SOLUTIONSFORSURVIVAL

A PROJECT SURVIVAL MEDIA INITIATIVE

SEPTEMBER, 2011Vol 1, Issue 1, India

INSIDEFOCUS : Renewable Energy in IndiaPERSPECTIVE : Mr Shirish Garud on Solar EnergyEXPERIENCE : PSM’s Journey Through South 24 Parganas, West BengalFOOD FOR THOUGHT: Life Will Change

Project Survival Media (PSM)

is a global youth journal-ism network dedicated to broadcasting stories of survival and ingenuity in the face of climate change.

Our media teams, on all seven continents, are reporting on the most compelling climate sto-ries, amplifying voic-es underrepresented by traditional media.

PSM strengthens the NGO and political dialogue on what is possible in order to ensure our survival.PSM worked with 93 youth journalists in the lead up to the landmark UN Climate conference in Copenhagen in December of 2009.

S4S is a new media series that will feature compel-ling stories of people who are implmenting tangi-ble, local, and equitable climate solutions.

The goal for S4S isn’t just the spreading of

information. It’s also the spread of

inspiration.

Renewable Energy, A Solution For SurvivalChanging climatic pattern induced by global warming neces-sitates prompt mitigation and adaptation measures as it is after all a matter of survival! India being a developing na-tion has equal priorities of economic growth and environ-mental concerns. While the threat of climate change is im-pending, so is concern for the poor who will be the most affected by its impact. Over 80, 000 villages in India are un-electrified and a lot many are partially electrified result-ing in stunted socioeconomic growth. Bringing power to these villages is an ambitious but humongous undertaking. Meeting the increasing energy de-mand might be a near impossible task for the conventional fast de-pleting fossil based resources like coal. It is equally herculean for the nuclear fission energy always linked with hapless disasters like Chernobyl and the more recent Fukushima. The possibility of renewal of resources like solar,

TEAM INDIA

wind, biomass et al alongside blooming technologies in this domain brings hope to resolve an imminent energy crisis. Re-newable energy as a clean source has the potential to thrive in a sustainable low carbon economy and undoubtedly qualifies as a perfect solution for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The inception of renewable energy into the Indian energy basket is not a new story. The country ranks fifth in installed wind capacity globally. Many of the pockets in western, south-ern and eastern peninsula are bestowed with high winds. Be-ing placed in the solar belt, India enjoys abundant solar ra-diation of over 3500 hours annually. Studies have shown that a major chunk of the country receives over 5 kWh/sq.m/day of solar energy which if effectively utilized could satisfy much of our energy needs. Organic biomass production from ag-riculture, livestock, household/industry waste and energy plantations could meet energy demands in multiple ways.

Grassroots organizations like TERI, Selco, Husk Power Systems, Onergy et al based in different rural setups of the country have disproved the notion of centralized power for meeting the ener-gy requirements by disseminating renewable power solutions to elated communities. With the advent of the National Solar Mission, Renewable Energy Certificates, feed-in power tariffs etc, the reg-ulatory framework for a low carbon transition is becoming robust.

Renewable energy in India is definitely a path of mitigation,adaptation, and salvation for the future generations!Project Survival Media (PSM) in its hunt for local survival solutions to climate change, celebrates its prospect of success as well as replication the world over.

FOCUS

Renewable Energy, A Solution For Survival

Mr Shirish Garud is VP Technology at Greenergy Renew-ables Pvt Ltd, Mumbai.He is responsible for strategic planning and technology develop-ment and adapta-tion for the company’s projects in clean and renewable energy.

Mr Garud comes with rich experience in the renewable energy sec-tor and he is regarded as one of the pioneers in the field having de-veloped solar vacu-um tube collectors for the first time in India while working with IBP.

He has also been a Fel-low and Area Convenor in the Renewable Energy with The Energy and Re-source Institute (TERI).

The Solar Solution For Adaptation

I started working in solar energy areas in mid 80’s. At that time, the decision to work in renewable energy sector was driven by the exciting opportunity to work in nascent and unexplored area of solar energy utilisation. With time I realised that solar can have a vast impact on the lives of people in both urban and rural areas and its importance as an environmentally benign energy resource.

Shirish Garud

In 1980’s and 1990’s, the solar energy development pro-grams in India were driven by two major objectives:• to provide access to electricity and cooking fuel in remote and rural areas, and• to develop it as an alternative energy source to replace fossil fuels and provide for water heating, cooking, drying, lighting etc.

So far the Indian solar energy program has focused on de-centralised applications to improve access to energy in rural and remote areas. These subsidy driven programs have cer-tainly made impact on the lives of the rural population which adopted it. Some classic examples are the solar energy ap-plications in rural communities in the islands of Sundarbans, TERI’s “Light a Billion Lives” –a solar lantern based program aimed at providing solar lights in villages through self-help groups, and creating local employment opportunities.

India’s economic growth and its rapid urbanisation has re-sulted in rapid increase in the demand for electricity and hence the government has rightly adopted a focussed ap-proach through the JNNSM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission) as part of its NAPCC (National Action Plan on Climate Change) to develop solar energy based power generation and other solar energy applications for both rural and urban areas. India’s electricity networks are yet to reach to about 45% of the population and this large section of society is still grappling in the dark.

