For some, renewable energy from solar panels is a cheap, sustainable alternative to grid-provided power. For others, it’s a necessity.

According to The New York Times, 600 million people in Africa do not have access to electricity. To avoid the need for expensive energy infrastructure, off-grid power generation is increasingly the solution to bring energy to communities.

One provider of pay-as-you-go solar energy on the continent has touted the viability of renewable energy systems for businesses and homeowners.

“If you treat low-income people as customers, not charity cases, you can change the world,” Jesse Moore, co-founder and CEO of M-KOPA, told Bloomberg.

As Corporate Knights detailed, solar energy is powering small businesses, health clinics, and farms. In addition to providing much-needed electricity, it is helping to boost economic growth.

World Bank Group estimates that at the current pace of development, mini-grids could provide power to 46 million people by 2030. However, greater investment is needed to meet a Sustainable Development Goal 7 target to have solar energy reach 380 million people by the end of the decade.

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“Solar mini grids can reach populations today that would otherwise wait years to be reached by the grid,” said Gabriela Elizondo Azuela, manager of the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program.

“They have the potential to transform the power sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. Through World Bank operations and advice to governments, ESMAP is helping take mini-grids from a niche to a mainstream solution.”

It’s not just in Africa where communities are seeing the potential of cheap solar energy. In Lakeland, Florida, for example, a housing development is set to feature solar panels on every property that are connected to a local microgrid.

Those residents will soon benefit from low energy bills, but their homes will also be more resilient during extreme weather events — when grid outages are common. With Florida particularly prone to hurricanes, being able to keep the lights on and use essential appliances can be a genuine life-saver.

What’s more, since those panels won’t contribute to the production of planet-warming pollution while in operation — the energy grid, on the other hand, still relies heavily on dirty fuels — these homeowners will also reduce their contribution to making those intense weather conditions worse.

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