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Case study : |
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Energy
Conservation - Case study
It is evening at the Besantnagar Beach in Chennai. There are
hundreds of people on the beach taking in the fresh air, an
escape from the humid and polluted air of the city. Inevitably
there are also hordes of hawkers selling groundnuts, snacks,
and what have you. This story is about them.
The hawkers have always carried petromax lamps that run on kerosene.
Pumping them up is quite a job initially. Once lit, however,
they give bright light. Since 2001, however, there is an option:
A solar lantern that can be rented for the evening.
The hawkers, who have each paid a refundable deposit of Rs 100,
collect a lantern in the evening and return it after use. They
pay Rs15 for a 4-hour rental and Rs 5 for each extra hour. During
weekends, when the demand is high, the rent increases to Rs
20.
The young men who run the enterprise have a small office near
the beach, where they charge the lanterns during the day using
solar panels. When the lanterns are returned after use, they
are immediately cleaned, checked, and repaired, ifnecessary,
and connected to the panels for recharging for the next day.
Why do the hawkers prefer the solar lanterns? Because they spend
the same amount as before, with some advantages. They can just
switch on and use the lamp without worrying about its maintenance.
With the petromax lamp, the flame would go out of control, the
mantle would break, or the glass would get heated. Pumping the
lamps up was also difficult, especially for women.
The project is the brainchild of Hemant Lamba of Auroville Renewable
Energy (AuroRE) at the international community near Pondicherry.
AuroRE has been promoting renewable energy and their projects
have included installing solar lamps in Ladakh and solar pumps
in Punjab. Hemant had been looking for ideas that promote the
use of solar energy in a sustainable way, not depending on government
subsidies. The idea of providing energy as a service appealed
to him.
Hemant's idea was enthusiastically taken up by a group of promoters
led by Ananth and Poornima in Chennai. They organized a group
of urban poor youth to run it as an enterprise and also put
in some capital. The boys are all alumni of the Olcott Memorial
School, Besantnagar, which caters to the economically weaker
sections. The team was trained by AuroRE in maintaining the
solar lanterns. AuroRE has also been providing technical support
as well as a loan for buying some of the equipment.
Each lantern costs about Rs 3750 and provides light for about
five hours. The annual turnover is about Rs 100,000. The panels
are likely to last 15 years, but the battery inside the lamp
could be the weak link, especially since the lanterns have to
operate under tough conditions of sand and wind.
The enterprise started with three lanterns in February 2002
and now has 100 lanterns serving 70 regular clients. A new unit
has been started at the larger Marina Beach. Ananth is also
taking the idea to Bhopal as an income generation project for
the victims of the gas disaster.
This is a unique project that promotes renewable energy, providing
at the same time self-employment for the youth among the urban
poor. |
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