Solar Solutions in Low-income Rural Cambodia : Yotam Ariel

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Cambodia's decades of war has made the country's poor electricity infrastructure even worse, leaving millions of Cambodians in constant struggle for lighting. But that is now changing. With declining prices of solar technology and the introduction of low-income oriented payment options, villagers are increasingly harnessing the sun to power their wooden huts.

In rural Cambodia, where about 11 million people live beyond the reach of electric grids, most villagers rely on one of two sources for lighting: kerosene lamps, which serve nearly half of this off-grid market (left), or automobile batteries, which villagers use if they have a bit more money and seek energy for lighting, cell phone charging and watching television.

But there are downsides to these two solutions. Villagers explain that the open flame kerosene lamps often burn their children. And although using automobile batteries is safer, it requires frequent trips to diesel-powered charging stations to recharge the battery.

“When my parents were too busy to recharge the empty batteries, the whole family ended up sitting in the dark,” said Muon Tuorn, a 25-year-old guesthouse receptionist who shared her experience.

Such troubles are opening the door for solar solutions that provide safe light and require no travel time. More importantly, rural families have discovered that solar lanterns and solar home systems can even help them save money.

Currently, for the average family here, fuel expenditures on a kerosene lamp are about $30 annually, while a solar lantern that lasts for two years costs only $25.

For richer Cambodians who use more energy, buying a solar home system has proven to be an economic choice compared to automobile batteries.

According to the Asian Development Bank, the cost for a solar home system in Cambodia ranges from $200 for a 20-watt system to $600 for an 80-watt one. Although expenses on automobile battery use vary from family to family, depending on the battery size and recharging frequency, interviews with villagers demonstrate that their investment in solar home systems usually takes three years to pay back.

And solar home systems are becoming more cost competitive as diesel fuel costs escalate. During the last six months, the recharging fee of automobile batteries (right)has already gone up by 25 percent due to rising fuel costs in the country.

Payment Solutions Designed for Rural Poor

Still, many villagers find it hard to make the switch to solar energy because they can’t afford the upfront investment. But solar entrepreneurs in the country have been working hard to help. One popular practice is to partner with local micro loan providers who can loan villagers the money to purchase solar lanterns or solar home systems. Villagers can then gradually repay the loans through savings on kerosene or automobile battery recharging fees.

Although the lending scheme helps villagers deal with the upfront investment, it is far from perfect. Like other developing countries, lenders in Cambodia often charge a high interest rate on the loan. If a family takes a three-year loan for a $300 solar home system, the interest rate will push the total investment to about $423, according to Michel Kindbeiter, managing director of Cambodia’s Credit Mutuel Kampuchea, a micro loan provider with a comparatively low interest rate in the market.

For those who don’t want the loan, there is another way to embrace solar energy. Last year, a local solar company, Kamworks, rolled out a rental service that allows villagers to rent a solar lantern at a daily rate of 8 cents, roughly the daily rate for kerosene.

The service was so well received by the rural poor that the company plans to expand its rental outlets from its current 3 to 80 this year.

Challenges Ahead and Unexpected Help

More business, of course, also means more challenges. “If we have to pre-finance solar lanterns [for the rental service], we also have to raise capital. That is still quite difficult for us,” said Jeroen Verschelling, a director at Kamworks.

Besides that, distribution remains a barrier. It is hard to reach and provide after-sales services to villagers scattered in remote areas. Furthermore, it also takes a lot of effort to promote solar energy, given the fact that less than 20 percent of the rural population in Cambodia has even heard of the technology, according to figures from the Asian Development Bank.

Despite these difficulties, there is still some good news. In 2009, the Cambodian government cut the import tariff on items like solar panels from 35 percent to 7 percent. And surprisingly, it is sometimes villagers themselves who handle the marketing and distribution setbacks.

Duc Vy is one such case. After hearing of his friend’s positive experience with solar energy, Duc travelled three hours by bus to the nearest solar company and bought a solar home system. A half-hour training session at the company plus an illustrated guidebook turned the then 53-year-old truck driver into a solar installer, at least for his own house.

The solar system has been working well since he mounted it on the roof three years ago, said Duc as he greeted neighbors who came by to watch television powered by the sun.

Yotam Ariel specializes in solar energy in the developing world, runs an online database (www.bennu-solar.com/resources), and provides market intelligence for businesses and organizations that are active in this sector.

