India Plugs into Low-Cost Solar Technology
25 October 2010
Britain's Prince Andrew, second left, holds a solar lamp as students and teachers look on during his visit to H.R. College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai, India (file photo – 09 Mar. 2010)
In this sunlit workshop, Tenzing Chonzom solders parts onto a device that regulates electrical currents. It will eventually be connected to a solar panel, allowing it to power everything from lamps to laptops.
Make low-cost solar panels
Chonzom says she was chosen by her community to come here to learn about solar technology. She says she will take the knowledge back to the villages where she lives. She says many people in her region, in the Himalayan foothills, still do not have access to electricity.
Chonzom is 50 years old, and one of two dozen people being trained here as solar engineers. Most have had no formal education. It is all part of a program to help India's rural poor by teaching them to make and install low-cost solar panels. Then they teach others to do the same. It is called Barefoot College, and so far it has trained thousands. Sanjit Bunker Roy started the program 25 years ago.
"You have to see how you can demystify the technology and bring it down to the community level so that they can manage, control and own the technology," said Roy.
Roy is among Time Magazine's Top 100 most influential people for 2010. He says grassroots solar technology is crucial for India. Nearly half the country's rural population – more than 300 million people – has either no electricity or just a few hours of it a day.
最新
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27
2013-11-27