PATNA: Husk Power Systems have won this year’s International Ashden award for sustainable energy. The prestigious award was given at an official ceremony in London last Thursday.
Husk Power Systems (HPS) is a rural electrification company in Bihar which generates electricity through the gasification of rice husk, an abundant agricultural waste product found throughout India’s rice belt.
The company competed with seven other finalists from Africa, India and Pakistan for a prize money of over £120,000 as Ashden continued its 10 years old tradition of stealing the spotlight on the most effective innovations in sustainable energy across the world.
In the last two years, HPS has been working with Shell Foundation to scale-up operations to bring affordable electricity to many more rural villages in Bihar.
Shell Foundation’s support has helped the fledgling company to refine its business model and apply entrepreneurial thinking to India’s huge energy deficit areas. This partnership has now resulted in the creation of over 60 gasification plants – providing over 1.5 lakh households with access to clean, reliable and affordable electricity.
HPS aim to serve more than 5,000 villages, save 750,000 tons of CO2, create 7,000 local jobs and generate savings of US$50 million in cash for 5 million people (by replacing kerosene and diesel with renewable energy) by 2014.
Gyanesh Pandey, CEO of HPS told TOI, “Winning the Ashden awards is a big achievement for Husk Power Systems. Almost a third of India’s population have no access to electricity and the role of energy is vital in catalysing the economic development in India”.
“HPS is now scaling rapidly with a goal of reaching over 2,000 plants by 2014. We have adopted a new business model to expand effectively and efficiently, and this international recognition will certainly be a source of inspiration for everyone who is – and will be – involved,” Pandey said.
Anuradha Bhavnani, regional director at Shell Foundation, said, “Over 125,000 villages in India are not connected with the electricity grid. Existing options like kerosene lanterns and diesel generators are expensive, difficult to disseminate in remote areas and negatively affect air quality, thus contributing to indoor air pollution. Our partnership with HPS is about creating a financially-viable and scalable way to provide the poorest with access to modern energy services. It is fantastic that they have won the Ashden Awards so soon.”
HPS gives electricity on ‘pay as you go’ basis to local communities with a single connection costing around Rs 100 a month.