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‘Learn from the success of countries like India’ — a subhead in a 2024 article by Forbes, advised, as it urged readers and economies to pivot away from their dependency on non-renewable sources of energy.
As the article beckoned countries to take notes from India’s successful tryst with clean energy, it reasoned why. “Since 2015, India has connected 28 million households, impacting 120 million people, to the electricity grids — a third of the global total during the last decade. In this duration, the country has also added more than 1,50,000 MW of clean energy capacity,” the article noted.
With solar power being given a warm welcome from sectors ranging from education and healthcare to farming and small businesses, the country is seeing a profound shift in the way businesses are evolving to meet their energy requirements. And the statistics are telling. As the Global Electricity Review 2024 noted, “India’s growth in solar generation in 2023 pushed the country past Japan to become the world’s third-largest solar power generator. It has climbed from ranking ninth in 2015.”
The goal is in clear sight — to achieve 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. But as the energy transition is underway and industries hustle to do their bit to go solar, there are success stories emerging from pockets across India where households, farming entrepreneurs, and street vendors are championing a similar change.
We take a look at the stories of some women who are using solar power to scale their businesses.
Latika is a retired teacher who dived into the arena of solar power for farming, Picture source: Ninad
Nearly a decade after the United Nations outlined the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that formed a blueprint for the world to move towards a better future, farmers across Indian villages are acknowledging the power that clean energy holds. One such woman who has made solar power central to her business strategy is fourth-generation chikoo horticulturist, Latika Patil hailing from Dahanu in Maharashtra.
While previously, the family sun-dried the fruits, it wasn’t proving conducive due to unpredictable weather patterns. This is when solar dryers came in. As Latika’s son Ninad explains, “Under any climatic circumstances, the temperature of these plates is maintained at 55 to 60 degrees, which helps in conserving the nutrients.” He adds that the plates are covered by UV protection high-grade polycarbonate sheets, which also protect the contents from dust and external particles.
The profitability gained by venturing into solar drying is exponential, as Latika shares. Not only does it reduce the processing time of the fruit to one day compared to three to four days, she says, but it also increases the shelf-life to nine months from the previous three months.
Reach out to them .
The beautiful homestay in Manali is powered entirely by solar and is an ode to sustainability, Picture source: Nitin
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the past decade has acted as an inflection point for solar power in the housing space. The idea gained explosive traction, and today, homeowners as well as those who have converted their spaces into homestays, are favouring solar power over traditional grid dependence.
Experts are of the opinion that solar panels can save you lakhs on electricity bills and prove a great investment in the long run. Media professional Shalini whose ‘Raison D’etre’ is a beautiful homestay in Manali, recognised this potential early on. She along with her husband Nitin Beri are advocates of sustainable living and were keen that the homestay be a symbol of it.
Shalini emphasises that they run their operations entirely on solar power and have a solar system in place that generates electricity on which the entire home runs. “Even on days when there’s as little as 30 percent sunlight, the system works efficiently. Additionally, any excess energy generated during the day is stored in batteries, which we then use for power backup when needed,” adds Nitin.
Reach out to them .
As we speak, an energy revolution is steadily brewing in the country and across the world. According to data by Rystad Energy, India installed a record 7.1 gigawatts (GW) capacity renewable energy sources in March, helping the country reach its highest-ever annual installed capacity of 18.5 GW in FY24. And this marked change is being embraced across sectors.
Have you ever avoided buying produce after dark for fear of not being able to notice signs of spoilage? You aren’t the only one. But when this practice is extrapolated to the masses, it has an impact on the businesses run by street vendors. They find themselves in a rush to sell their produce before dusk, and are anxious about the produce that gets left behind as it will be discarded.
When Aakarsh Shamanur, a Bengaluru-based social entrepreneur noticed this, he decided to bring a change in this niche segment using the power of solar.
His venture ‘Be Po-Lite’ aims at being ‘a ray of light’ for women street vendors who can now use the 3W solar-powered portable lamps to run their stalls even after the sun goes down. The women are encouraged to take the lamps home, use them for cooking, and to help their children study.
