Commercialisation of renewable energy and energy efficient technololgies in India

TERI launched a project Commercialization of renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies in rural India, funded by British High Commission, to create a sustainable market for solar photovoltaic technologies in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The project is an extension of activity of the previous project 'Implementation of renewable energy technologies in rural India', implemented in the states of Uttaranchal and Rajasthan. Economic and social sustainability is what the project is all about. The project is set out to demonstrate that solar energy can be a success in the rural India and that to succeed, we need a people-centric approach, not subsidies. The project focuses on the following objectives. (a) To create an awareness about the renewable energy technologies and make them conscious about the quality product and services. (b) To create an appropriate institutional mechanism in the form of an energy service network to ensure greater penetration. (c) To develop and demonstrate suitable training modules for different stakeholders. (d) To establish and consolidate the energy service network.
Approach: In a nutshell, whereas earlier approaches, mainly by the government, focused on feeding the people for a day as it were, 'Uttam Urja' is teaching them how to fish thus feeding them for life---the project replaces doles with entrepreneurial initiative, short-term assistance with sustainable support, and dissemination with development. TERI offered domestic lighting devices of four capacities (from 18 Wp to 50 Wp) and three types on solar lanterns (3 Wp to 10 Wp) to suit different budgets and requirements. The project has been working on the following principles: provide a basket of products and services to customers at their doorstep; create an appropriate institutional mechanisms to introduce solar photovoltaics in rural India, focus on generating awareness and quality consciousness, and create a market by encouraging local entrepreneurs (vendors, dealers, and technicians) to earn sustainable profits through customer satisfaction. The project launched an umbrella brand 'TERI-Uttam Urja', under which all products and services under the project were provided. Impact of the project: (a) The immediate impact is savings: kerosene has to be bought; sunlight is free. (b) Dealers (21) developed under the present project earn about 2500 rupees a month. Then there are vendors, nine of them who are trained in new solar photovoltaic technologies: the project opened up a new source of livelihood for them. (c) The project also provides an opportunity to take up income-generation activities for the rural women. (d) Uttam Urja also brought the outside world to the villages in the form of television now that there was power to run the TV sets. And the Internet cannot be far behind.