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News Article

Rural urbanization through Nano-Grids

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Shahan Ahmed, Consultant and Representative at Solar Intercontinental explains how Nano-Grids are showing the world how rural electrification should be done

The focus on providing electricity to rural homes around the globe has grown tremendously but still many barriers remain with the major ones being access to financing, subsidy, and available technology that is both effective and also affordable for low income homes. 

Launched in 2006, the Solar Home System program launched through Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) has started a new solar revolution in Bangladesh. With its success, these systems are now being disseminated around the globe including Asia and Africa.  The systems are providing rural families the opportunity to finally light up their homes with electric powered bulbs and charge their mobile phones at home. Though Bangladesh has joined as one of the fastest developing countries around the globe, it still has a long way to go as it is still one of the least developed countries compared to others. Gross National Income per person is $900 per year, which is only 2 percent of Japan.  Infrastructure is very poor and 20 million households are still off-grid and do not have access to any forms of affordable electricity.

The Solar home system project has been extremely successful as these systems are now connecting thousands of homes every month in Bangladesh, but the systems so far remain limited to just powering merely a couple of light bulbs.  To provide these homes with a quality of service that will help them truly develop from one stage to another, more is required, perhaps on the innovation side. 

Solaric, a US and Bangladesh joint solar innovation company has introduced a new solution known as Nano-Grids.  These systems are a turn-key community sharing energy generation system that has shown a track record of success and is promising to close the gap between rural and urban homes by providing unrestricted electricity access to rural homes at a cost that is 70 percent below other alternatives including diesel and its Solar Home System counterpart. Solarics founder and developer of the technology behind the Nano-Grid systems, Didar Islam, says, "˜'It's not just about turning on the lights, but about enabling rural homes to finally move from one stage of development to another" In order to truly help rural areas where living standards are still primitive and predominantly rely on farming, providing them with merely a light bulb may not be enough to help them improve their standard of living and improve economic conditions. 

Many of these Nano sites have already been established and each site has been running successfully while also supporting the rural economy through its business model.  The entire systems cost is shared by the village which has removed the need for any donors or government subsidy; a model that has not been seen till now when it comes to approaching rural electrification and the company has proven it to work.  The systems have created entrepreneurs in every village who, by putting down a bulk of the investment required, are now co-owners of these systems and are earning income through operating and providing the service to the connected homes.  The entrepreneurs are able to use their income to provide further services and open new shops and establishments that can help transform these rural areas and bring it closer to urbanization.  

Nikkei News reporter, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, recently visited a rural village in Bangladesh known as Rohadi, and met with Mr. Shojib, a local entrepreneur who invested in a system and is now providing 45 homes with unrestricted energy access and earning a decent monthly income by doing so.  From Shinbuns visit, he saw a village which once used kerosene lamps for lighting and were unable to afford any forms of electricity, finally introduced to the light bulb.  Furthermore, he saw families using fans, and watching color television.  "I asked the people, what programs do you watch on TV?  Together, at the same time, the town people shouted programs like Indian drama series or Discovery Channel, something that these people were not able to imagine before" says Shinbun.  He also stated that the people of the town gathered around the entrepreneur's home and saw him as a hero because the improvements the Nano-Grid systems has made on their lives was an overwhelming experience.

Solaric says, Nano Grids can provide rural homes unrestricted energy access around the clock for only $5 per month which allows them to power up to 4 lights, a fan, TV, and computer.  The systems also support any AC or DC irrigation pump which farmers can run at a far more affordable price than the diesel pumps they use now.  Furthermore, the systems allow families to pay for more or less depending on what they are able to afford or demand which is allowing almost every home to have at least some level of energy access.

Until recently, you would see rural villages dimly lit through kerosene lighting or older generation Solar Home Systems.  Looking through the windows of many rural homes now, you will see it looks very similar to grid connected homes in urban areas; rural homes are now lighting multiple rooms in their homes, watching television, and using computers.  By definition, these homes that were once considered rural, will soon no longer be considered as such.  US Ambassador to Bangladesh and Solaric, Dan Mozena says, "I see a future where rural areas of Bangladesh and abroad empowered through Nano technology, and Nano-Grids are showing the way for the world on how rural electrification should be done".  It appears Nano-Grids show a great potential in bringing a future where the gap and differences between urban and rural areas no longer exist. 

 


 

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