Rural Education for Development Society

Tumkur - Karnataka
Climate Change Concerns

m c raj

Preamble

Global Warming is almost threatening to subsume the world in the near future.
Global actors are promoting the paradigm that the Planet has to be saved. It
raises the question whether human beings can save the planet or whether
they have to save themselves from planet earth. There is no doubt that
consumption patterns in the world have been topsy-turvy. This makes the
developing nations of the world to say that developed nations must own a
responsibility for having brought the world to where it is and therefore, they
must be the frontrunners in mitigation measures. Though there is legitimacy in
this argumentation it can easily be interpreted as obscurantist at a crisis-
ridden phase in world history. India is spearheading such an attitude and
assertion in GHG emission reduction discourses.

The imagery is very strong. A group of people has set your house on fire.
There is no doubt that what they have done is unjust and cruel. But the image
of someone standing beside the burning house and trying to analyze and
apportion blame will only invite ridicule. The immediate need is to gather
forces to put out the fire without precluding the necessity for scientific analysis
and distributing proportionate responsibility.

India

The following details about India have been given out by different articles and
books.

žIndia is the second fastest growing economy in the world. But a third of its
people go without access to electricity. A third of its energy is imported. India
is in need of consuming 450 million tones of coal; 94 million tones of oil and
220 million units of electricity. Household sector in India consumes 45-50% of
India’s total energy. Energy sector absorbs the largest portion of resources
invested in Indian economy.

žTherefore, renewable energy is a compulsion for India

žIndia is the fourth largest user of wind energy in the world. Yet the share of
renewable energy in its total energy is less than 8%. žIndia has 3.23 million
bio-gas plants installed, it is second in the world. žIndia has the largest
deployment of solar PV (50 MW). žIndia is third in annual production capacity
of solar PV (17 MW) ahead of Germany, France and Australia.

žData released by German renewable energy industry institute IWR showed

India's emissions of planet- warming carbon dioxide grew 125% between
1990 and 2008, while China's grew 178% and the United States 17%. China
is the world's top GHG polluter, followed by the United States, Russia, India
and Japan. "America has got a lot of money, muscle power and there is a
possibility that India may be left out as the lone voice (in Copenhagen),"
Sunita Narain, head of the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and
Environment, told Reuters.

žIndia has an average of 250-300 sunny days. With its vast geography India
receives over 5000 trillion KWh/year. This is much more than the total energy
consumption of the country. žHence the need for tapping solar energy.
Energy sector holds the key to India’s economic growth. žIndia also has the
potential to become the biggest lead player in the global solar PV market. The
National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) announced a 10 year FiT
(Feed in Tariff) of around 0.25 Eurocent per kilowatt. This reduces motivation.
žEurope gives 50 Cent FiT. Harish Hande, the Founder of SELCO feels the
Indian FiT has remained a Paper Tiger.
ž
The producer and consumer of solar energy in India still is the Corporate
Sector. Renewable energy has not yet reached the poor. The Rural
Electrification Corporation has declared that 82.3% of villages are electrified.
But this is strange. It declares a village electrified even when only 10%
households are electrified. 70% of rural areas in India do not have electricity.
ž60% of rural households use kerosene lamps.

Rural Education for Development Society (REDS)

CDM Photovoltaic Lighting Project

REDS’ commitment to renewable energy consumption and Climate Concerns

do not emerge from such alarming situations in the world. REDS is concerned
with environment and energy as a fundamental value arising from a cosmos-
centric, earth-centric, woman-centric and community centric worldview. At the
same time REDS sees an opportunity in the global threat to climate. Many in
the Corporate Sector see an opportunity to exploit this situation and reap rich
profit out of this threat. REDS seeks to enhance a global concern for
preserving the resources of nature to provide space for all people of the earth.
REDS has chosen two areas of meaningful engagement in this global
endeavor to mitigate global warming by reducing GHG emissions.

