A civil-military team in Afghanistan is using green tech as part of a push to bolster security in one of the country's remote southern provinces.
The Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team recently installed solar-powered lamps in several communities, including Qalat, Sharjoy and Shar-e Safi. In areas where power generation is scarce, these lamps can store enough energy to keep operating for several sunless days. They have an added security benefit: according to a NATO news release, the lighting also allows Afghan security forces to conduct patrols more easily after sunset.
This kind of experiment has been tried in Iraq as well, with the Ministry of Interior sponsoring the installation of solar-powered streetlights (pictured). According to NPR, not everyone is pleased with the "sunny awakening": residents complain that the government has still not remedied basic problems with the electrical grid.
DANGER ROOM readers should already be quite familiar with the military's interest in renewable power. As Noah recently reported, the
Army is planningto build one of the world's most powerful solar arrays. And portable solar power generators figured prominently in a recent Pentagon tech demo. SolarStick, which makes the generators, recently finalized a contract that will make it easier for the government to buy the system off the shelf.
[PHOTO: Sowind.it]
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