Mongolia
Mongolia has historically been a nation of nomadic herdsmen, far removed from city life, and their decision not to settle in one place has made it hard to establish any sort of infrastructure in the region. When your home itself is transient, it’s hard to find power to plug into. This has changed thanks to a program by the World Bank where small, portable, solar panels have been given to some 500,000 individuals, roughly 50% of Mongolia’s rural population. The World Bank claims that some of the benefits of this access to electricity include safer lighting, and the ability to get weather reports as well as market prices in distant locations via television or mobile phones.
Kenya
Many people in Kenya are without electricity and this makes them an ideal candidate for distributed solar programs. In some villages, individual families have purchased solar panels for their homes, while others have selected to test out larger village-scale utility systems called ‘microsols’ that provide power, heat, and clean water to villages with up to 1,000 inhabitants. These large scale PV projects have a lifespan of 20 years, produce 50 megawatt-hours of electricity per day, 1,000 cubic meters of water, and about 800 magawatt-hours of heat energy per year.
Guatemala
Guatemala is only 900 miles from the U.S. border, yet 520,000 people who live here, live without electricity. How can a country with such great history tracing back to the ancient Mayans be so far behind when it comes to basic utilities such as electricity, and what is it doing to fix that? Guatemala is a rugged country and many places lack paved roads, or where there are paved roads, they may be damaged from the heavy rains and flooding that bombard certain regions. All of these factors keep many people off the electric grid but over the past few years, private companies have been investing in setting up solar PV projects in the regions without power and that trend is beginning to grow.
Tanzania
The company Sunfounder, recently gave a $10,000 loan to finance 450 units of solar lighting and mobile phone chargers. With this investment, nearly 1,800 individuals stand to benefit from the loan and the environment benefits by reducing 60,300 kg of carbon dioxide emissions.
Fiji
One may not expect Fiji to be on this list, however, it is because of its unique layout of many islands, making it hard to have a central grid to provide power to all of the islands. This is beginning to change as Kyocera is partnering with the Fijian Department of Energy to bring power to 2,000 households that previously never had reliable access to power.
Do you know of other countries that are taking strides to enhance their electric grid with solar? Share them with us at outreach@joos.net!

2013 brought with it a breath of fresh air to the solar industry by breaking records and setting the stage for some big things to come. While it’s still a bit early to call solar photovoltaics “mainstream,” we’re getting closer and closer to that point. We’ve compiled a list of some solar industry statistics of 2013 that really show just how far we’ve come, as well as how far we still need to go. Take a look at these statistics and give us your feedback, or, a statistic you know of that we didn’t include.
4 minutes
2006 – In 2006, U.S. solar installers were putting up a new PV system every 80 minutes.
2013 – 2013 saw a shift to the U.S. becoming a global leader in solar: At our current pace, every 4 minutes, another American home or business goes solar. This is a huge jump from where we were just 7 years ago.
By 2016, it is estimated that a new solar system will be deployed every 80 seconds.
To go from 80 minutes to 80 seconds in just 10 years is no small feat and it just goes to show that mainstream solar is fast approaching.
(Update: In his State of the Union speech, President Obama mentioned the fact that every 4 minutes another home or business goes solar. Thanks to GTM Research for providing us with that fact and thank you to President Obama for using it in your speech!)
100 gigawatts
2011 – The global solar industry had 50 gigawatts of capacity installed.
2012 – By the end of 2012, it had surpassed 100 gigawatts, doubling the capacity in just one year.
By the end of 2015, global solar capacity is expected to reach more than 200 gigawatts. In just four years, we could easily quadruple our solar generation capacity.
2.5 years 
The 100 gigawatt number is an important benchmark as it took nearly 40 years to get 50 gigawatts installed. In just 2.5 years, however, two-thirds of all solar PV projects were built worldwide.
10 gigawatts
In the third quarter of 2013, the U.S. installed 930 megawatts of solar generation, surpassing the 10 gigawatts of cumulative capacity. With these numbers, the U.S. joins a small group of other countries, four to be exact, that have reached this milestone. For the first time in 15 years, the U.S. will likely install more solar photovoltaics than Germany when 2013 comes to a close.
51 percent
The solar market has historically been dependent on state-level subsidy programs, however, California has begun phasing out solar incentive for residential projects. According to GTM Research, 51 percent of residential PV systems were installed without the help of the California Solar Initiative. This is impressive as it shows that even without subsidies, people are still willing to make the financial commitment to go solar.
