Rural Environment & Economic Policy

1. Rural Environment & Economic Policy LG-5

2. Architects of the Policy • Secretary (MNES) Chairman • Secretary, Ministry of Power or his representative Member • Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development or his representative Member • Secretary, Department of Science & Technology or his representative Member • Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development or his representative Member • Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests or his representative Member • Secretary (Expenditure), Ministry of Finance or his representative Member • Adviser (Energy), Planning Commission Member • Managing Director, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) Member • Chairman & M.D., Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd. Member • Chairperson, Central Electricity Authority or his representative Member • Representatives from leading State Energy Development Agencies Member • Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay Member • Shri B.D. Sharma, Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe) Member • Representative from Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Member • Representatives from leading NGOs like WINROCK, Development Alternatives, SWRC, Tilonia, SPRERI, Gujarat, etc. Member • Joint Secretary, MNES – Member Secretary. Member • Others • Representative from Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) Member

3. Shri. A.M. Gokhale • Secretary (MNES) Chairman • Padma Shri • Additional Secretary In Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) , Chief Secretary Ministry of Non Conventional Energy (MNES) Shri. Anil Razdan • Secretary, Ministry of Power • Joint Secretary with the Department of Atomic Energy, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Power, Additional Secretary and Spl Secretary, with Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

4. Shri. SubhasPani Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development Shri. M Ramachandran Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development • Ms. Meena Gupta • Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests • Health secretary • Secretary, Tribal Affairs • Shri. T. Ramasami • Secretary, Department of S & T • PadmaShri

5. Dr. D. Subba Rao • Secretary (Expenditure), Ministry of Finance • Secretary to the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council

6. The other key players are… • Shri. Debashish Majumdar - MD, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) • Anil Kumar Lakhina, Chairman & M.D., Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd. • Shri. Rakesh Nath, Chairperson, Central Electricity Authority • Prof. Rangan Banerjee, IIT, Bombay • Shri. B.D. Sharma, Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe)

7. Power Sector – Urban Grid • Solar passive architecture • Solar Thermal Sysyems/ Devices- Flat Type and Concentrating Type • Energy Recovery from Urban Wastes- Anaerobic Digestion, Land fill Gas Recovery, Gasification. • Advantages- Reduction in environmental pollution, quantity of wasteland reduced by nearly 60- 90%, waste slurry used as compost. • Energy Recovery from Industrial Waste • Akshya Urja Shops - Aditya Solar Shops Target is 2000 Shops • Renewable Energy/ Solar Energy/ Ecogreen Cities

8. Power Sector – Rural Grid

9. Political Context • Chairmanship of Secretary, • Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, • Ministry of Finance, IEPR, • Planning Commission, • Working Group Links: Rural population, Urban population Industries, Policy makers, Foreign institutions, Environment. Experts : Commission for Additional Sources of Energy in Dept of Science and Technology, USAID, United States Energy association, State electricity regulatory commission, State Electricity Board etc Evidence Census Data Indian Statistical Department Prevailing plans- 10th yr plan RAPID CEL FRAMEWORK

10. ENGAGING WITH POLICY Present Consumers/ future consumers/ society State Policy Business, Manufacturing, Services, Financing Regulatory Institutions, Regulation Utilities ( mostly public) Operation

11. Why Rural Energy Deserves Special Attention • If rural energy is not treated separately, it is bound to be deprived of appropriate and deserved emphasis • Demographic differences: Rural areas consist of dispersed populations in contrast to the population concentrations of urban areas.

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13. Goal of Rural Energy System • An instrument of sustainable rural development. • Energy supply vis a vis Energy services. • Direct bearing on HDI and quality of life of women and children. • Advance poverty alleviation. • Rural environment and health. • Three points underscored: 1) affordable, reliable, safe 2) ensures self reliance and empowerment. 3) no adverse effect on environment.

14. Variability in elasticity in HDI vs. /Cap. Energy consumption.

15. Strategies for Rural Energy • Reduction of arduous human labor • Modernization of biomass • Transformation of cooking • Provision of safe water • Electrification of all homes • Provision of energy for income-generating activities

16. Dissemination of photovoltaic solar home systems (PV SHS) in rural India.( A Cost Benefit Analysis) • Rural Population = 750 ml., assuming 5.5 persons every HH, Total HH = 136ml. • Average energy bill = 7.5% of gross HH income • 60% of these are unelectrified, i.e.82 ml HH • Vikalpa-1 • The initial cost of a four-light 37 watts PV SHS in1999 was about $ 430 (Rs 18,500 @ Rs 43/$) for which financing from a bank could be obtained at 12% interest over a 5-year period, i.e. EMI of Rs.364 • Affordable to less than 5% of richest rural elite.

