CASE

3 Promotion of Solar
Energy Use

Renewable energy programme is now considered very important. Apart from environmental aspect, by
using renewable energy systems basic energy services can be provided economically allowing
improvements in the quality of life and economic productivity for the people of remote isolated backward
areas. Hence,Lokasiksha Parishad started motivating the people long back to adopt renewable energy
systems such as fuel saving improved chullah, biogas plant, etc.
THE CRUSADER

Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur, is a branch centre of Ramakrishna Mission having its
headquarters at Belur Math,in Howrah, West Bengal. Through its integrated development wing, i.e., the
Ramakrishna Mission Lokasiksha Parishad, this Ashrama is actively engaged in various rural as well as
urban development programmes for the last few decades. Presently, Ramakrishna Mission Lokasiksha
Parishad is working, with about 40 affiliated cluster organisations and 1,500 youth clubs spread over 4,000
villages in 12 districts of West Bengal.

THE PROJECT
e indo-US Renewable Energy Project in the Sundarbans is being implemented in collaboration with the
nstry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES), Government of India, West Bengal Renewable
Development Agency (WBREDA), Government of West Bengal and National Renewable Energy
a o r y (NREL), Government of USA, for providing some basic energy services through solar
v t a i c systems to some isolated remote villages of Sundarbans where grid connection is a distant
possibility.
neproject will install domestic lights in 300 homes spread over 3 villages of 3 different islands @100
pe
threee Each home will have two 9W compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) and one wall socket. Besides
three hundred homes,
nes, solar photovoltaic systems will also be installed in some of the village institutions
like health centre, women training-cum-production centres, youth clubs etc. There is also provision for
 in

112 Cases in Rural Marketing

installation of vaccine preservator, street lights, institutional lighting facilities, fan

battery charging unit. Surtace p
IMPLEMENTATION
The implementation involves two major activities.

and placement of field staff

Training
Sales-cum-service network formation

Training and Placement of Field Staff

Availability of trained maintenance staff at the grass-root level in rural areas is one of the most ime
aspects for successful implementation of non-conventional energy projects in India. Well bel
launching of the project, 13 village and cluster level personnel have been trained on the maintena
solar thermal and solar PV systems, taking resource persons from Jadavpur University and
institutions and placed in the respective rural areas. Besides this pre-service training, a higher leveltri
on installation and maintenance of solar thermal and solar PV systems had also been organise
Supervisory staff to be posted at both cluster unit and project headquarters taking resource persons
U.S.A. Apart from these trainings, in-service trainings will be organised at regular intervals.

Sales-cum-service Network
An extensive sales-cum-service network is set up in the un-and under electrified villages. Lokasi
Parishad has set up a solar sales-cum-service-cum-exhibition centre entitled ADITYA (THE SOL
SHOP) at Narendrapur with the following objectives:

Sale of solar energy systems according to customers' choice.

Direct disbursement of subsidy for the Government approved items.
Extension of maintenance and repair facilities to the buyer.
Sale of other fuel saving and non-conventional energy using items such as improved chullahs,
biogas oven and lamps, highly efficient electric lamps etc.
Permanent display on the use of Solar systems and related information.

From The Solar Shop "Aditya' solar lanterms, solar PV modules, solar energy operated fan, batery i
solar energy storage, solar pumps, solar cooker, solar water heater, solar water distillator and various othe
allied products will be sold to the prospective customers coming here regularly from diferent parts ofWs
Bengal. This centre will also sell spare-parts and attend to the after sale services, All these envisag
functions of the centre will be pertormed by a team or well qualified and experienced technical suf
through its three-tier network i.e., sales-cum-service centre at Narendrapur, sub-centres at cluster lev
organisations 'and the village level youth clubs. The custer level sub-centre headed by a well train

technician will:

Act as a bridge between the youth clubs and village workers on one end and the sales-cum-servi
.
centre on the other end.
CF lamps, electronic circuits, etc., and
Sell system components like batteries,
on by the village
workers.
Undertake repair works passed
3.
 Promotion of Solar Energy Use 113
varker will be engaged at each and
village worker
every youth club. He will be
Already 13
such village workers
work have been trained a resident of that
One rage. and placed in the
village
uTICularfunctions of vi
workers will be: respective villages.
ofdemand through motivation and awareness generation,
e mai

erean installation of the systems,

helpit
Ilection of service charges and loan instalments from the beneficiaries,

hiring of
solar lanterns given to them under
arrangin

repairing works,
Entrepreneurship Development Programme
to min
aftending

defcctive equipments requiring complicated repairs to the cluster-level sub-centres and

sendingthe
constant contact with the sub-centres.
keeping

SUSTAINABILITY
aaST
RECOVERY AND
sion
ission Lokasiksha Parishad
Lokasiksha . had already thought of a
methodology for making the sales-
unakTentre
cum-servi
and its constituent tyres self-reliant. The maintenance and personnel cost of the centre at
will be met from he income of
Narendrapur

Sales margins and

1.
1Service charge for repairing works at 'Aditya'.

The personnel and other costs of sub-centres will be given from the share of

Service charges (maintenance charges on contract basis),

2 Part of interest on loan to the beneficiaries and
3. Incentives on sales promotion (pro-rata basis) to be provided by 'Aditya'.
Remuneration on commission basis will be provided the
to village workers from the income of

Incentive on sales promotion be

to provided by 'Aditya
Share of service
charges,
Share of
interest on loan to the beneficiaries and
Hiring charges of solar lanterns.
project will financially and otherwise support the installation of various PV systems in the village
utions, but in cas
1est throughn o f domestic units it envisages partial cost recovery-partly as down payment and
l ments spread over 5 years. The fund thus created will be utilised for the upkeep
willstems as
also be
well as
replicating
ng the same even after the end of the project tenure. Nominal service
ub, and the colhe rom the end users which will be equally shared among the vilage worker, the
cluster org
organisation.
 114 Cases in Rural Marketing

FUTURE PLAN
Ramakrishna Mission Lokasiksha Parishad is negotiating with various other
organisations for sof
be provided to the people towards different solar thermal, solar PV and other renewable energy sySt
materialized, the present operational area may be expanded to other areas of Sundarbans as as well
well
number of backward villages of other districts.

QUESTIONS

1. Successful implementation of projects of this kind need marketing approach-Examine whet.

nethe
such approach is followed in case of this project?
and sustainability'-Appraise the project based on
2 The key success factors are cost recovery
two criteria.