Project Description: |
| Joint
US-Indian project to develop market for solar electricity in
the Sundarbans Region in the Delta of the Ganges River. RPI's
role (along with Solar Works Inc.) was to train Indian's most
respected development NGO, the Ramakrishna Foundation, in the
installation and maintenance of solar electric systems, to oversee
the first of several hundred installations, and to assist in
setting up the system of sales and customer support. |
Applications: |
| Solar
electric homes, water pumping, battery charging stations, small
micro enterprises and rural health clinics. |
Sponsors: |
| US
DOE and NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) Indian Ministry
of Non-Conventional Energy Sources |
Participating Organizations: |
| Solar
Works Inc., Ramakrishna Foundation, Applied Power Corp. |
Results: |
| This
is a successful model of the role NGO's can play in promoting
and seeding solar markets in rural development. This initiative,
now five years old, has resulted in the installation and financing
of thousands of solar home systems (SHS). The Ramakrishna Foundation
(RF) has now duplicated this program in other parts of India.
Key to the program's success was RF's ability to provide micro-financing,
having a network of support staff in rural areas and the ability
to train electrical technicians in RF schools as the first step
to becoming solar installers. |
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1996 - 1998
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Tiger
Preserve Headquarters
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Family
with Solar Home System
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Solar
Store
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