Off-grid Renewable Power Fits Electricity Access Model for Rural India

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Off-grid power supply schemes to cater for the needs of rural and remote communities will be in focus for the next decade, as efforts are made by developing nations to give electricity access to their full populations. If successful, these efforts could create positive outcomes for health, education and small-business development. Renewable energy sources fit the bill in terms of scalability and appropriate applications to produce replicable energy off-grid supply models.

In India, the renewable energy company Minda NexGenTech (Delhi, India) is planning to provide off-grid renewable energy, with advisory assistance from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) (World Bank), to more than 1 million people in 1,500 Indian villages by 2016.

Minda will design a learning program for rural entrepreneurs and consultative workshops for rural off-grid stakeholders. The company also will study trends in energy consumption to develop a viable business model for off-grid solutions. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $1 million, which Minda will finance with a combination of equity, debt and third-party financing over the next year as part of its renewable power generation initiative.

"Once fully scaled, this program could substantially change decentralized distribution and access to energy by providing rural electrification using renewable energy in a manner unexplored so far," said N.K. Minda, the chairman of the parent group.

NexGenTech is set up as an integrated, end-to-end, power solutions and renewable energy company focused on providing light to rural areas, using financially viable and sustainable business models.

Through off-grid power generation facilities using mini and micro-grid power plants, Minda will provide energy access to areas and communities located away from the power grids. In the first year, the project will be rolled out in the villages of Assam Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

"Our off-grid lighting initiative will serve as a model to address clean energy needs for the most vulnerable in rural India--women and children--while promoting local entrepreneurship and sustainable rural development," IFC director for South Asia said. "This partnership has the potential to transform the off-grid energy solution market in India."

The project is part of IFC's off-grid lighting program for Asia, being rolled out in India, which is first in partnership with the governments of the U.S. and Italy. The Indian government supports this initiative to provide off grid lighting to 2 million rural citizens in the next three years and avoid an estimated 64,000 tons of carbon emissions.

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