7 votes

Exponential adoption of solar power by opium-growers in Afghanistan

Posted by skybrian
Tags: energy.renewable, afghanistan, solar power, farming, heroin, opium, drugs.recreational, author.justin rowlatt, source.bbc
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53450688

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Title
What the heroin industry can teach us about solar power
Published
Jul 27 2020
Word count
2069 words

1 comment

  1. skybrian
    Link
    From the article:

    From the article:

    "It's just how opium poppy is farmed now," Mr Brittan tells me. "They drill down 100m (325ft) or so to the ground water, put in an electric pump and wire it up to a few panels and bingo, the water starts flowing."

    Take-up of this new technology was very rapid.

    The first report of an Afghan farmer using solar power came back in 2013.

    The following year traders were stocking a few solar panels in Lashkar Gah, the Helmandi capital.

    Since then growth has been exponential. The number of solar panels installed on farms has doubled every year.

    By 2019 Mr Brittan's team had counted 67,000 solar arrays just in the Helmand valley.

    2 votes