Solar Lanterns

Solar lanterns replace kerosene lamps in Indian urban slums

An Indian social enterprise start-up is helping people living in urban slums to use clean energy by changing their kerosene lamps for solar lanterns and wood fires for more efficient cooking stoves through a simple payment scheme.

Pollinate Energy, which began operations in 2013, is one of thousands of social businesses in India which are tapping into the clean energy market, in a country where 35-40 percent of the population have no access to electricity.

While the majority of those without power live in rural areas, many poor urban communities are also forced to live by candlelight, use polluting fuels like kerosene, or "steal energy" by illegally tapping in to the power lines of wealthier neighbouring residences.

"There are actually a lot of organisations selling clean energy products in the rural sector already, and we found that there was a big gap in the market in the urban sector," said Monique Alfris, co-founder of Pollinate Energy.

"Nobody believes that there are people in urban environments who are using kerosene for light."

Millions of people who are off the grid in India rely on kerosene lamps, but burning the fuel in poorly ventilated places like a tent or small hut contributes to indoor air pollution, which can cause premature death in women and young children.

New alternatives such as solar lanterns and clean cooking stoves are now being manufactured on a larger scale, but urban slum and village communities have not been aware of these new technologies and have not bought the products.

Pollinate Energy says there is a serious need to focus on urban areas, given the thousands of rural migrants streaming into India's towns and cities every day, who face "energy poverty" - a lack of access to modern energy services.

"India is one of the fastest urbanising countries in the world. There are always more and more people coming into the cities," Alfris told Thomson Reuters Foundation.

India has tremendous scope of generating solar energy. The geographical location of the country stands to its benefit for generating solar energy.

Advantages of Solar Energy

• This is an inexhaustible source of energy and the best replacement to other non-renewable energies in India.
• Solar energy is environment friendly. When in use, it does not release CO2 and other gases which pollute the air. Hence it is very suitable for India, India being one of the most polluted countries of the world.
• Solar energy can be used for variety of purposes like as heating, drying, cooking or electricity, which is suitable for the rural areas in India. It can also be used in cars, planes, large power boats, satellites, calculators and many more such items, just apt for the urban population.
• Solar power is inexhaustible. In an energy deficient country like India, where power generation is costly, solar energy is the best alternate means of power generation.
• You don’t need a power or gas grid to get solar energy. A solar energy system can be installed anywhere. Solar panels can be easily placed in houses. Hence, it is quite inexpensive compared to other sources of energy.