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SOLARAWARDS2011 SHOR TLISTED


revenue collection. A small corpus was also set up for upkeep and maintenance of the plant being controlled by the VEC.


After a detailed area survey it was envisaged that the village would need a Solar Power Plant of 20kWp capacity keeping in mind their current and future demands. Since its inception the objective was to create a more prosperous and economically independent village thereby freeing them from the clutches of the Naxals. To achieve this, it was imperative to not only give them power but also provide them with a host of other economic opportunities that were directly related to the availability of power, which would eventually make them self sufficient and more prosperous. These included:


 Pump for Irrigation  Water Filtration Plant for clean water  Rice mill and flour mill for pounding and grinding


 Solar fridge for storing life saving drugs and medicines


 Community TV


The plant was installed on 30th April, 2010 and has been working ever since without a glitch.


Bergen has recognised the need for rural off-grid PV solutions for economic upliftment of the rural masses. The company would like to contribute to the work that needs to be done in order to make PV available for rural areas. Bergen Group in collaboration with Scatec Norway has successfully executed 200kwp of Solar PV Mini Grid Projects in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and also recently built a 20kWp three phase plant in Jhargaon Jharkhand. The Jhargaon Plant was funded 30% by MNRE, 25% by MPLAD fund and 25% by a corporate Coal India. The balance 20% was invested by Bergen. While it is understood that electrification is a governmental responsibility and hence rural electrification will always depend on government funding, the challenge lies in a large-scale roll-out which will make a difference, while at the same time ensure long- term production and sustainability.


To achieve this, a closer dialogue and cooperation between the private sector, governments, corporate sector and organisations like Bergen is needed. Bergen has gone that extra mile to ensure


that we play a small albeit important role in the alleviation of poverty in this country.


For Bergen, it’s not so much as a business proposition rather; it is a commitment to drive down poverty in the villages of the country by providing them with access to clean, abundant and uninterrupted power.


The first plant was commissioned in the year 2009 at Rampura, Jhansi. The Jhargaon plant was commissioned in the year 2010.  Due to the presence of electricity, village children spend more time on studying, develop new skills and hone their existing skills as compared to earlier when they could study only during daylight hours.


 The state, which already has a significant number of children suffering from maladies related to high fluoride and other chemical/mineral content in the water, saw a improvement in Healthcare as the water filtration plant has given the villagers access to clean drinking water that is free of harmful minerals and chemicals.


 Further, the availability of essential and life saving drugs at their doorstep has increased and it has been estimated that approximately Rs. 1000 is saved on Health Expenditure per year by each household.


 Agricultural income has also seen a substantial increase as large acres of land can be irrigated through lift irrigation.


 Transition from growing a single crop to Multi Crops has improved their income generation capacities.


 Elimination of physical labor for pounding the rice and the wheat due to the installation of rice and wheat mill.


 Education & information through computers and TV. Community TV leads to better societal harmony.


 The Solar Power plant has helped mitigate the Naxal problem to a major extent by providing a avenue for job creation and hence earning and now its easier to bring the local youth back into the folds of civilization.


 Employment: - Four technically educated youth from Jhargaon were skill trained and now are employed.


 They are doing installation of solar plants independently at Jarri, in Albert


Ekka block.  This has also attracted the other youth from Jarri -two more youth


30 www.solar-pv-management.com I Issue VIII 2011


are employed as helpers/assistant to erect the solar plant.


 Further economic activities for generation of employment are on way


in this area.  A training centre for training women to learn Electronic Soldering.


 Solar industry in the rural area to manufacture Solar products are part of phase-II at Jhargaon area.


 IIT PAN India has already visited the area and planning start a Gurukul for skill development in the area.


WASPAM: A Project for 15 years.


Lessons learned up, until today, from the first steps of the project


The differential characteristic of this project is related to the base of the international public tender, requiring a turn key project, together with a study to assure the operation and maintenance of the systems during 15 years and a compromise of the supplier to manage the installed systems in a concession procedure.


The base of the operation and maintenance of the system is the capacity of return for the users. Are they capable of assuring minimal annual earnings so other companies are interested in creating infrastructure around these systems? Another key point in the project is the logistics regarding the local operator. The Project is been carried out by a social partner active in the project area, a local installer company, and a PV manufacturer, supplying the financial backing and the technical support. The target of the project is making suitable a concession scheme, in which the user as well as the other players would come out benefiting.


Introduction


The main difference between this project and others is international competitive bidding conditions, not only requesting


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