1. Removal of the daily use of 180,000 kerosene lamps in poor

households and replacing them with Photovoltaic Lamps.

2. Reduction of the use of firewood for cooking by introducing Woodstove

 in 70,000 households.

REDS has become the third pro-poor project and first Dalit project in the world
to be registered under the UNFCCC CDM Project.

Photovoltaic Lighting Project

REDS is providing clean lighting option though Clean Development

Mechanism (CDM) finance to 60,000 rural households that do not have
electricity. The purpose of the project activity is to install 180,000 Photovoltaic
Lamps in 60,000 non-electrified rural homes in nine of the ten taluks of
Tumkur District, Karnataka. The lamps use 3W CFL or LED luminaries that
derive their power from Photovoltaic modules using monocrystalline or
amorphous panels. The systems are tried and tested. The systems will be
supplied by reputed lighting systems companies, depending on the quantities
required and choice of design and brand preferred by the users after technical
tests.

The aim of the project is to improve the quality of life of people in un-electrified
rural households. Currently kerosene is used for lighting, but the quality of
light is very poor. The Photovoltaic Lights will improve the standards of living
by providing higher quality lighting. The project will also reduce Green House
Gas emissions to the atmosphere. The view of the project participants of the
contribution of the project activity to sustainable development through social,
economic, environmental and technical improvement is as follows:

The SPV technology is renewable as it enables direct conversion of sunlight

into electricity. Photovoltaic cells, commonly known as solar cells, are used to
convert light into electricity. A combination of solar module(s) in
series/parallel combination, storage battery, interface electronics, mechanical
support structure, cable and switches etc. constitute a SPV system. Thus
implementation of the project will contribute to reduction in GHG emissions
and also will lead to achieving sustainable development goals of the host
country.

Contribution to sustainable development

Social benefits: Households will get light in order to go about their domestic
and educational activities in the home more efficiently. They can switch on a
clean, white, bright light after dark or before sunrise. Family members will not
have to inhale dirty fumes from the Kerosene flame as they bend over the
lamp to read. Fire hazards will be eliminated.

Economic benefits: The households buy on an average of 0.36 litres of

Kerosene every day for lighting purposes. The household members earn their
living by working in the agricultural fields and by doing daily labour (Coolie).
The earning is not sufficient to meet their daily food demands. Thus, the
installation of Photovoltaic Lamps through this CDM project will provide,
efficient and long-lasting lighting to the user and will help lead a better life. It is
proposed to provide number of lamps based on the population of each
household and requirements as under taken in the baseline study. The only
cost will be the savings to replace the batteries every two years.

Technical benefit: Renewable energy technology that is currently not

available in these regions will be disseminated to new constituents. Local
people will be inspired to find out more about these new technologies. This
also means penetration of new technology in the rural area, which can serve
as the model to rural electrification. Apart from that entrepreneurship will be
given a boost through the distribution of the lamps through a business model.
Connectors and other Balance of systems items will in some places be
assembled locally, and replacements, spares, and operation and maintenance
support will be provided by the local entrepreneurs.

Environmental benefit: At the national level infrastructure associated with

rural electrification and the associated transmission and distribution losses will
be avoided. At the national level fossil fuels are saved, which is important in
view of the rapid depletion of these resources. The environmental benefits
include the utilization of green solar renewable energy for electrification to the
user.

Geographic Location of the project

Host Country: INDIA
Location of the project activity is 9 Taluks in the District of Tumkur, Karnataka
State. The Project will cover 1646 villages and 60,000 households in the SPV
Project and an additional 70,000 households in the Woodstove Project.

Project participants

Organization: Rural education for Development Society (REDS)

Address: REDS Road, Shanthinagar, Tumkur, Karnataka- 572 102, India
Represented by: Chief Functionary
First Name: Mr. M.C. Raj
Mobile: +91 98451 44893
FAX: +91 - 816 - 2272515
Telephone: +91 – 816- 2277026
E-Mail: dalitreds@rediffmail.