India is the world’s fifth largest electricity producer, but 45% of rural households do not have access to electricity. The off-grid sector offers a range of business models, across technologies and scales of operation, through leasing, sales of home systems, community-based products, and mini grids with productive anchor base loads....
Energy has been unanimously acknowledged as one of the most important building blocks for economic growth and human development of a nation. Energy security and accessibility has become a major issue globally; especially in developing countries. Internationally, efforts have been made by respective governments and international aid agencies to improve the conditions through devoted programmes, schemes and financial aids. Yet, nearly 2.7 billion people all over the world are dependent on traditional biomass energy sources (wood, straw, charcoal, dung) for satisfying their energy needs....
Ecosystem Creation For Off-Grid Solar: Achieving Diffusion Across India
Despite the launch of the National Solar Mission and its ambitious targets for the diffusion of solar energy in India by the Government in 2009, diffusion of off-grid solar has yet to take off in a number of states across India. Service providers and Regional Rural Banks have managed to combine their efforts to create successful financing mechanisms for solar home lighting in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, but in other states the market for off-grid solar remains nascent....
Results-Based Financing for Off-grid Energy Access in India
This paper was prepared by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water for the World Bank administered Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP). ESMAP is a global, multidonor trust fund, which aims to assist low- and middle-income countries to increase know-how and institutional capacity to achieve environmentally sustainable energy solutions for poverty reduction and economic growth....
Empowering rural India the RE way: inspiring success stories
India is home to several innovations and successful examples of providing energy access to the remotest areas of the country. However, the challenge is to ensure that access to modern energy is rapidly scaled up, even while ensuring that access is environmentally, institutionally and financially sustainable. This compendium titled "Empowering rural India the RE way: inspiring success stories" contains live examples from different parts of the country of the zeal to bring about change, a determination to surpass barriers in access to energy, and a drive to adopt and promote renewable energy technologies to suit local requirements....
Opportunities and Challenges for Solar Minigrid Development in Rural Ind
This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof....
Nearly 800 million people in Asia[1] live in a state of near darkness, coping with unreliable or non existent or no access to electricity on a daily basis. The effects on these vulnerable communities are severe. Medical and educational opportunities and services are severely constrained, health risks are heightened by unclean lighting alternatives and opportunities for income generating activities are reduced. Many people also pay a great deal over time for paltry service offered by most fuel based lighting. There is a great need for clean, sustainable and affordable products to bring light to these households....
