Energy Equations: one story, two sides!

Somehow the slogan of Karnataka Tourism – one state, many worlds! - is quite fitting. In truth it echoes the diversity that is the essence of the Indian experience. We took in big eyefuls’ of state initiated development initiatives, from four lane highways, new buildings, efficient intra-state bus services and scenic wind farms on a recent visit to three districts on a VER exercise. The district of Chitradurga is arguably host to more wind farms than any other in the state of Karnataka probably owing to its optimal wind patterns. The environs of Chitradurga are dotted with knolls and small hillocks atop which sit rows of state-of-the-art wind turbines. They lend a futuristic halo to this ancient town that boasts one of the oldest forts of India, dating back to the Mauryas. Karnataka is currently wooing global investments and, to this end, is sparing no energy in sprucing up its international image. This padding, however, is only for its cities. Its rural hinterland remains the way it is – underdeveloped if not abandoned. The energy crisis of the state is far from being balanced by the big energy initiatives underway. Ironically, the big and impressive windmills in rural Karnataka generate power for its big cities far away. Those in its immediate shadow are left on the two main axes of its energy graph - big power cuts and no power at all. The energy distribution story of the state epitomises the developmental divide within it. It holds true for just about every Indian state.

Hard as it may seem to reckon with, the fact is that the energy crisis is here to stay. Conventional thinking and planning just cannot deal with its magnitude. Simply put, the energy needs of this nation are far in excess of its supply and will always remain so. Newer elements have to be added to the mix if the problem is to be contained. Nonconventional energy has a great role to play in offsetting India's massive energy deficits. Decentralised captive power for basic home lighting and domestic needs from renewable sources – sun and wind – hold great promise both for the cities and rural India if the government would only wake up to the potential it hides.

As always there are a few who see a problem (while others only look away) and are moved to address it. These are developmental pioneers who hack ways through economic, social and technological jungles to clear a pathway for a new (and much needed) intervention. Having no precedents, they are forced to create their own agendas, objectives and standards, which eventually go on to become benchmarks for others to respect or emulate.

The Solar Electric Light Company (SELCO www.selco-india.com) is a pioneer in developing and distributing off grid lighting solutions for the rural poor – the BOP. This segment has big energy needs that are not being adequately met through official channels. This continuing energy deprivation forces many of this segment to burn fossil fuels (kerosene) that is a proven health and safety hazard. Poor lighting also places restrictions on their social and economic activities and, in particular, affects the schooling of their children. Armed with resolve (and the technology and human resources to go with ) SELCO set out to develop stand alone home lighting kits for remote villages that are both off-grid and off-map. Today their presence is far flung and their operations include remote locations that are home to subsistence farmers, in geographical terrains ranging from parched black soil (that turn to squelchy swamps after a downpour) to leach infested forested agricultural enclaves in the slopes of the Western-Ghats. Thanks to this 'bright' crusade a few hundred rural families in various districts of Karnataka are able each night to congregate, eat ,socialize and study in the clear light of solar lights and lanterns that they maintain themselves. The SELCO experiment holds the seed of a decentralized energy model that can be used to light up the homes (and lives) of millions in India who are always bypassed by the government because they are too far down the pyramid to count. Decentralised off grid lighting initiatives like these are democratic in their vision and exemplary in their expression. They also endorse the power and potential of renewable energy and the many useful technologies they can spawn.

'Lights Out for Kerosene' - the Rameswaram diaries

18-03-09 - Three of us from Mission Tejas (www.missiontejas.org) at the invitation of our NGO partners CCD, left Auroville on the evening of 18th. March to board a train to Rameswaram. Some unexpected last minute delays forced us to have to rush to the railway station at Villupuram (50 km. away) to catch our train with just minutes to spare. Lucky we!






19-03-09 – Reached the famous temple town of Rameswaram in the early hours of the 19th. Went to our hotel, located close to the western gate of the celebrated Ramanatha Swamy temple, to rest a little before daybreak. The air was filled with the sounds of morning birds (mostly crows) and recorded temple music. Not exactly quiet, but restful nonetheless! After breakfast (we had the most delicious pongal-vada in a long time), we set out to Dhanushkodi, 20km to the east of the island of Rameswaram. Our objective was to visit and survey two fishing villages in these remote coastal parts that were making do without electricity. This part of coastal Tamil nadu is unique. Its topography was irrevocably changed in the calamitous cyclone of 1964. According to the native and hardy fisher folk here, the tsunami of 2006 was just a ripple in comparison.