$0.70 per kilowatt
Net metering continues to be a hot-button issue in the world of solar as more and more states continue to battle the issue out. This fall, the Arizona Corporation Commission agreed to a compromise in order to preserve net metering, charging solar owners $0.70 per kilowatt a month. People in the solar industry are now wondering if this will set a precedent for other states to follow.
$0.36 per watt
China beat everyone to the punch by taking hold of monocrystalline production and in turn being able to charge whatever it wanted for the solar cells it was manufacturing. However, since 2010, top Chinese manufacturers dropped monocrystalline solar module costs by 54 percent and are on a trend to produce solar modules for $0.36 per watt by 2017. China is able to do this by refining their processes and automating their plants to reduce labor costs.
59 percent
Twice this year, Germany’s wind and solar installations provided 59 percent of power in the middle of the day, while also providing more than a third of generation throughout the entire day. On one occasion in October, solar peaked at 20.5 gigawatts of capacity and wind reached 16.6 gigawatts, with both providing more than 436 gigawatt-hours of electricity. That forced 23 gigawatts of conventional power plants to ramp down. We’re not quite there yet here in America, but we’re pushing to get there and every year brings advancements in technology and access to affordable photovoltaics.
One-third
Germany’s second biggest utility, RWE, has lost one-third of its value over the last three years according to The Economist. In light of this, RWE has begun to embrace the reality of solar, announcing that it would become “a project enabler and operator, and a system integrator of renewables” based on a “prosumer” business model.
64 percent
According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the non-hardware costs of residential solar installations now account for nearly two-thirds of the total system cost, up from 50 percent in 2011. These costs include labor, supply chain logistics, permitting, and customer acquisition.
$1 billion 
If the U.S. solar industry is going to hit the 362,000 installations in 2016 forecast by GTM Research, it will spend more than $1 billion to get the customer leads needed. That amounts to $0.49 per watt, or about 10 percent of the total cost of an installation. To deal with this expense, leading solar companies are developing new project management tools, crafting new sales strategies, and buying up lead generation companies. GTM Research’s Nicole Litvak sees customer acquisition as one of the most innovative areas of solar in the U.S.
25 percent
According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 25 percent of residential and commercial rooftops in America are suitable for solar. This reality creates a big opportunity for crowdsourced and community solar projects, two models that has been steadily gaining traction in the U.S. This also shows that home builders need to be aware of the potential that the home owner may want solar and design the home and more specifically the roof, to allow for a future PV installation.

Menlo Park, CA.
With 2012’s Superstorm Sandy still fresh in the country’s mind, it’s no wonder that preparedness is a top priority for families and individuals nationwide. Solar JOOS recognized this essential requirement for not only feeling safe, but actually having the tools to accomplish powered security in a time of need.
Thousands of citizens lined up to charge cellphones on the streets of New York, New Jersey, and beyond; and those were the ones that could make it out of their apartments and houses. When the batteries were dead, they had no way to power their devices back up to usability.
Solar JOOS recognized this as an enormous problem, and already has the solution to give peace of mind.
The Solar JOOS Orange
The JOOS Orange is the most reliable, rugged and powerful personal solar charger on the market. Charging 3.5 times faster than any other for the same price, it will charge in low light, shade, rain, and even underwater.
When fortunately there is no emergency, the JOOS is a convenient way to make sure you don’t have to rely on outlets to charge your smartphones, cellphones, tablets, MP3 players, GPS devices, cameras and more. Boasting two hours of talk time for just one hour of charging, it’s a quick, efficient way to make sure you can keep in touch with family, friends, coworkers and anyone else that you need to contact.
Specifics and technology of the JOOS Orange:
The built-in high capacity battery allows for charging either through a USB port or with sunlight.
• Charge time: 12hours direct sunlight/8hours USB
• Internal 5400mAh Li-po battery holds a charge until you need it
• Battery charge and PV power indicator LEDs
• Dead battery circuitry allows direct charging even if the battery is completely drained
• Fold out legs facilitate optimal solar capture
• Internal circuitry tracks how much solar energy you’re capturing and lets you view it in real time with myJOOS application – available for Windows and MAC
• Dimensions: 8.6″X5.8″x0.8″
• Weight: 24oz
About SolarJOOS:
SolarJOOS has been featured on local and national news, and in magazines and publications worldwide. In August 2011, Fox News featured a hurricane preparedness review of the JOOS Orange demonstrating its durability and water resistance. Gizmodo and Wired Magazine gave the JOOS Orange high ratings calling it “the physical manifestation of simplicity. It’s rugged, easy to store and carry, and (most importantly) quick to bestow a watt or two whenever you need it.” U.S. Airways also featured the JOOS Orange on the cover of its magazine, touting it as one of the Top 12 Tech Tools.