12 June 2009
The world’s leading green energy prize yesterday named Saran Renewable Energy Pvt. Ltd of Bihar, in eastern India, the winner of £20,000 and the Ashden Renewables for Sustainable Development Award. The presentation was made by the HRH the Prince of Wales, in recognition of the scheme’s establishment of a reliable power source providing electricity from renewable resources.
Saran Renewable Energy has installed a new gasification system that generates electric power for eleven hours per day using locally-sourced biomass, providing a popular, sustainable, and cheap alternative to an unreliable grid supply. The 220 MWh of electricity produced in a year is currently sold to ten businesses which previously used diesel generators, as well as farmers, a school and a clinic. The result is a better-quality and more reliable electricity supply that prevents the emission of about 200 tonnes/year CO2 from the 77,000 tonnes of diesel that would otherwise be used, and helps to secure income for the 100 local farmers who supply biomass.
International Development Minister Gareth Thomas said:
“I am delighted that DFID is able to support this award and would like to congratulate the winner. Projects like this bring real benefits to local communities and clearly demonstrate how clean, renewable energy can help grow local economies, improve people’s health and reduce poverty – as well as contributing towards the fight against climate change.
“1.6 billion people in developing countries still have no access to a regular and reliable modern energy supply. DFID is committed to helping communities tackle climate change and poverty and we will provide £25m to help grow renewable energy in some of the world’s poorest countries.”
The judges were particularly impressed by the renewable nature of the energy source, commenting that the Award was made:
“For utilising an abundant wild plant as fuel to provide affordable and reliable energy, enriching communities.”
Bihar is one of India’s poorest states, and Saran District is a rural area. Farmers eke out a living from cash crops like maize and the area is plagued by electricity black-outs, sometimes lasting for days. Until recently, most local businesses and farmers have had to rely on noisy, dirty diesel generators for their power supply.
Saran Renewable Energy (SRE) was started in 2006 by a family-run agricultural trading business, in response to the severe shortage of electricity in Bihar. SRE generates electric power for eleven hours per day by gasifying biomass, and using the cleaned gas, with about 12% diesel for ignition, to run a 128 kW dual-fuel engine. About 70% of the biomass is ‘dhaincha’, a local woody plant which grows in water-logged areas that cannot be used for crops. The use of dhaincha as a fuel has been introduced carefully to minimise competition for land with food crops.
SRE’s customers include sawmills, welders, food millers, a cold store, battery charging stations and ‘generators’ supplying village lighting. Electricity from the plant also powers borehole pumps which supply water to customers at half the previous rate.
Yogendra Prasad, SRE’s Chairman, describes some of the benefits to the local community of his scheme:
“We have been able to help revive small industries that had shut down due to unreliable and costly electricity, and to supply public enterprises, like the local clinic. We have also set up a study centre with free electricity to enable the children to study in the evenings.”
The Department for International Development is supporting the Renewables for Sustainable Development Award to demonstrate how low-carbon energy can benefit local communities and reduce poverty in ways that can be replicated at larger scale in the future. DFID will provide £25m to the Scaling-up Renewable Energy Program (SREP). SREP is a ground-breaking new international programme to support the deployment of renewable energy in up to eight low income countries, and promote the link between renewable energy, job creation, and local economic development. SREP is part of the Climate Investment Funds administered by the World Bank.
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His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales with Vivek Gupta, Saran Renewable Energy, India. Photo: Ashden Awards