Does your electrified village need a microgrid?
Watch and find out why underprivileged farming communities in India are buying extra power when they have electricity at home.
Twenty kilometers away from district towns like Gumla in Jharkhand, India, grid electricity voltage becomes too low to power irrigation pumps or agricultural machinery. Households here have grid electricity connections but electricity lines are rarely provided at points of irrigation which are located closer to the fields and, where water is available. Farmers have to extend the line themselves at an estimated cost of INR 5 lakhs (~USD 7705) with no guarantee that the voltage at which electricity is supplied will be able to power their irrigation pumps. Most of them use fossil fuels like diesel, kerosene or petrol which are expensive, difficult to procure and not environment friendly.
Mlinda, a social enterprise, is installing and operating microgrids here. They supply electricity 24 hours x 365 days a year. Electricity distribution is both single (at 220V) and three phase (at 440V). This means that besides household appliances (televisions, irons, refrigerators and mixers), large pumps and agricultural processing machinery such as rice hullers, oil expellers, air compressors and flour mills can also be powered easily. Electricity distribution lines are extended to points of irrigation which makes it very convenient for farmers.
Watch the video to find out what are the 3 things that Mlinda does to provide reliable electricity supply and build trust.
Visit our website for more information about energy access companies like Mlinda.
This video has been made by New Ventures Asia and the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, under the Energy Access Investment Readiness Program, supported by USAID
