuels. 408 In these equatorial regions
significant progress has already been made in harnessing the
sun’s energy (and, in some cases, improving the lives of local
people).
I.M. Dharmadasa, 409 Professor of Electronic Materials
and Devices at the UK’s Sheffield Hallam University (the
consulting referee on this section of my report), has been
pioneering the development and the deployment of solar
photovoltaic devices and systems for decades and has made
significant breakthroughs 410 in increasing the efficiency of
solar power devices.
Professor Dharmadasa was the key instigator behind
the formation of SAREP (South Asia Renewable Energy
Programme) and in his paper ‘Use of Solar Energy For Social
Development And Reduction of Poverty’ he describes a
project in Sri Lanka which he and his colleagues initiated
and on which he consulted.
In most developing countries, only a small fraction
of the population has access to electricity from
their national grids. In Sri Lanka for example about
60 per cent of the population enjoys facilities with