A multi-purpose innovation!
Reach out to him .
An article posted by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy narrated the story of two women, Joshi and Rosy, who used solar power to their advantage to create thriving home businesses — displaying an appetite for innovation.
In Joshi’s case, it was the untimely death of her husband that led her to start a catering business. But while she enjoyed cooking, making rotis (Indian flatbreads) was proving to be a time-consuming ordeal as milling the flour would take her hours; sometimes an entire day. Frequent power cuts were of no help. But hope came in the form of a solar-powered rob-rolling machine and a flour-milling machine.
The same success was tasted by Rosy Louis Dabale from the village of Agsalkatta in North Karnataka. Rosy is a health worker in the village, according to the article, and she now manages the flour mill on the premises.
Tailoring is one of the home-run businesses that is starting to see solar power being integrated into scale production, Picture source: Representational image
The people in the rural hinterland of India have time and again shown a display of market muscle when it comes to innovation. One such village where this is evident is Maganpur, a hamlet near Jharkhand’s Ramgarh district. While coal mines dot the landscape of this hamlet, clean energy is sprouting in many of its homes; the dichotomy is evident.
An article published by Scroll spanned the expanse of the homes in Maganpur, delving into the businesses that are operated within the four walls. As they discovered it was majorly tailoring businesses that were being run. The article spotlighted the story of a woman Kaniz Fatima who has been engaged in sewing for years. She and her husband made only a meagre Rs 150 per day through their work, as per the article.
But in 2020, when a foundation stepped in to help them secure a bank loan of Rs 15,000, which enabled them to install solar panels on their roof, their life changed for the better. Their earnings doubled, they say, and in addition to this, they enjoy an uninterrupted power supply. The article went on to add that Kaniz’s example is now a role model for other homes in the village who have seen the success her business has witnessed as a result of solar power.
Edited by Pranita Bhat
‘Learn from the success of countries like India’ — a subhead in a 2024 article by Forbes, advised, as it urged readers and economies to pivot away from their dependency on non-renewable sources of energy.
As the article beckoned countries to take notes from India’s successful tryst with clean energy, it reasoned why. “Since 2015, India has connected 28 million households, impacting 120 million people, to the electricity grids — a third of the global total during the last decade. In this duration, the country has also added more than 1,50,000 MW of clean energy capacity,” the article noted.
With solar power being given a warm welcome from sectors ranging from education and healthcare to farming and small businesses, the country is seeing a profound shift in the way businesses are evolving to meet their energy requirements. And the statistics are telling. As the Global Electricity Review 2024 noted, “India’s growth in solar generation in 2023 pushed the country past Japan to become the world’s third-largest solar power generator. It has climbed from ranking ninth in 2015.”
The goal is in clear sight — to achieve 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. But as the energy transition is underway and industries hustle to do their bit to go solar, there are success stories emerging from pockets across India where households, farming entrepreneurs, and street vendors are championing a similar change.
We take a look at the stories of some women who are using solar power to scale their businesses.
1. Solar power for drying fruits
Latika is a retired teacher who dived into the arena of solar power for farming, Picture source: Ninad
Nearly a decade after the United Nations outlined the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that formed a blueprint for the world to move towards a better future, farmers across Indian villages are acknowledging the power that clean energy holds. One such woman who has made solar power central to her business strategy is fourth-generation chikoo horticulturist, Latika Patil hailing from Dahanu in Maharashtra.
While previously, the family sun-dried the fruits, it wasn’t proving conducive due to unpredictable weather patterns. This is when solar dryers came in. As Latika’s son Ninad explains, “Under any climatic circumstances, the temperature of these plates is maintained at 55 to 60 degrees, which helps in conserving the nutrients.” He adds that the plates are covered by UV protection high-grade polycarbonate sheets, which also protect the contents from dust and external particles.
The profitability gained by venturing into solar drying is exponential, as Latika shares. Not only does it reduce the processing time of the fruit to one day compared to three to four days, she says, but it also increases the shelf-life to nine months from the previous three months.
