Solar technology that will shape the future

Meet the men and women bringing solar power to the people – and fighting to transform our global energy supply.

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Haiti - the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere ravaged by an earthquake in 2010 - most in this Caribbean outpost are living in darkness. Globally, 20% of people don't have access to electricity. In Haiti it's 75%.

Impoverished and without alternatives, Haiti's become a testing ground for a DIY power system that could help bring electricity to the 1.3 billion people worldwide who currently have none. It's one of many tentative steps toward a future where solar energy will play an ever larger role in powering the planet.

This is the story of the Solar pioneers and the technology they hope will shape the future.

Single mum Madeline has never had access to electricity. Today that's going to change. Until now she's used kerosene to feed lamps, spending $10 a month but her homes about to be hooked up to a groundbreaking energy system that will light her home for just $1.50 a month.

The country's limited national grid hadn't made it to the town of Leis Anglais - but this town's generating its own electricity in a groundbreaking power system that could provide a template for towns all across the developing world. This system provides enough energy for this community's current needs - from lighting people's homes to powering the town's mill. It's a model that could be the first step on the energy ladder for many others in the developing world.

Global electricity demand is projected to grow by almost eighty percent over the next 25 years with developing countries accounting for the bulk of the increase. Past increases in energy supply have relied largely on fossil fuels, which in many situations still provide the cheapest options, but they come with an obvious environmental cost.

The desire to travel is just one example of the contradiction between the energy demands of the rich world and concerns about the carbon emissions that result. All the more reason for those who profit to take a lead in finding ways to meet those demands with clean renewable energy.

The problem is that implementing an entirely new renewable infrastructure isn't easy especially in countries that are heavily reliant on oil, coal and gas.

The prices of fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas fluctuate but until recently they've all been a far cheaper option to solar - but Solar is catching up fast. Year-on-year solar power production is getting exponentially cheaper. Price means nothing without performance and one of the greatest challenges facing solar pioneers is how to make hay when the Sun isn't shining. Now one man believes he's found a revolutionary way to store solar energy.

Tesla founder Elon Musk has developed a new lithium-ion battery technology that's being rolled out as a consumer product. Powering homes is a starting point, but by releasing this video presentation to the world Musk's company was highlighting much more than the launch of a new product. In a performance tailored for a mass audience his bold claims pointed to a reinvention of the way we power the world.

In spite of all the recent progress, solar still only produces 1% of global electricity. To become a serious player it needs another game-changing logical leap.

One scientist in Oxford, England, thinks he may have the answer. In an air locked laboratory tests are being carried out on a new material that could be far more effective at capturing energy than traditional silicon solar panels. Bulky existing solar panels convert around 20% of light into electricity as it passes through. In the lab they can achieve the same results with this new super thin material. Just combining perovskite with traditional silicon panels has already been proven to nearly double their output. It's an early indication of the potential for products using perovskite to be highly efficient, lightweight and cost-effective. If a technology like this can make the jump from the lab to the mass-market, glass buildings could generate electricity in an entirely new way. With less dependence on the grid the economics of the energy industry could be transformed too.

Back in Haiti, the lights are about to be switched on in Madeline's house. Fossil fuels have served the world's energy needs for centuries but solar technology is now on the brink of being properly competitive. It's the start of a long journey but today homes in Haiti and factories in Alabama are beginning to show the potential of a different energy path - one that's clean, renewable, and urgently needed.

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