Climate change is evident throughout the world, creating rising sea levels, unpredictable weather patterns, and catastrophic events such as hurricanes, wildfires, and floods. Although everyone bears the brunt of this startling reality, developing regions, such as those found in Africa, are hit the hardest by these swings in nature. What was once almost an afterthought believed to affect only a few unfortunate individuals in distant areas, climatic shifts are now grabbing more headlines and threatening a massive number of communities, local and overseas. To prepare for significant environmental changes, governments are now emphasizing the need for investments in agriculture to improve productivity.

Every country in the world has benefited by the marked reduction in the cost of solar panels in the past two decades. Academics say that solar energy may even be more critical for the future of developing countries than for industrialized nations. 

In order to learn more about the promise of solar energy for developing countries, we spoke to Sanjeev Mansotra. 


At this point in history, the entire world as we know it is firmly established in terms of energy consumption and distribution. Worldwide, there are hundreds of millions of people who are dependent on energy every day for business, living, and everything in-between. The gears were set in motion long ago for companies and infrastructures based around providing energy for everyone; traditional methods such as fossil fuels are so deeply embedded in society that it is easy to see them as a necessary evil. 

The Lake Turkana Wind Power Project is one of the largest onshore wind farms in Africa. Located in Loiyangalani District, in Marsabit County, Kenya, the wind farm will have a total installed capacity of 310 megawatts when finished, able to power up to a million homes. The farm is anticipated to reduce carbon emissions significantly, as wind energy does not produce carbon emission (except when calculated over a wind power life cycle). As far as salvaging our planet goes, says Sanjeev Mansotra, the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project can serve as a great poster child of how Africa can play a part in championing world-saving renewable energy.


One-fourth of the world’s population has no electricity, according to research published in the SAPIENS journal. Of those who have no access to electricity worldwide, 90 percent are in rural areas of developing countries.

While climate change and pollution are core issues across the planet, they are especially critical in Africa. According to statistics published by the United Nations’ Environment Assembly, across low-income countries in Africa more than 25 percent of all deaths are attributable to environmental causes, such as infections, parasitic illnesses, and nutritional deficiencies. And with respect to climate change, extreme droughts, floods and storms continue to batter the African continent; which is even more devastating considering that 70 percent of the population grows their own food to some extent.