17. Analysis contd. • Vikalpa 2 • The two-light 20 watts SHS costs about $ 267.50 (Rs.11,500) and can be obtained with the same financing terms as the four-light system. • EMI of Rs.226, 17% HH can afford. • Vikalpa 3 • The one-light 10 watts SHS costs about $ 128.00 (Rs.5,500) • Down payment and about $2.50 (Rs.108) per month requiring an income of about $16.75 (Rs.720) per month available to about 75% of the households. • Still 25% HH beyond the net.

18. Where will the money come from • A widely held, but erroneous, belief is that, without subsidies, the poor cannot afford priced basic services • They are currently paying for services – food, water, lighting, etc. either with money or with their labor time. For example, rural households have preferred to pay for priced safe water in preference to “free” water from unsafe sources. • Opportunity cost • Innovating financing, Loans (not necessarily soft loans), leasing, etc. can convert unacceptably high initial capital costs into manageable affordable operating costs. • Economies of Scale.

19. The upshot • Since PV SHS are inaccessible to the rural poor • So, are these measures elitist?, NO • Enhancement of Income generation activity. • One-light PV SHS permits a tribal household to weave two extra baskets per evening to earn Rs.5 per basket and therefore (after paying for materials) about (Rs.250) per month. Then the income generated by the PV SHS more than pays for the investment on the light. • A similar case is that of a mobile vegetable vendor who can have two extra hours of sales.

20. Specific Technological Options • Stoves and furnaces fuelled with biogas, producer gas, natural gas and LPG • Co-generation through decentralized electricity generation facilitates • UV filtration or treated water. • Compact fluorescent lamps • Hydrogen as a fuel • Motors with much greater efficiency

21. Policies for the Implementation of Rural Energy Strategies • Policies to encourage the preparation of implementation packages are imperative. • Policies for ensuring synergistic government involvement are vital • Transparent, accountable and democratic institutional arrangements at the rural level • People's participation, to local capacity building • Community-based supply of energy sources • Level playing field for centralized supply and decentralized village-level supply

22. Amulya K. N. Reddy • Known primarily for his work as the father of Indian appropriate technology. • Dr. Reddy was closely associated with the Centre for Sustainable Technology (CST) and ASTRA (Application of Science and Technology to Rural Areas). • He was the founder-president of the Bangalore-based International Energy Initiative (IEI). • The prestigious Volvo Environment Prize 2000 winner. • Dr. Reddy was also instrumental in setting up the Karnataka State Council for Science & Technology (KSCST) with Dr. Satish Dhawan and M.Y. Ghorpade. • Dr. Reddy has written extensively with nearly 300 publications in the areas of technology, energy and ethics. Energy for Sustainable Development, the book he wrote with his international collaborators — Jose Goldemberg, Thomas B. Johansson, and Robert H. Williams — is an articulation of the new energy paradigm recognised by the Volvo Award in 2000.

23. Tide India • TIDE is an organization devoted to promoting sustainable development through technological interventions which are in harmony with the environment. • It permits grassroot level participation, uses local resources and builds local capacity.

24. Tide India: Success Stories • Opportunity came Ratnamma's way when she was introduced to the training Programme for construction of household smokeless stoves conducted by TIDE for women’s groups promoted by DPG (Development Promotion Group) Kudligi! DPG helped her to get orders for stove construction and in a short period of 4 months she has constructed over 50 stoves. • The training and support from TIDE enabled Nataraj, a diploma holder in Civil Engineering to establish M/s. Green care technologies in shimoga. Today, he has emerged as an entrepreneur promoting energy efficient technology in five districts contiguous to shimoga district. • The pico hydro project of TIDE has changed the life of Delhi Krishna’s family and of other banjaru families for the better.

25. Prayas : Energy Group • The focus of Prayas Energy Group (PEG) is the protection of the public interest in the Electricity Sector. • Public interest issues include consumer issues as well broad social issues. • In consumer issues, PEG gives more attention to the issues affecting the poor: small electricity consumers and those who do not have access to electricity now but are likely to be consumers in the near future . • Social issues include environmental sustainability and equity. • In addition to other activities it has been involved in, Prayas also publishes a monthly magazine on electricity development. That is also available on line in soft copy. (http://prayaspune.org/peg/article_detail.php?&publication_id=085A00)

26. Thank You Let us explore the renewables…