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There is an enormous gap in the fuel and energy demand and their
supply and its availability in India and in particular the state
of Maharashtra. The cost and the availability of electricity
and Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) have gone beyond the reach of the
rural poor. Most rural households continue to use traditional
fuel sources such as fuel-wood, kerosene and agro-waste to meet
their energy demand.
At the outset WOTR has initiated renewable and alternate
energy initiatives. The objective of this unit is to make
available renewable sources of energy to address the domestic
energy requirements (for cooking and lighting) of rural
households. Our ultimate goal is to make a village smokeless and
to provide for the cooking and lighting needs to every household
in the villages selected.
To bridge this
“energy-gap” prevalent in the project villages, Watershed
Organisation Trust (WOTR) has started renewable energy
interventions with the intention of providing clean alternate
sources of energy for the domestic energy needs of the rural
household i.e. energy for cooking and lighting purposes.
Solar Home
Lights: The Solar Home lighting Systems are based on the
latest technology of Light Emitting Diodes (LED). This
technology will help provide the rural masses with a reliable
and an affordable source of light in the night.
Biomass
Stoves: The biomass stoves runs on the basic principle of
Top Lit Forced-Updraft (TLUD) gassifier technology. This stove,
which has been designed and developed by WOTR, is smokeless and
has a fuel efficiency of 50 to 55%. The fuel used for the
biomass stove are biomass pellets manufactured out of
agricultural waste - sugarcane bagasse, groundnut shell, rice
husk, corn cobs - depending on the availability of the raw
material of the particular area.
Biogas Plants:
The biogas plants will provide a rural household of 6-7 members
with cooking fuel. These plants will be run on cow dung
available in the village. The whole operation and maintenance of
the plant will be done by the community-based organizations;
they will be trained in the same.
These renewable
energy interventions will not only bring about monetary benefits
to the villagers by replacing kerosene and commission based
sales but also other benefits like mitigation of indoor air
pollution, reduction in drudgery of women, healthier living
conditions, reduced tree felling and reduction in Green House
Gasses (GHG) emission with a local and national impact.
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