Sunlight in the night : Coordinates

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Solar Training for Villagers at Barefoot College in Tilonia

Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan is modelled on Gandhian thought. Barefoot is meant only for the illiterate poor. The best-known of Barefoot’s programmes is one in which women on the wrong side of 40, many of them grandmothers, are trained to be solar engineers. Once young people learn a skill they want to leave the village whereas grandmoms are rooted there and can pass on the skill to others. The criteria for these courses are these women should be, of course, indigent and uneducated, and come from remote, inaccessible villages sans electricity.

The six-month programme is not restricted to Indian rural women folk. Since 2004, Barefoot has, with the help of the ministry of external affairs, trained 150 women from 27 countries. About 10,000 houses have been electrified and 1.8 million litres of kerosene saved.  3 million rural folk educated by Barefoot. When the trained folk goes back to her village she will be using what she  learnt there to introduce solar chargers and lanterns to the people there.

Most women face resistance when they are offered the chance of undergoing training. A committee in the village  nominates names. It takes a while to convince the families but we keep in regular touch with them even after the women come back.

Besides solar energy, Barefoot’s focus areas include water conservation, healthcare and crafts. Barefoot, which thrives on grants from government agencies and philanthropists other than sale of handicraft, does not accept literate volunteers, especially from cities.  Only an illiterate can teach another illiterate. The training happens in sign language. Barefoot's current focus is to ensure that villages all over the world have drinking water and light, which are the most important needs.

Delhi"s first solar power plant

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit inaugurated Delhi's first solar power plan of one megawatt capacity on December 21. Dikshit said. "In terms of the amount of power produced, it may not be much but it's a huge step in terms of generating clean power," she said. 

Energy Secretary Deepak Gupta said energy sources such as solar would be the next big thing in the country because the government was committed to multiply the generation figures manifold. "The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission has set a target of generating 20000 MW of solar power by 2022," he said.

The solar panels are installed on the roof of a central store of discom North Delhi Power Limited in Keshavpuram in Northwest Delhi. The Tatas plan to set up solar panels on the rooftops of around 56 of its grid substations in north and northwest Delhi with a cumulative capacity 2.5-3 MW.

SELF (Solar Electric Light Fund) : Access to Energy a Human Right?

New Hampshire, USA – Just imagine taking your sick son or daughter to the hospital after dark and having the doctor examine the child by candlelight. Or walking 10 miles to the hospital for treatment after being bitten by a rabid dog and discovering that the vaccination you need is located an additional 100 miles away in a facility that can stock it because it has refrigerators.

That was the situation at the Village Health Works clinic in Burundi, where the sick often lay suffering in the dark and frustrated doctors had to consider the cost of running the diesel generator before turning it on in order to supply oxygen to a dying patient. “All of those discussions that you never want to have as a doctor,” said to Dr. Sri Shamsuner, a visiting physician from the University of California.

Then SELF stepped in.

The organization, with the help of partners, volunteers and supporters, installed a 10 kW solar array and battery bank to provide power to Village Health Works.  The clinic is now able to use electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, running its generators only when absolutely necessary.  Doctors and staff now utilize modern medical tools like EKG machines and ultrasound equipment.  They can also access the internet to help with diagnostics and learn about innovative treatments for disease.

Consider whether you believe that energy is a human right.  Then consider the billions of people in developing nations for whom energy is a luxury that they must live without.  Finally, consider that it’s not really about the energy at all, but about the services that it provides.  “We’re essentially using solar power as an enabling technology to kickstart improvements in health, education and economic well-being for whole villages,” said Bob Freling, Executive Director of SELF.

 You can go to SELF’s website and  find it out for yourself..

Concentrated Photovoltaic System

Sahaj Solar, a Company in Gujarat, is  developing CPV (Concentrated Photovoltaic) system. They are  Solar Plant Provider in India and work with a mission to make affordable solar systems and solar panel in India. They are  doing Research and have brought their  advanced products from laboratory to market. For details, please contact Viral Shah and visit their website:

http://www.sahajsolar.com/

US-India Solar Business Council

A  U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) was formed with a view to promote trade and investment in the solar industry between the U.S. and India. The USIBC is comprised of private-sector companies and seeks to help the United States' export solar technologies while furthering India's goal of reducing its dependence on imported coal and fossil fuels through the use of solar energy. The USIBC Solar Task Force is a subcommittee of USIBC's Energy, Environment, Enterprise (EEE) Executive Committee, which is comprised of more than 100 members. Bryan Ashley, chief marketing officer of Suniva, and Aparna Doshi, chief operating officer of Astonfield, will Co-Chair the Task Force. 

The  USIBC Solar Task Force aims at cooperation  between American and Indian firms participating in this vital sector, and to promote an enabling environment that will spur the application of efficient, clean solar-powered energy throughout India and the globe,” said USIBC President Ron Somers.