SunEdison’s Indian Solar Mission

SunEdison (SUNE) the US based solar and semiconductor company is now all set to remove darkness from the villages in India. Even though its semi business floundered and solar poly and wafer manufacturing operations went into sustained losses, SunEdison flourished growing rapidly. The company got into cell and module production through JVs and third party outsourcing. The management is now concentrating on solar installations. As a part of the SunEdison Eradication of Darkness (SEED) program, the company will make an endeavor to provide sustainable energy to the global masses for their existence, healthcare and education. This program is funded by the SunEdison Foundation.

SunEdison will install 241 kW of PV micro-grids with battery storage in 54 remote Indian villages. Thus providing electricity to approximately 8000 people living in darkness. The company is responsible to build, operate and then transfer the facilities to the people in five years time frame (as per the Indian government’s decentralized distribution generation scheme administered by the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited, APEPDCL). The poor infrastructure in these remote areas is posing a problem for SUNE, but it is determined to cross all barriers and move ahead.

Not only this, but SunEdison has also announced help for the poor farmers in the Runn of Kutch region of Gujarat. It will provide finance to 200 such farmers for purchasing solar water pumps, which will help them in salt production finally. The poor farmers have limited resources and money to use diesel powered pumps to earn a living out of it.

Conclusion

India is largely a country of masses living below the poverty line and in darkness. Beyond the shine and light in the Indian metro cities, there lie plenty of villages in India where electricity has failed to reach/ sustain 24×7. Many companies have come forth and helped these rural people, whose life is very tough without electricity. They have mobile phones but no electricity to charge them. The children cannot read because there is no light. There is no fan, no light and no electricity which is now the basic necessity for an urban dweller. D.Light distributed many solar lights and solar powered fans to such poor people and has even launched affordable solar products. I hope this post rings a bell in the minds of readers, who can come forth to grant aid to such masses.

“Rough terrain and limited road access make this project the most difficult rural installation SunEdison has attempted to date, but it isn’t just about logistics or economics for us; it’s about creating positive, long term social and environmental impact as well,” said Pashupathy Gopalan, president of SunEdison Asia Pacific. “More and more businesses and organizations are understanding that this triple bottom line approach is working, and they are joining us in bringing clean energy to those who need it most.”

Source: PV-Magazine