The Mohammed VI Bridge, that honors the King of Morocco, illuminates the desert outside the country’s capital city.

Approximately one year after leading roof window manufacturer VELUX Group joined forces with social business Little Sun and NGO Plan International, launching a design competition to bring clean, sustainable light to Africa, the first solar lamps have now arrived on African soil.

LEDs combined with solar energy are becoming a top choice in humanitarian aid missions to Africa, which aim to eliminate harmful pollution from burning kerosene lamps that has been the main cause of household air pollution and estimated to be the cause of death of 500,000 people in the continent each year, reported The Conversation.

Panasonic Corporation announced that it donated 3,000 solar lanterns to United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for use in Ebola affected regions. These lanterns have started to be distributed in 3 West African countries (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone). Panasonic first donated 240 lanterns back in December 2014.

Panasonic Corporation is promoting its “100 Thousand Solar Lanterns Project,” in which a total of 100,000 solar lanterns will be donated to regions around the world without access to electricity by the year 2018, which marks the 100th anniversary since Panasonic's establishment. In hopes of getting more people to know about the challenges faced by people in regions without access to electricity, Panasonic will open up the "Cut Out the Darkness" project for participation to people all around the world, delivering solar lanterns and manufactured shades based on designs recruited from all over the world to schools and households located in regions without access to electricity.

The LIGHTEXPO 2015, Africa’s largest International architectural and commercial lighting trade show will be staged at the KICC Nairobi Kenya from 2nd-4th May, 2015.

SUN POWERED The solar LEDs are lit using a new generation of efficient solar-powered LED lighting to provide light for communities with no electricity Royal Philips Electronics is continuing its program of installing more than 100 Community Light Centres across Africa, with six new ones in South Africa. The program is in the form of the Philips Cape Town to Cairo Roadshow 2013, which is a vehicle for Philips to raise awareness of how healthcare and lighting solutions can enhance life in Africa. The roadshow will visit 18 cities in 17 African countri...

Light-emitting diode (LED) technology has the potential to light up the African continent if the political will can be found, a major producer has said. LED technology was invented by Oleg Vladimirovich Losev in 1927, though it was believed to have no practical purpose. Monsanto was the first company to mass produce LEDs and, major manufactures include Toshiba, Osram, Sharp, Philips and others. "If you did a straightforward replacement of an existing luminair, you've got to look at the overall package of what you're getting. You're getting an LE...

Royal Philips Electronics and the KNVB has announced a three year partnership, which will be built around the creation of 90 so called solar 'light centers' across the African & South American continents. Light centers are areas of approx 1000m2, or the size of a small soccer pitch, which are lit using a new generation of solar powered LED lighting. The idea is to create areas of light for rural communities which live without electricity thus effectively 'extending the day' and creating numerous opportunities for social, sporting and economic activiti...

According to a research study undertaken by Philips’ market intelligence team, Africa could save up to $10-billion in energy costs annually – more than 50- million tons of carbon and the equivalent energy output of 35 power stations, if the continent were to switch its existing lighting to LED solutions. These figures are only estimated under on-grid lighting, where electricity is present. If LED solutions combine with the latest innovations in battery and solar developments, they can provide practical and sustainable light for about 600-million Africans who curren...

At the concluding leg of its third consecutive Cairo to Cape Town road show 2012, Philips has announced to launch a new initiative, which will see the installation of 100 “light centers” across rural Africa by 2015. These are areas of approx 1000m2, or the size of a small soccer pitch, which are lit using a new generation of highly efficient solar powered LED lighting. The idea is to create areas of light for rural communities which live without electricity thus effectively ‘extending the day’ and creating numerous opportunities for social and economi...

A research by Philips has shown that Africa would save up to N1.63 trillion ($10 billion) in energy costs annually, more than 50 million tonnes of carbon and the equivalent output of 35 power stations, if the continent were to switch its existing lighting, currently run on diesel and fuel which gulps a lot of money to new LED solutions, even as these figures only include on-grid lighting where electricity is present. According to Nick Kelso, senior communications manager, LED solutions when combined with the latest innovations in battery and solar developments provide practic...

According to Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou , the island’s ongoing efforts to promote solar-powered LED lighting in Africa could bring new life to Taiwan’s troubled LED and solar power industries. Referring to the “A Light for Africa” project in Burkina Faso that Taipei is sponsoring, Ma said Taiwan’s ultimate goal is to allow all the students from 11,000 elementary schools in Burkina Faso to own one of the Taiwan-provided lights. During the visit to West African country, Ma said that “‘A Light for Africa’ c...

Philips’s officials have called for a rapid worldwide switch to LED lighting at the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban. According to the company, a tipping point has been reached in the development of LED lighting that can now be used for general high-quality lighting in almost all applications. The switch to LED lighting will help combat climate change, save energy and improve people's lives through increased well-being, safety and productivity where they live and work. At Climate World Summit, Harry Verhaar, Senior Director for energy and clima...

According to a local industrial group, Taiwanese companies are encouraged by the World Bank to pursue commercial opportunities in the African LED lighting market in support of the group's program to light up the continent.  Rodd Eddy, an International Finance Corp. (IFC) consultant, disclosed that,because the island was among the world's largest LED and photovoltaic goods makers, the World Bank hoped Taiwanese companies would participate in the "Lighting Africa" program. The IFC also expected Taiwan would provide cutting edge LED li...

According to a statement from African Standard Bank, it has bought 700,000 UN-backed carbon credits to fund a clean energy project to replace kerosene lamps with LED lamps in 31-million Tanzanian homes. The project, owned by Illumination Tanzania, will save the nation around $200 million (about Sh280 billion). And it will reduce Tanzania’s greenhouse gas emissions by 800,000 tonnes.

Luminus Devices, developer and manufacturer of PhlatLight® LEDs, and EBV Elektronik, an Avnet Company (NYSE: AVT) specializing in EMEA semiconductor distribution, have just announced a partnership through which EBV will distribute Luminus PhlatLight LEDs to general illumination customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Royal Philips Electronics announces that it will launch a new solar-powered reading light in autumn 2009. The company says the LED light enables people to both read and write after dark. It’s disclosed that Philips’s “My Reading Light” was developed specifically for the education sector in Africa and will allow school children to continue with their homework after sunset.

In many of Africa's towns and villages, smoky kerosene lamps are all that keeps the darkness at bay after sunset. However, kerosene is a dangerous and increasingly expensive source of light for Africans who do not have access to electricity -- about three-quarters of those living on the continent, according to the World Bank. Lighting industry entrepreneurs are hoping alternative devices such as solar-powered LED lights will replace the kerosene lamps.