Iraqis hope solar-powered lights will make Baghdad safer

BAGHDAD — In a city with constant electricity shortages but no lack of sunshine, the new buzz is solar energy.

Teams of engineers have appeared along major Baghdad roadways, bolting panels and bulbs to rows of towering steel poles to make solar-powered streetlights.
The workers who turned up recently in the upscale Karada district approached the task with near-religious fervor.

“We are lighting up the city with solar power,” Sajad Hussein declared when queried by curious residents. “People say it is a gift from God.”

Surging oil prices have fueled interest in solar power and other renewable energy sources across the United States, where pressure also is building to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to fend off global warming.

But Iraq’s decision to embrace clean energy has little to do with cost cutting or the environment: The country’s policymakers want to improve security, and the national grid doesn’t supply enough electricity to illuminate city streets.

Houston Chronicle