Energy-as-a-Service

SolarAid’s Energy-as-a-Service model combines affordable financing with strong community operations and aims to achieve 100% sustained energy access for everyone, everywhere.

Reaching everyone, everywhere

In many remote communities, families still rely on candles or kerosene lamps because solar power feels out of reach. The upfront cost is too high, and looking after the equipment can be risky and expensive.

Our Energy-as-a-Service model changes that. Families don’t have to buy a solar system, the installation of a solar home system is made by SolarAid and they simply pay for the light they use, at a price similar to candles. We own the systems, keep them in good working order, and make sure the lights stay on.

It’s a simple idea with a big impact: clean, reliable energy for everyone, starting with those who have been left behind for far too long. Together with local communities and partners, we’re proving that 100% clean energy access isn’t a dream for the distant future, it’s something we can achieve now.

"It was like magic. It was a beautiful moment for all of us. I felt so happy and proud to have this opportunity at last."

Kenedy Buleya, outside his home in Kasakula

Light a Village: Reaching 100% with Energy-as-a-Service

Traditional Authority Kasakula, in rural Malawi, is now the first community in the country to have 100% access to clean, reliable solar power through our award-winning Energy-as-a-Service based pilot ‘Light a Village’..

This is one of the poorest and most remote areas in one of Africa’s least electrified nations. With no national grid connection, families here previously relied on candles, kerosene lamps, or open flames, options that are expensive, unsafe, and harmful to health and the environment.

Using our Energy-as-a-Service based model, we have connected all 8,813 households in Kasakula, as well as all twelve schools and one health clinic. Families do not need to buy or maintain the systems. Instead, they pay only for the energy they use, at a price comparable to candles, while SolarAid takes care of installation, repairs, and maintenance.

We chose Kasakula because of its remoteness and limited resources, to test and refine an approach that can work for even the hardest-to-reach communities. The next step is to prove the model’s long-term viability by monitoring usage and revenue data. The success here is now shaping how we can scale this model across sub-Saharan Africa, quickly, affordably, and sustainably.

Light a Village pilot has been funded by a combination of donations from ten generous donors matched by the Turner Kirk Trust.