Sunderbans residents use solar power to cut emissions

Sunday, December 06, 2009 SUNDERBANS: In the face of mounting pressure on world bodies to cut on their carbon emission, residents in Sunderbans delta of India's eastern West Bengal state are using electricity generated from solar power, thereby contributing their bit towards the carbon emission cut.The lives of the people living in Sunderbans has changed ever since a solar power plant was first set up by the West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WEBREDA) in Sagar Island.And now a number of solar photovoltaic power plants have come up in various islands in the Sunderbans.Residents of Sunderbans, for whom even conventional electricity once remained a pipe dream, now use the electricity from solar power.Dipak Kumar Si, a resident of Baliara village in Mousuni island, whose family was dependent on kerosene lamps earlier, said that life for them has certainly changed after the introduction of solar power in his village."Earlier we used to use kerosene lamps and spent between rupees 150-200 per month for one litre of kerosene. But after getting solar electricity, we pay rupees 500 for a three points connection and pay rupees 75 every month. So we have benefited a lot. We get power for five to six hours and we can also watch television now, which was not possible earlier. We have certainly benefited a lot," said Dipak Kumar Si.Others like Sarat Hadra Si, another resident of Baliara village, feel that using electricity from solar power is any day beneficial since it is never-ending."The importance of renewable energy is that it has no end, for example solar power, wind, low and high tide of the river is never-ending.But the power which is generated from the minerals, will finish someday. We will not get coal, diesel, petrol, etc. But in the case of renewable energy like solar power, wind, low and high tide will remain forever and the power generated from these has great importance," said Sarat Hadra Si.In Baliara alone, around 1,500 people out of 4,000 use the electricity from the solar power.S.P Gon Chaudhury, director of WEBREDA and the managing director of the West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation, said that since it was not possible for them to provide conventional electricity to around 4.4 million people of the delta, a large part of which is covered by saline water and is accessible only through a system of waterways, they introduced solar power, which is not only cheap but emission free too.He also said that there are about 18 to 20 solar photovoltaic (PV) projects in Sunderbans at present, which are providing electricity to more than 100,000 people."We took some proposals; first we took a proposal in Sagar Island. We installed a project in Sagar Island and then we installed some projects in other island also. Now there are about 18 to 20 projects, solar PV plants, which are working in Sunderbans and providing electricity to more than one lakh (100,000) people," said Chaudhary.The WEBREDA plans to provide 25 megawatts electricity to villages in Sunderbans.The Indian cabinet had recently approved its first solar power plant, pledging to boost output from near zero to 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2020 as part of its plan to fight global warming."A landmark decision has been taken by the cabinet just a couples of week ago to put in place a regulatory framework as well as an incentive framework in order to bring about a major expansion in the capacity of solar energy," Shyam Saran, India's special envoy for climate change, said in New Delhi recently.The $19 billion plan is aimed to help India close the gap on solar front-runners like China and could increase India's leverage in international talks for a new U.N. climate pact in Copenhagen next month, one of several measures meant to help cut emissions.Money would be spent on incentives for production and installation as well as research and development, and the plan offers financial incentives and tax holidays for utilities.It envisions three phases starting with 1-1.5 GW by 2012 along with steps to drive down production costs of solar panels and spur domestic manufacturing.The world produces about 14 gigawatts (GW) of solar power, about half of it added last year.The move could unlock India's huge renewable potential and benefit companies such as Tata BP Solar, a joint venture between Tata Power and BP plc's solar unit, BP Solar, and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, a state-run power and engineering equipment firm, and Lanco Infratech.India, the world's fourth biggest emitter, is a key country in global negotiations for a pact to fight climate change.But India is in a difficult position as curbing its growing emissions will slow down economic growth needed to pull hundreds of millions out of poverty.India is calling for financial help from the developed countries to adapt to cleaner, but more expensive technologies.