Reach out to them .
2. Solar power for running homestays
The beautiful homestay in Manali is powered entirely by solar and is an ode to sustainability, Picture source: Nitin
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the past decade has acted as an inflection point for solar power in the housing space. The idea gained explosive traction, and today, homeowners as well as those who have converted their spaces into homestays, are favouring solar power over traditional grid dependence.
Experts are of the opinion that solar panels can save you lakhs on electricity bills and prove a great investment in the long run. Media professional Shalini whose ‘Raison D’etre’ is a beautiful homestay in Manali, recognised this potential early on. She along with her husband Nitin Beri are advocates of sustainable living and were keen that the homestay be a symbol of it.
Shalini emphasises that they run their operations entirely on solar power and have a solar system in place that generates electricity on which the entire home runs. “Even on days when there’s as little as 30 percent sunlight, the system works efficiently. Additionally, any excess energy generated during the day is stored in batteries, which we then use for power backup when needed,” adds Nitin.
Reach out to them .
3. Solar for street shops
As we speak, an energy revolution is steadily brewing in the country and across the world. According to data by Rystad Energy, India installed a record 7.1 gigawatts (GW) capacity renewable energy sources in March, helping the country reach its highest-ever annual installed capacity of 18.5 GW in FY24. And this marked change is being embraced across sectors.
Have you ever avoided buying produce after dark for fear of not being able to notice signs of spoilage? You aren’t the only one. But when this practice is extrapolated to the masses, it has an impact on the businesses run by street vendors. They find themselves in a rush to sell their produce before dusk, and are anxious about the produce that gets left behind as it will be discarded.
When Aakarsh Shamanur, a Bengaluru-based social entrepreneur noticed this, he decided to bring a change in this niche segment using the power of solar.
His venture ‘Be Po-Lite’ aims at being ‘a ray of light’ for women street vendors who can now use the 3W solar-powered portable lamps to run their stalls even after the sun goes down. The women are encouraged to take the lamps home, use them for cooking, and to help their children study.
A multi-purpose innovation!
Reach out to him .
4. Solar power for making rotis
An article posted by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy narrated the story of two women, Joshi and Rosy, who used solar power to their advantage to create thriving home businesses — displaying an appetite for innovation.
In Joshi’s case, it was the untimely death of her husband that led her to start a catering business. But while she enjoyed cooking, making rotis (Indian flatbreads) was proving to be a time-consuming ordeal as milling the flour would take her hours; sometimes an entire day. Frequent power cuts were of no help. But hope came in the form of a solar-powered rob-rolling machine and a flour-milling machine.
The same success was tasted by Rosy Louis Dabale from the village of Agsalkatta in North Karnataka. Rosy is a health worker in the village, according to the article, and she now manages the flour mill on the premises.
5. Solar power for tailoring
Tailoring is one of the home-run businesses that is starting to see solar power being integrated into scale production, Picture source: Representational image
The people in the rural hinterland of India have time and again shown a display of market muscle when it comes to innovation. One such village where this is evident is Maganpur, a hamlet near Jharkhand’s Ramgarh district. While coal mines dot the landscape of this hamlet, clean energy is sprouting in many of its homes; the dichotomy is evident.
An article published by Scroll spanned the expanse of the homes in Maganpur, delving into the businesses that are operated within the four walls. As they discovered it was majorly tailoring businesses that were being run. The article spotlighted the story of a woman Kaniz Fatima who has been engaged in sewing for years. She and her husband made only a meagre Rs 150 per day through their work, as per the article.
But in 2020, when a foundation stepped in to help them secure a bank loan of Rs 15,000, which enabled them to install solar panels on their roof, their life changed for the better. Their earnings doubled, they say, and in addition to this, they enjoy an uninterrupted power supply. The article went on to add that Kaniz’s example is now a role model for other homes in the village who have seen the success her business has witnessed as a result of solar power.
Edited by Pranita Bhat