Abundant Sunshine

Solar lanterns will light up rural households

The average number of sunny days in India ranges from 250 to 300 days a year, with a solar energy equivalent to or greater than the country’s total energy consumption. Energy efficiency is critical to India's large and growing population. Solar lanterns, which make the most of the country’s natural and abundant sunshine, could be a practical and clean energy alternative to kerosene lamps in village communities. Solar energy has the potential to improve the living conditions of poor rural households in India as well as contribute to the country’s future energy security.

By using solar lanterns, there will be substantial saving compared to the kerosene and electricity costs. Expenditure on kerosene and electricity will drop significantly after solar lanterns are introduced. Each household is likely to make savings ranging from Rs 7,200 to Rs 12,000 approx annually. The solar lanterns will particularly benefit school-aged children and women. With five to six hours of light supplied daily by the solar lanterns, study hours will increase which will have a positive influence on the children’s performance at school. Women will also be able to perform their routine household work both indoors and outdoors during power outages.

The use of solar energy will contribute to India’s future energy security, particularly in rural areas where the technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity offers a decentralised alternative to uncertain electricity supplies.

In India, approximately 70 per cent of rural areas lack electricity. Even out of electrified villages, 70 percent of the villages connected to power grids do not receive power because the power companies redirect electricity to major towns and cities. Over 60 per cent of rural households use kerosene lamps for lighting. Kerosene lamps are not only expensive, they are also inefficient, potentially dangerous and a major source of greenhouse gases.

If implemented efficiently, renewable energy projects could not only improve the quality of life for India’s rural poor but also enhance sustainable use of the environment.