Solar Senegal

On Friday, Senegal's government announced a new energy policy to help minimize power interruptions and counter increasing energy costs. The bill, which focuses on solar power and also includes a provision to upgrade street lighting with low-energy bulbs, seeks to aid the west African country by tapping into the huge potential of solar power.

Scientists at NASA have found an area in Niger which they say is the sunniest piece of land on earth, and green campaigners say the region has huge solar-generating potential due to its proximity to the equator and purity of the sunlight.

Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade, 82, instructed his energy minister to extend the national electricity grid over the entire country. With rising power costs for many African countries, officials hope that they will continue to consider alternative power generation as much as possible.  Already this year, Senegal has had many public displays of anger at the power outages around the country and in its capital city, Dakar.