Smart Power India Energizing rural development

Transcription

1 Smart Power India Energizing rural development

2 Our vision To spur economic development in villages through access to reliable electricity provided by renewable energy mini-grids Who we are Smart Power India was established by The Rockefeller Foundation to implement the Smart Power for Rural Development program. The Smart Power for Rural Development program is an innovative, market-based initiative to catalyze positive, long-lasting social and economic development in under-electrified rural regions. The program encourages productive use of electricity by creating an ecosystem that drives socioeconomic development. The aim is to electrify 1000 Indian villages, and impact more than a million lives.

3 What we do We promote sustainable business models that deliver renewable electricity and stimulate economic development among underserved rural populations in India. We work as an ecosystem developer to propel, build, create, and scale up the distributed rural electricity mini-grid market. We focus on developing energy service companies and knowledge in the mini-grid sector. We assist with developing projects and micro-enterprises, and engage with communities, policy makers, and regulators. As a key partner of private sector energy service companies, investors, non-governmental organizations, and the Indian government, we strive to reach the collective goal of bringing electricity to rural villages in India. Our mission To enable an ecosystem for socioeconomic development that will impact a million lives through renewable energy mini-grids in 1000 villages

4 Empowering rural communities Reliable, affordable electricity transforms rural communities, giving villagers a chance to unlock their potential, change their lives, and realize their ambitions. Mini-grids can power and more importantly empower rural communities to help themselves. Mini-grids can provide services beyond lighting, assure reliable power, accommodate a growth in demand, and feed surplus power into the national grid. Renewable energy mini-grids supported by Smart Power India can be installed very quickly in many communities simultaneously. They are beginning to catalyze rural development in villages in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand. Rather than a competing or an interim solution, mini-grids can be a force multiplier in an integrated energy plan to meet the government s Power for All vision. Catalyzing rural development Mini-grids provide high-quality, reliable electricity that can catalyze all kinds of productive and commercial rural development. Mini-grids are a here-and-now solution that can power, for example, irrigation systems, energy-efficient appliances, drinking water purification plants, agri-processing machinery, mini coldstorage units, and electric vehicles. Dependable power can give budding entrepreneurs the confidence and means to set up small businesses, and existing businesses the impetus to expand. Reliable electricity enables micro-enterprises from carpentry works to garment manufacturers and computer training centers to start up. Plus, villagers enjoy better services that contribute to an improved quality of life quicker, more efficient banking, up-to-date equipment in health centers, and more reliable street lighting. During festivals, we have to work till late to finish these tailoring jobs. We often work till 2am in the morning. Earlier, we had to rely on lanterns and emergency lights. Now we get better quality power, at any time that we need it. Mohammed Afzal Ansari, tailor, Chanpatiya, Bihar

5 In Gumla, Jharkhand, women s self-help groups, with financing from Smart Power India, bought electric hullers to replace hulling rice by hand. The machines have helped increase the amount of rice the women can hull from 20 kilograms to 2000 kilograms a day 100 times as much. By selling the hulled rice in nearby markets, the women earn considerably more than they did before. We women are running machines for the first time to earn a livelihood. Seeing us, several other women from the village are coming forward to participate. Ghasni Devi, member of a rice-hulling women s self-help group in Pasanga in the Gumla district of Jharkhand Enabling viable rural energy services The commercial viability of clean power mini-grids depends on a conducive ecosystem of supportive policies and regulatory frameworks. Smart Power India works closely with a wide range of stakeholders who are critical in developing the ecosystem needed to build and scale up the distributed rural electricity mini-grid market. We engage with policy makers and regulators state and national to align incentives between government, investors, and energy service companies. Our aim is to develop viable gridinteractive models that pave the way for integrating mini-grids with the national grid to help accelerate rural electrification in underserved areas.

6 Mini-grids can power small enterprises and the homes of people in remote communities. Since we do all forms of electronic repair services, we need assured electricity. We use [national grid] electricity when it is available, but it is not reliable. You can t run your business based on it. Now, we not only use mini-grid electricity, but are paying for an energy-efficient printer in installments. Santosh Kumar, Sareswa, Bihar Supporting rural electrification Although 99.5% of villages are said to have electricity, India struggles to supply rural areas. In practice, many villagers often have no connection, inadequate voltage, or electricity for only a few hours a day. Mini-grids can help expand rural electrification by providing adequate voltage and services to last-mile consumers. Providing high-quality, reliable electricity can cater to all kinds of productive and commercial needs at the grass-roots level. Plus, mini-grids can be seamlessly integrated into the national grid. Customers in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, preferred to pay slightly more for power supplied by a mini-grid operator than for power from the national grid because the service was better and more reliable.

7 Growing rural energy markets We encourage the growth of rural energy markets by looking at supply and demand to identify market niches for decentralized renewable energy services. We work with villagers and communities to ensure strong local buy-in, economic development, and sustained demand for power. We assess untapped local skills that could be realized with access to reliable electricity, set up self-help groups, and incubate micro-enterprises to grow a solid customer base for electricity. Spurring rural progress Together with our stakeholders, we are working to provide evidence of the reliability and commercial scalability of distributed rural electrification. Our unique initiative helps accelerate the delivery of electricity in underserved areas and can trigger significant, positive knock-on benefits. Our work aims to provide proof of the concept that mini-grids can be a viable part of the solution to making the electricity grid resilient and providing electricity services to last-mile customers. Encouraging mini-grids can promote innovation and test new ways of generating, storing, and distributing energy to spur rural progress in India. In several villages in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand, villagers now have access to improved services. New banks, petrol stations, and Aadhar enrolment centers have opened due to better electricity access.

8 In Kamlapur village in Uttar Pradesh, Rajni Shukla, a mother of two, received training on an electric sewing machine. She, along with 50 others, is employed at a garment manufacturing unit, set up with the support of Smart Power India. The unit draws electricity from a mini-grid nearby. Rajni now takes home around INR4000 every month. What used to take me two hours to sew can now be done in less than an hour. While sewing on my handcranked sewing machine, my hands and back would pain a lot. Working on the electric machine is easier and faster. I am happy that I now have a new skill. We need the money that I can make with this sewing job. Rajni Shukla Contact Smart Power India 706, Time Tower, MG Road Gurgaon, Haryana India Tel: +(91) contact@smartpowerindia.org Copyright 2017 Smart Power India. All rights reserved. SPI and its logo are trademarks of the Smart Power Rural Development India Foundation. Photo credits: Mustafa Quraishi/Deepthy Menon/Sunil