PRESS RELEASES
3,400 households in Burkina Faso have access to light
Amsterdam, 10th October 2009 – From today 3,400 households and small businesses in the south-west of Burkina Faso have access to light and electricity. Yeelen Ba (‘Big Light’ in the local Dioula language), a kind of mini solar electricity utility, was officially opened today. Whereas up until now most local activities had to stop when the sun went down, they can now continue after dark.
Annemarie Goedmakers, President of FRES, officially opened the new FRES company on behalf of General Secretary A. Tambouram, representative of the ministry of Commerce in Burkina Faso.
The initiative was set up by FRES (Foundation Rural Energy Services). FRES’s goal is to provide electricity to 100,000 households and small businesses by 2015. With the opening of Yeelen Ba, there are now three FRES-companies in operation. FRES already runs two companies in South Africa and Mali which together provide sustainable, affordable electricity to some 13,000 households.
Until recently 98% of the rural population of Burkina Faso had no access to electricity. By generating electricity locally, living in remote areas is a much more attractive proposition. The people can now make use of the world’s most powerful energy source, the sun, of which there is no shortage in Burkina Faso.
Access to electricity allows the local economy to grow. Children can do their homework even when it’s dark. Companies can stay open in the evening and new initiatives, such as charging stations for mobile phones and better manufacturing of aluminium cooking pots, can develop. Thus the initiative contributes significantly to the Millennium Development Goals. The FRES companies not only help to eradicate extreme poverty but also help to provide safer and healthier living conditions. The creation of the new FRES company was largely made possible by a subsidy from the European Union and financing from key sponsor, Nuon.
About FRES
FRES was set up in 2004 as an independent, not-for-profit foundation to promote rural electrification in developing countries. FRES establishes and manages small-scale electricity companies which provide access to electricity to households and small businesses in rural areas of the developing world. The FRES companies help to provide light to people in areas where it is otherwise dark after sunset and provide an economic stimulus to the region in which they are active. Energy company, Nuon, is the foundation’s key sponsor.
More information/photos
For further information, or to arrange an interview with Dr. Annemarie Goedmakers, the president of FRES, please contact:
FRES (Foundation Rural Energy Services), Inge Vesters (press officer) +31 20 528 6324.
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