Electricity and Poverty in Indonesia

Satellite detection of nighttime lights has many applications in economics, development, population movement and other uniquely human activities. With the technology of remote sensing we have the capability to track aspects of human movement and activity in ways that are unbiased, spatially disaggregated and systematic (providing data at regular time intervals). This project seeks to use Landscan population data and VIIRS-DNS  nightlight data in combination to:

1. Estimate what percentage of Indonesians have access to electricity; and
2. To map where in Indonesia people have access to electricity and where they do not
3. Use nightlights as a proxy indicator for wealth and map wealth distribution over Indonesia.

There will be remotely sensed data collected within the study watersheds mentioned above (LiDAR and thermal data and potentially hyperspectral images as well).  I plan to analyze this data with the software available in the YCEO lab