From darkness to light

Gyanesh Pandey, Co-founder, Husk Power Systems

OneWorld: Making gas from rice husk. What made you decide on this technology to produce rural power?

Gyanesh Pandey: It all began with a casual chat with my childhood friend Ratnesh Yadav (co-founder of Husk Power Systems) in 2002. We sincerely felt the need for development in India, particularly rural Bihar. And we saw immense opportunities right at home.

Around 40 million people live without electricity in India. Rural electrification was more of a necessity than an option for us. We zeroed in on non-conventional technology for distribution and generation of electricity. 

But the most common options of non-conventional technologies were not feasible – solar was too expensive and Bihar did not experience high levels of wind or have enough water for wind or hydro power. Finally, we decided upon biomass gasification as the only viable option. 

We learnt how several rice millers in Bihar were using this decades old technology to power their mills using rice husk – largely a no-good by-product of their operations. It being a very available crop waste in rural areas, it was the perfect source to power our dream of rural electrification. 

OW: How is Husk Power Systems environmentally sustainable?

GP: The system works on a carbon-neutral technology. It means using carbon already existing in the environment in the form of rice husk and converting it into energy and a release of carbon-dioxide to balance the carbon level in the environment. 

Husk Power Systems employs a refined Single Fuel Model which doesn’t operate on fossil fuels and produces clean renewable electricity. 

The project is environmentally friendly as the biomass gasification process used to generate electricity is a low emitter of carbon emissions. As of August 2010, HPS had prevented 50,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.

OW: Most of your income comes from your sales. How affordable is this model for the rural consumer? 

GP: Our primary vision was to provide electricity at the lowest possible prices so that each and every village deprived of conventional grid electricity can seamlessly replace their kerosene lanterns with CFL bulbs. 

A husk power plant

Consumers obtain electricity at a much cheaper rate – Rs 80-100 per month – than kerosene or diesel. Money thus saved by the villagers is used for other necessities.

HPS uses cheap bio-waste – rice husk as the primary input and other low-cost indigenous technologies for electricity generation at the minimum cost.  Even the infrastructure is built by locally produced indigenous materials which further keep the cost low. 

Villagers are charge based on their consumption. The electricity generated by Husk Power system is cheaper than any other alternative source in the village.

OW: What is your idea behind setting up Husk Power Universities? How does it gel with the core activities of Husk Power Systems? 

GP: Husk Power University, a division of Husk Power Systems, plans to create thousands of skilled technicians and power plant entrepreneurs. With the kind of expansion we envisage and aspire for, we need thousands of trained workforce to manage the upcoming plants. Husk Power Universities will provide the human capital to run the upcoming plants effectively.

The entire model works on indigenously developed technologies. We look ‘inwards’ for infrastructure, property and manpower. 

OW: From your first power plant in 2007 to 60 in 2011, HPS has come a long way in a short time. What are your plans ahead?  

GP: More than a quarter of humanity lives in darkness. There is a lot of scope and a lot of need to produce electricity by inexpensive methods.

In the coming years, we plan to expand to states in the South (Tamil Nadu), East (West Bengal) and North-east (Assam), as well as across the border to Nepal. Our vision is to set up 2014 plants which would cater to some 5,000-6,000 villages by the year 2014. 

HPS aims to save 750,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions while lighting one million households in this period. We also plan to register the Husk Power Plants under Clean Development Mechanism to obtain carbon credits which would generate added revenues for the plants.

We are also working to create 10,000 local jobs in rural India by the year 2014. Waste product of the process – silica, has immense commercial value. We plan to employ rural women in selling silica to solar power manufacturers.

We are optimistic that the simple model of biomass gasification can work efficiently in a rural Indian set-up. 

OW: You have been nominated for this year’s top green energy prize – the Ashden Award. How would you evaluate the contribution of your business to society at large?

GP: Our greatest contribution to the society lies in providing electricity to the poor and underprivileged living in rural Bihar. People have replaced their kerosene lanterns to energy efficient CFL bulbs. We cater to around 250 villages serving a population of 150,000. HPS provides six to seven hours of electricity every evening to these villagers

The environmental impact of HPS is significant. The production of ‘green electricity’ involves low cost environment-friendly inputs and technology. The model is environmentally sustainable keeping in mind the global climate needs.

As social entrepreneurs, we believe in giving back to the society more than we take from it. Through our corporate social responsibility wing Samta Samriddhi Foundation, we sponsor the education of 200 children in private schools and train and employ local women in incense making. 

The foundation also hopes to train a team of women in each cluster to audit the work of HPS, manage the schools adopted, and conduct awareness programmes on issues pertaining to electricity, public health and environment. The quality of life of the villagers has improved.

For community at large, we have been able to give the world a scalable model of distributed generation and distribution of power.

The stubborn caste system of Bihar is still a challenge for us, which we hope to overcome through our dual role as employers and suppliers. Creating a sense of equality among the villagers is a slow process though. Today we proudly stick to our motto – Tamso ma jyotir gamaya – a Sanskrit verse meaning “From darkness to light”.