太阳能：非洲经济的秘密武器

    在发达国家，电价低廉，供电随处可得。但在电力基础设施薄弱的非洲，缺电很常见。人们用汽车蓄电池为手机充电。煤油灯是常用的照明设备，但同时也非常脏和危险。

    由于各国电网增长速度远远落后于需求增长，越来越多的非洲人不再寻求基于化石燃料的集中化解决方式，而是转向了太阳能。

    迄今为止，太阳能发电在非洲能源构成中只是一个辅助角色，但太阳能利用的增长标志着非洲地区向可再生资源的转向。2004年，非洲的可再生能源行业规模还只有7.50亿美元。2011年，这个数字已经达到36亿美元。去年年末，联合国预计，到2020年，非洲的可再生能源行业规模将达到570亿美元。

    太阳能特别适合非洲中部和东部光照充足的赤道地区，一位创业者说：“这里，能源每天都照在我们头上。”最近几年，这个地区已经成为可再生能源的天堂，一些科技领先的小公司迫切希望能从南半球对能源的渴求中挖掘商机。

    总部位于美国硅谷的Fenix International就是这样一家公司。这家公司开发出了一种即插即用的电池ReadySet，可以通过太阳能电池板或自行车充电。虽然ReadySet拥有一系列的功能（它拥有USB接口和汽车点烟器接口），但它的设计主要是帮助用户在没有电网的地方为手机充电。

    根据移动运营商行业协会GSMA的数据，今年一季度，撒哈拉以南非洲地区的手机入网总数超过了5亿。这个数字预计在未来5年还将再增加2.50亿。在非洲，很多人拥有手机，但不一定有供电。他们是全球缺电手机用户的一部分，这些用户2009年预计为5亿人。没有电力供应，意味着很多电池没电。

    “非洲的手机入网增长速度非常惊人，”Fenix的CEO兼创始人林麦克（音译）说“这是我们看中的机会。”

    迄今为止，Fenix已经在乌干达卖出了3,000套ReadySet（乌干达的销售办公室是Fenix最大的一个），在全球共售出5,000套。早期用户包括一些创业者，他们使用ReadySet为当地手机用户提供收费充电服务。

    “它就像一个迷你许可，”Fenix东非地区总监林赛•汉德勒说“它是一个可以规模化的简单解决方案。用这个箱子，人们一年可以获得稳定的收入。”

    起初以10万美元信用卡贷款白手起家创立这家公司的林麦克最近完成了新一轮融资，吸引到了法国电信公司Orange和能源管理公司施耐德电气（Schneider Electric）这样的大型企业投资者。林麦克预计，Fenix将在未来两、三年实现盈利。

    In the developed world, electricity is cheap and as available as the nearest outlet. But in off-the-grid Africa, energy poverty is endemic. Car batteries are tapped to charge mobile phones. Kerosene is a popular light source -- as well as a dirty, dangerous one.

    With national grid expansion lagging well behind growth in demand, increasingly Africans are looking not to centralized, fossil fuel-based solutions, but to the sun.

    To date, solar power plays only an auxiliary role in Africa's energy mix, but growth in solar use is emblematic of a regional shift toward renewables. In 2004, the African renewable energy sector was valued at $750 million. By 2011, it reached $3.6 billion. Late last year, the U.N. projected that by 2020 the value of the African renewable energy sector would reach $57 billion.

    Solar is particularly well-suited to sunny, equatorial Central and East Africa, where, in the words of one entrepreneur, "energy is every day beating people on the head." In recent years, the region has become a haven for renewable energy, spearheaded by small, tech-savvy companies keen to capitalize on the global south's hunger for energy.

    Silicon Valley-based Fenix International is one such firm. The company developed the ReadySet unit, a plug-and-play battery that can be charged either by solar panels or bicycle. While the ReadySet has a range of functions -- it has USB and car cigarette lighter ports -- it was primarily designed to assist mobile phone charging in off-the-grid markets.

    According to GSMA, a mobile operators trade association, total mobile connections in Sub-Saharan Africa surpassed 500 million in the first quarter of this year. That number is expected to grow by another 250 million over the next five years. In Africa, more people have a mobile phone than electricity. They're part of a global population of off-the-grid mobile users that, in 2009, was estimated at 500 million. Without access to power, that's a lot of dead batteries.

    "The growth in mobile connections in Africa is tremendous," said Mike Lin, Fenix's CEO and founder. "This is the canary we're looking at."

    To date, Fenix has sold 3,000 ReadySet units in Uganda, where the company maintains its largest field office, and 5,000 total worldwide. Early adopters include entrepreneurs who use the ReadySet to provide local phone charging for a fee.

    "It's almost like a mini-franchise," said Fenix's Lyndsay Handler, the company's regional director in East Africa. "It's a simple solution that's scalable. Right out of the box, people can produce a smooth income over the course of the year."

    Lin, who initially shoe-stringed the company with $100,000 in credit card debt, recently concluded a new fundraising round, enticing major corporate investors like Orange, the French telecom, and Schneider Electric, an energy management firm. Lin expects Fenix to reach profitability in the next two to three years.