Shakuntala Devi of Kulabira village in Jharkhand state travels to other distant states to sell her finger millet snacks whenever the Indian government organises fairs to showcase rural products. From struggling to irrigate her farm because of erratic electricity to becoming a successful micro-entrepreneur, it’s been a fast change in fortune for Shakuntala.
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Be it her increased income or her children’s improved grades, she owes it to the solar-powered mini-grid in her village – one of the 40-odd mini-grids installed in Jharkhand by Mlinda Charitable Trust, an organisation working to address climate change.
In states such as Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar that have forested hilly areas with scattered settlements – primarily of indigenous people – it is not really feasible to extend the central grid to supply electricity to remote villages. Even in areas that have power, people do not get a 24x7 supply; voltage fluctuations are common.
In such remote places, mini-grids set up to provide basic electricity have given local communities a lifeline, spawning many micro enterprises and boosting rural development.
Lack of reliable power
As the power supply was highly erratic, many villagers depended on kerosene, diesel and petrol for power. Children used candles to study.
“On some days we’d have power for one hour, for half-an-hour, or not at all. So, we’d use kerosene and diesel to light lamps at home and to run irrigation pumps in our farms,” says Radhika Devi of Bakhritoli village in Jharkhand. Some villages have had power outages lasting a week.
It is worse in the state of Nagaland in the far northeast of India, where there are no power plants.
“Since there’s no local power generation, we buy electricity, and it’s very expensive,” says K Thavaseelan IAS, who was the chief administrator of Mon district in Nagaland in 2021 when the mini-grid project was established.
Villagers in Mon district may not know the actual cost of power since it’s supplied at a highly subsidised rate. But they know the hardships of power cuts – exacerbated by thunderstorms, lightning and squalls that the region is prone to.
“Nagaland gets its electricity from Assam, our neighbouring state. Due to bad weather, we’ve had power cuts lasting a week to two months,” says Nockpai Konyak, chairman of the village council of Chenwetnyu village.
Despite the federal government’s claim of achieving universal electrification, the quality of power is not reliable or consistent in many parts of India, according to Turning around the power distribution sector, a 2021 report by Niti Aayog, a government public policy think tank.
The cost of extending the grid to remote areas outweighs the potential of the distribution company to sell power and earn.
Women members of self-help groups, like the ones from Asni village in Jharkhand state, operate rice hullers and flour mills powered by solar mini-grids. Mlinda via NRDC-CEEW
Mini-grids power homes
Mini-grids, powered by renewable energy – primarily solar and to a small extent biomass – have proved to be an effective solution. In India, a mini-grid is defined as a renewable energy generator with a 10–1,000 kilowatt (kW) capacity.
There are more than 14,000 micro- and mini-grids in India, according to the Niti Aayog report.
Renewable energy companies – partnering with development organisations, local government and the community in different funding models – install mini-grids to fulfil the villagers’ domestic needs.
Since power is demand-driven, the companies need to ensure that the villagers are on board. Gram Oorja, which has been installing mini-grids since 2012, takes villagers on exposure trips to existing mini-grids. Hamara Grid, experienced in installing mini-grids in India and abroad, holds extensive discussions with villagers to explain how its installations work and the responsibilities of each stakeholder.
“After everyone comes to an agreement, a mini-grid is installed. Each household pays a one-time connection fee of Rs 2,500 ($US30),” says Sudeshna Mukherjee, operations director at Hamara Grid.
The mini-grids store the solar energy in a battery, to power the houses at night. A diesel generator provides back-up power for rainy days. Daytime activities are powered directly by solar energy.
Each house gets a few light and fan points, and mobile phone charging points.
“Charging phones is important for villagers so they can stay connected with family members who have migrated for work,” says Ashok Kumar, director of the farm prosperity wing at Transform Rural India Foundation (TRIF), a development organisation. “After understanding the potential of mini-grids, villagers sought our support in using the electricity for other livelihood purposes.”
Beyond domestic needs
Besides household needs, the mini-grids are used to power irrigation pumps, as farmers want to switch from diesel pumps that are increasingly expensive to run.
The mini-grid companies also assess the potential of micro-enterprises based on local crops and other likely economic activities.
“We design the mini-grids for productive use, such as small pumps, rice hullers, small refrigerators, photocopying machines and flour mills,” says a team member of Gram Oorja that partners with TRIF.
Other micro-enterprises include carpentry workshops, leaf and paper plate making, puffed rice shops, coaching classes for students, lathes, saw mills, craft workshops and oil extrusion machines.
A crusher helps Shakuntala Devi powder millets and make traditional sweets, which she is able to sell in her village and beyond.
Radhika Devi and the women in her self-help group sell powdered turmeric and wheat flour. Facilitated by the companies, women’s groups brand their products and sell in supermarkets in cities such as Delhi and Kolkata.
Reliable power from mini-grids like those in Aringtoli village in Jharkhand state enables farmers to grow two crops a year. Image: Mlinda via NRDC-CEEW
Financially, environmentally sustainable
Mini-grids are cost effective as expanding the central grid would involve extending long transmission lines.
Sourcing power from outside the state over mountainous jungles, Nagaland suffered a power loss of 60.39 per cent in 2020-21.
“As mini-grids produce power locally, there are no losses or power fluctuations,” says Sudeshna Mukherjee.
People pay more willingly for quality power from the mini-grid even after central grid connection becomes available, according to experts working in the field.
“Families spent around 7 per cent of their income for electricity. But when they get reliable power for an economic activity, they’re willing to pay 25 per cent of their income,” says Col Vijay Bhaskar, managing director of Hamara Grid.
Powering the rural economy and beyond
On the domestic front, women replace manual stone grinders with electrically operated mixer-grinders, using the saved time on income-generating activities.
“Since entrepreneurial individuals have installed rice hullers, villagers get the paddy de-husked. By such value addition – like selling rice instead of paddy and wheat flour instead of whole wheat, the villagers’ income doubles or triples depending on the product,” says Ashok Kumar of TRIF.
An impact study of the Gram Oorja-TRIF mini-grids in Jharkhand found that in a period of 2–3 years, farm yield increased by 30 per cent, thanks to assured electricity for irrigation.
“Farmers who grew a single crop like paddy now grow high-value vegetables as a second crop. Their income has increased by nearly 40 per cent,” says Ashok Kumar.
All the organisations have observed a significant decrease in outward migration from villages that have mini-grids.
In the period of 2016–2020, Mlinda’s mini-grids created 986 jobs, according to a study by National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), a government body that promotes technology, and Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), a think tank.
Powering 1,800 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that comprise 65 per cent of their consumer base, Husk Power Systems – a pioneer in off-grid power generation – claims to eliminate 15,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
“Our MSME customers see a 30 per cent reduction in energy costs by switching from diesel,” says William Brent, chief marketing officer at Husk. “We estimate that our work creates a 5X multiplier effect on local GDP.”
Mlinda’s work resulted in an increase of GDP by 7.3 per cent and an annual reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 1,054 tonnes, according to the NRDC-CEEW study.
“Since there are street lights there’s more socialising in the evenings,” says Ashok Kumar.
The most important health impact has been reduction in respiratory issues, according to an impact study by Gram Oorja-TRIF. Youth are able to explore and choose appropriate higher education and skilling programmes, and use online educational resources.
It’s not just education, but our whole village has developed, says Shakuntala Devi.
As Shelly Kerketta, who heads economic development at Mlinda, says: “We use energy as a catalyst for economic development.”
This story has been produced with the support of Earth Journalism Network Renewable Energy Media Fellowship 2024.
