"While wealthy industrialised nations are struggling to find ways to encourage their populations to adopt solar energy, a small energy company in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) has teamed up with poor rural communities to bring them green energy.

Of the 5.7 million people living in Laos, only 48 percent are connected to the electrical grid, mainly in towns and cities. For the rest of the country, access is limited because of problems of infrastructure and affordability. Without power, these communities rely on environmentally unfriendly energy sources, such as firewood and kerosene."