Video Series: A Brighter Future for India

This video series documents how solar power has the potential to improve livelihoods, health, and the environment while avoiding the need for the costly grid expansion that is a distant reality for many.

Tackling Climate Change and Environmental Injustice, Asia-Pacific, Clean Energy, Conservation, India +2 More

See more: A Brighter Future for India: Harnessing the Sun to Bring Light to the Rural Poor by Andrew Satter and Rebecca Lefton

More than 1 billion people throughout the world lack reliable access to electricity. Many live in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The costs—in terms of lost economic potential and personal health effects—are staggering. The Center for American Progress and Sierra Club recently embarked on a trip to India to see firsthand how solar power is providing clean, affordable electricity in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state—and one of its poorest. This video series documents how solar power has the potential to improve livelihoods, health, and the environment while avoiding the need for the costly grid expansion that is a distant reality for many.

Map credit: Susan Powell

Additional video footage: Magnus Lekberg

Special thanks to Paul Needham and team at Simpa Networks and Par Almqvist, Dinesh Gupta, and team at OMC Power.

The positions of American Progress, and our policy experts, are independent, and the findings and conclusions presented are those of American Progress alone. A full list of supporters is available here. American Progress would like to acknowledge the many generous supporters who make our work possible.