Extending a national grid to a remote village is expensive, and the cost rises with every kilometre of line. Solar panels with batteries can be installed in a day and produce power wherever the sun falls, which has brought electricity to villages that would otherwise have waited decades for a connection. The limitation is capacity: a household system runs lights, a phone charger and a fan, but not the machinery that a workshop or a mill would need. Solar reaches people quickly and, so far, modestly.