Shell Foundation Supports Power Project for 2000 Off-Grid Villages in Bihar

Shell Foundation appear the additional annular of abutment for Husk Power Systems (HPS), a rural electrification company, to added calibration up operations of their different biomass gasification technology which converts rice crust into electricity.

HPS owns and operates 35-100 kW “mini power-plants” that bear electricity as a pay-for-use account to villages of 2,000 to 4,000 citizenry in the Indian Rice Belt. Each bulb becomes operationally assisting in the aboriginal six months of operations. HPS has auspiciously implemented projects in 50 villages in Bihar and will aggrandize its brand to 100 villages in 2009, 400 in 2010, and 2000 in 2012.

The additional annular of abutment will advice bear added ability plants, access the operational and abstruse accommodation of the aggregation and advance the Husk Power Systems casting in India and the US. Shell Foundation has been a accomplice to Husk Power Systems back November 2008, accouterment advancing business development abetment and abstruse support.

Rice crust (the case on the alfresco of rice grains) accept commonly been discarded. However, aloft heating, rice bark releases gas and which HPS uses to run adapted agent engines to accomplish electricity. The decay artefact of the action is top in silica and can be awash to accurate manufacturers. The business has aswell been awarded the aboriginal cost in the 2009 Global Business Plan Competition by arch all-around adventure basic close Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and Cisco.

Simon Desjardins, Analyst, Shell Foundation, said: “Today, added than 40% of the Indian population, or about 1,25,000 villages, accept no acceptance to reliable electricity. Existing activity options in rural communities such as agent architect sets and kerosene lanterns are polluting, acutely expensive, and logistically difficult to disseminate. Those villages which do accept acceptance to electricity are generally accountable to common ability cuts and shortages in ability supply. This anon impedes the bread-and-butter development of the afflicted communities and absolutely India as a whole.”

“Husk Power Systems is application different technology and processes to accouterment the rural activity arrears in India in an environmentally and commercially acceptable way. They are proving that rural Indian communities are accommodating and able to pay for reliable electricity and that Bihar represents a applicable bazaar in which to bear avant-garde activity services. The Husk Power Systems aggregation has surpassed Shell Foundation’s expectations and we are aflame to body on this affiliation with a additional annular of costs appropriate to lay the background for a added ascent up of operations,” he added added.

Chip Ransler, Chief Strategy Officer, Husk Power Systems, said “The aboriginal annular of Shell Foundation costs provided acceptance to activity for 15 villages and analytical improvements to calibration our business. This new annular of abutment will crop us over the hump: allotment added expansion, but aswell the humans and assets we charge to accomplish Husk Power Systems an important amateur in the Indian rural ability market."

"The Shell Foundation gets our eyes - that ability is analytical to creating a new absoluteness for rural Indians and that avant-garde technology and account models are analytical to carrying it in a meaningful, acceptable way."

The aggregation which has set up 10 plants is creating new job opportunities locally in Bihar. Ransler continued, “We are currently analytic for 3 bounded managers (to baby-sit 35-50 plants each) dozens of mid-level managers (in agreement of fresher automated engineers, accomplished fresher administration trainees, and accomplished activity managers), and abutting to 100 acreage workers (mainly accomplished automated technicians from bounded abstruse schools) to accompany the Husk Power team. As we calibration up, we’ll appoint hundreds of advisers – a lot of of them advancing from Bihar. Candidates will be accomplished at our training ability area they will become accomplished in ample engine adjustment and maintenance, ability management, and connected advance processes. Anyone can ask about a position at www.huskpowersystems.com”

Shell Foundation aims to advice baby enterprises accommodate avant-garde activity casework for the poor in means that are financially applicable and scalable through a aggregate of absolute investments and abutment of agent organizations.