Dhanushkodi literally means “arrow head”. It is a pointed land strip standing at the confluence of two oceans, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. Legend has it that it was from these parts that Rama and his monkey allies built a bridge across to Lanka to wage war with Ravana and bring Sita back. The territorial waters of Sri Lanka lay no more than 30 odd Km to the south-east. Dhanushkodi is sacred to pilgrims who come here from all parts of the country. It is believed that a dip in the waters of the oceans here can cleanse one of spiritual impurities.

Offerings are also made to the departed spirits of ancestors and kinfolk. *In the 80s Dhanushkodi was famous for other reasons. It was a common landing place and refuge for Tamil militants during the height of the ethno-political conflicts in Sri Lanka. The area was declared security sensitive by the Indian authorities for a long time.

The catch in these waters are good. Probably owing to the peculiarities of land formation here, there was an abundance of rich aquatic flora and fauna that attracted a great variety and number of fish. The two villages we visited – Kambipad and Palam -were home to nearly 300 fishermen and their families. Access to these villages was difficult. The only motorable road from Rameswaram ends 7 km from Dhanushkodi. Thereafter, we were completely dependent upon the off-roading skills of our 4WD Jeep driver who negotiated sand banks and dunes with practiced ease. The landscape of the Coromandel littoral in these parts, even though barren and harsh, exuded a beauty all its own,. The waters of the oceans to either side of us were a deep blue and spotted with dozens of fishing vessels. From time to time we passed crumbling buildings and edifices –leftovers of the big storm of 1964! We stopped frequently by the shallow lagoons on the sand banks between the oceans to admire and photograph the Australian pelican and other migratory birds that the region was known for. We also reeled under the unexpected attack of large swarms of blue bottle flies that were all around feeding on the entrails of fish that were drying upon the sands. We learnt later that the villages and all visitors to the area had to brave this menace for three months each year, until the winds changed course with the onset of mid summer heat.

We drove into Kambipad, the fishing village closest to the tip of the land, shortly before noon. It was like entering a ghost town. We were shown the remnants of the old church, water tank, police station and customs office from pre-independence times that were all blown away in the big cyclone. Dhanushkodi was a busy port in the early 1900s, being the main transit point for plantation workers and goods between SriLanka (Ceylon in those days) and the Indian mainland. It was also an important railway terminal. One can still see the impressions of meter-gauge tracks of the trains that visited Dhanushkodi, still preserved in the sands like fossils bearing mute witness to a once busy and prosperous time in this region. All this was changed in just one night in November 1964 when a raging cyclone destroyed almost all standing structures, claimed some 300 odd lives and rearranged the land in a totally new way. Old beaches and sand banks disappeared into the sea and new ones were thrown up in their place. Sweet water began to spring up where once was sea, while old water holes got salinated. Many of the survivors from these parts were relocated to camps and settlements in Rameswaram. However, with time almost all of them returned to set up new homes by the sea and start up their lives again, for these were fishermen and the sea was their home despite calamities and mishaps that may unsettle their rhythms for a while.

All these fishing villages were without power of any kind, piped water or telephone lines. They used kerosene for lighting and wood for cooking. Water for drinking and washing was sourced from little hand dug water holes close to each home and almost every household had a mobile phone. We spoke to small groups of men and women about the polluting nature of kerosene and showed them some of the LED lamp/torch options that we had carried with us. They paid keen attention to what we had to say and asked critical questions about price and post-sale services. These fishermen and their families were high energy consumers despite being off-grid. A large number of homes had TVs and DVD players that were running on automotive batteries. These batteries had to be transported to the mainland every 2-3 weeks to be charged. Every household owned at least one mobile phone (sometimes as many as three per household) that was taken to Rameswaram for charging every second day. Dry cells (AA & AAA) were a frequent item on their monthly shopping lists. When all these are totaled, including the energy (fuel costs) consumed in travelling to and fro, the energy bills per year are indeed high for each household; not to mention the waste and pollution generated in the process.

20-3-09: Musings from the train on our return home! These two villages are receptive to our energy enhancement and conservation ideas. We have identified a variety of customized options that can be introduced in these villages with great success. However, our partners suggest that the first step of engagement should be a comprehensive energy survey to be carried out in these and a few other villages in the region to correctly estimate current energy needs and consumption patterns. This will serve to produce a pre and post intervention scenario for comparison and study. It could also be used to generate carbon credits some day.


From the Light HQ! The energy survey is scheduled to begin in May. At its conclusion, we will select a list of products that can address the basic home energy needs of these households that includes lighting, cell phone charging and hearing news and music on transistor radios. We are considering small, self-sufficient kits with their own mini solar panels at a price that is attractive. Talks are on with a few manufacturers to offer back up service and training for the products that we select for eventual distribution.

More postings on this when we get under way! Take a look at some of the pictures we took.

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