Although the currently installed capacity of solar power plants in India is minuscule (about 40MW as compared to total in-stalled capacity of power generation about 170 000 MW), I see great future for solar energy in India. Solar energy can meet growing demand of electricity and heat for industries, commercial and residential sectors including power for rural areas. There is no doubt that the target of setting 22 000 MW of solar power plants by 2022 under the JNNSM is eas-ily achievable with current status of preparedness including solar energy technologies and manufacturing base. It is not difficult for India to be a world power in solar energy in near future.

PERSPECTIVE

A Journey Through South 24 Parganas, West Bengal We arrived at the railway station in Lakshmikantapur from the bustling Indian city of Kolkata. The stark contrast between city and village life was visible the moment we set our foot outside the station. Modified cycles act as the primary means of pub-lic transport; some of them are motorized running on small diesel engines. The cy-cle driven carts have no lights to illuminate their paths and neither do the streets have lighting which means that no one can commute once the night sets in.

On our first day in the village we visited the Shakti Kendra (renewable energy cen-tre) running at Vivekananda Sevakendra-o-Sishu Uddyan (VSSU) , a national orga-nization working out of West Bengal, India, to support the holistic development of the Indian community in a self-sustainable manner, in particular through microfinance proj-ects and various community development programmes. The centre has been setup by VSSU in collaboration with Onergy, a renewable energy venture providing complete en-ergy solutions to the base of pyramid (BoP) in rural India. The centre sells solar pow-ered lighting solutions, efficient cooking stoves and other renewable energy solutions to the people in remote areas with little access to electricity. They also provide training to the people to create local entrepreneurs who can then light their houses as well as sustain their income by selling the solar based solutions to other houses in the village.

The village of Ullon in rural West Bengal is a story of survival. The lack of access toelectricity from the grid in most households meant that the day had to end when the sunset. The children too had no way of study-ing in the absence of light. Kerosene lamp provides dim light and is a costly affair especially when the fuel is bought at black market rates. With the arrival of solar, things have started to change. Shops remain open and do brisk busi-ness at dusk, the school kids get time to complete their homework post playtime and some even get to watch television.

We met Mr. Kapilananda Mondal, the founder & CEO of VSSU as well as our host, who has been working on several community development projects in rural West Bengal over the past 27 years much before terms like social entrepreneurship and microfinance became everyday words in our newspapers. He has had to face the flake of the government as well as the people for most of the service he has been rendering to the community and, his story of constant struggle and what can be achieved through determination and self-motivation is inspiring to say the least. It was only after 2006, when Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace prize for his work in microfinance that Kapilananda started get-ting recognition and funding leading to VSSU being granted a special consultative status by the United Nations, and Kapilananda being included in the Planning Commission of India besides being nominated as a Ashoka Fellow and receiving several other honors.

Soon it was late evening and we decided to check out the hostel for school kids which is supported by VSSU. To our surprise the school kids were doing their homework and the entire place was illuminated with solar powered lights. The lights installed in the hostels run for around 4 hours a night on a day with average sunlight, just about ad-equate for the kids to do their homework and have dinner between playtime and bed.

EXPERIENCE

“In the years ahead, people and technologies, will have to move much closer to nature’s own geo-physical cycles and to more gentle use of nature’s sources like energy and water, and will replace the dinosaur technologies of the 19th and 20th centuries. In this alone lies the possibility of human survival and growth.”

Mr.Anil AgarwalFounder, Centre for Science & Environment

The people in the village live a simple life. Most of them live in houses with thatched roofs made of hay and dried palm leaves. Their meals con-sist mainly of rice grown in their fields, locally cultivated vegetables and fresh water fish from the abundant number of small water bodies sur-rounding their house. The modern way of living has introduced chemical detergents and fertiliz-ers in their lives which while making things easier, is slowly destroying their sources of sustenance.

The rest of our days were spent exploring the village, researching how the village man-aged with electrification as well as understanding the impact of power theft by hooking up to the lone grid connection available. We also studied the evolution of solar in the village, the alternatives and the social aspects governing its adoption and usage. Our production team who are working on making a documentary on the difference solar has made to rural West Bengal went to different parts of the villages and discovered several amazing stories about solar lighting which have got into every aspect of life in the village. The picturesque surroundings hardly provided any respite to our camera lenses and when the battery died out, we had our solar mobile chargers as a ready solution!

Seldom do we get to eat food that grows in our backyard or is caught in the pond in front of our house. The village folk do it everyday and we were lucky to get our bit of tasty organic food prepared in the traditional Bengali kitchen. The journey was a very different experi-ence compared to the mundane city life most of us live. Going to parts of our country where most of the people still live disconnected from our city lifestyles is an experience no one should miss!

The villagers now feel empowered. They are no longer at the mercy of the setting sun. Ironically it is the same sun which has ignited a ray of hope in their otherwise gloomy evenings. Though problems still exist with the system in terms of upfront cost of solutions and the need for technical support of the in-stallations, this solution seems to have proven that life can get better with renewable energy. Coupled along with incentives from the government to promote solar, the effort put in by several innovative ventures in this domain and most impor-tantly the passion of the people to bring about change, LakshmiKantapur is slowly emerging out of the darkness.

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Food For Thought