Three Indian projects nominated for Green Oscars

Wednesday, 04 June 2003, 19:30 IST
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LONDON: Three Indian projects in the field of solar energy have been nominated for the "Green Oscars" to be announced later this month. They are the Madhya Pradesh Gramin Vikas Mandal, the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency and The Barefoot College under the leadership of Bunker Roy. The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy are given every year for community-led renewable energy projects that combine sustainable development with environment protection. The shortlist was announced from a record number of entries from 25 countries and four continents. It has six nominations, including one each from Eritrea, Nicaragua and Peru, besides three from India. The total prize money is more than $150,000. The awards globally known as Green Oscars are now in their third year. Finalist projects demonstrate practical solutions for energy provision and emissions management in developing areas, with programmes ranging from the production of smokeless fuel-efficient clay stoves in Eritrea to installation of solar-powered communication systems in the remote forests of Peru. Lord Whitty, British minister for farming, food and sustainable energy, and Jonathon Porritt, internationally renowned environmentalist, and chair of the British government Sustainable Development Commission will present the awards here on June 18. The Madhya Pradesh Gramin Vikas Mandal is under the leadership of environmentalist and activist Ram Chandra Prasad, closely associated with the khadi movement. This initiative aims to reduce air pollution caused by kerosene lamps and reduce the cost to street vendors of hiring kerosene lamps, by providing cheap, fuel efficient solar lanterns to the night-time vendors. Such is the popularity of the solar lanterns that Prasad has faced strong resistance from kerosene lamp entrepreneurs, who are threatened by these sustainable alternatives. Prasad is looking for ways to work with these kerosene entrepreneurs by encouraging them to switch to using renewable energy alternatives to provide clean, affordable lighting. Prize money would be used to expand the initiative across the city and elsewhere in Madhya Pradesh. The West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA) is on Sagar Island, also known as Solar Island. Sagar Island is the largest of the 55 inhabited islands of Sunderbans - located in the Gangetic delta of West Bengal. The island receives over a million pilgrims every year to visit the sacred sites. However, due its separation from the mainland there is no grid-power electricity. To address this, WBREDA, under the leadership of S.P. Gon Chaudhuri, specialist in renewable energy systems, provided the islanders with grid quality solar powered electricity. With support from the islanders, WBREDA decided to go yet further and initiated a programme of village electrification using nine solar mini-grid systems. This project currently provides grid-quality power for more than 1,000 villagers for five to six hours daily. The benefits to villagers include safe drinking water, health facilities, including getting vaccines into the villages, electricity for economic activities and a reduction in snakebite cases. The final Indian entry is The Barefoot College. The Barefoot College has, since 1990, provided lighting using solar panels in over 136 remote and virtually inaccessible Himalayan villages. Ninety men and 19 women - many of whom are illiterate - have been trained as barefoot engineers to maintain the fixed units and solar lanterns provided. The change that has taken place in the lives of over 15,000 people now benefiting from solar energy has been immense. No longer do they have to walk for two days to get a 20-litre jerry can of kerosene that had to last one month.
Source: IANS