Title :
Ramakrishna Mission initiative impact study-a rural electrification project in West Bengal, India
Author :
Stone, Jack L. ; Ullal, Harin S. ; Chaurey, Akanksha ; Bhatia, Pankaj
Author_Institution :
Nat. Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO, USA
Abstract :
Three-hundred photovoltaic-powered solar home lighting (SHS) systems have been successfully operated in the Sundarbans region of West Bengal since 1997. This paper details the impact of these systems on the beneficiaries, including student study time, kerosene consumption and savings, effectiveness of supply and after-sales service, nature and frequency of problems in the systems, technical evaluation of the systems including detailed battery-charging patterns, satisfaction of users, and summary of payment collection. The Ramakrishna Mission has been an excellent choice as the nongovernmental organization (NGO) responsible for administering the project and training the teams responsible for installing and maintaining the systems. Other applications, such as battery-charging stations, common-area lighting, water pumping, and vaccine refrigeration, were also evaluated
Keywords :
lighting; photovoltaic power systems; India; Ramakrishna Mission; Sundarbans region; West Bengal; after-sales service; battery-charging patterns; common-area lighting; kerosene consumption reduction; nongovernmental organization; payment collection; photovoltaic-powered solar home lighting systems; rural electrification project; student study time; technical evaluation; user satisfaction; vaccine refrigeration; water pumping; Frequency; Laboratories; Lifting equipment; Photovoltaic systems; Power generation; Power transmission lines; Refrigeration; Renewable energy resources; Rivers; Solar power generation;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2000. Conference Record of the Twenty-Eighth IEEE
Conference_Location :
Anchorage, AK
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-5772-8
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.2000.916197
