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Microgrids in India: Bringing Light to Those in Need
Microgrids in India: Bringing Light to Those in Need
Small power plants bring light in a sea of darkness -- pity there are so few of them.
By Sanjoy Sanyal, New Ventures India April 25, 2013
Every night, the rural areas of the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India plunge into complete darkness. In the last week of January, David Ferris (cleantech journalist for New York Times and Forbes) and myself undertook a gruelling road trip across these two states. We saw only darkness in the districts we visited until we came to the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, brilliantly decked up in the lights of the tri-colour to celebrate the 64th Republic Day.
Bringing these peoples out of darkness must be the priority not just of the Indian government. It is also important for Indian businesses: these areas are untapped markets for products and for recruitment. It should also be the priority of successful Indians who have prospered in the last two decades and who should be acutely aware that the social fabric of the country cannot accommodate inequality of access to basic services of this magnitude.
There is a small glimmer of hope. A combination of reasons (falling solar prices and rising solar efficiencies) and grit and inventiveness of a few entrepreneurs has led to the emergence of a model of rural electrification called micro grids which can electrify villages quickly and with small doses of capital.
There are a few brave spirits working in the vast states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, as our briefing note will describe. These are people who have forsaken careers in global semi conductor companies and large Indian infrastructure organizations. There is even an organic farmer from California. There is a medium sized privately owned automotive company which has diversified into rural electrification to round out this motley crew. (Sun Edison, subsidiary of MEMC is a large multinational has a micro grid site running in Madhya Pradesh).
Taken together ...
Small power plants bring light in a sea of darkness -- pity there are so few of them.
By Sanjoy Sanyal, New Ventures India April 25, 2013
Every night, the rural areas of the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India plunge into complete darkness. In the last week of January, David Ferris (cleantech journalist for New York Times and Forbes) and myself undertook a gruelling road trip across these two states. We saw only darkness in the districts we visited until we came to the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, brilliantly decked up in the lights of the tri-colour to celebrate the 64th Republic Day.
Bringing these peoples out of darkness must be the priority not just of the Indian government. It is also important for Indian businesses: these areas are untapped markets for products and for recruitment. It should also be the priority of successful Indians who have prospered in the last two decades and who should be acutely aware that the social fabric of the country cannot accommodate inequality of access to basic services of this magnitude.
There is a small glimmer of hope. A combination of reasons (falling solar prices and rising solar efficiencies) and grit and inventiveness of a few entrepreneurs has led to the emergence of a model of rural electrification called micro grids which can electrify villages quickly and with small doses of capital.
There are a few brave spirits working in the vast states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, as our briefing note will describe. These are people who have forsaken careers in global semi conductor companies and large Indian infrastructure organizations. There is even an organic farmer from California. There is a medium sized privately owned automotive company which has diversified into rural electrification to round out this motley crew. (Sun Edison, subsidiary of MEMC is a large multinational has a micro grid site running in Madhya Pradesh).
Taken together ...
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/04/microgrids-in-india-bringing-light-to-those-in-need?cmpid=WNL-Friday-April26-2013
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