ABU
DHABI // A Bangladeshi who helps poor villagers harvest the energy of
the sun has won the first Zayed Future Energy Prize, which includes a
cash award of US$1.5 million.
Dipal Barua, a founder
of a non-profit enterprise called Grameen Shakti, which has enabled
hundreds of thousands of rural poor to purchase solar energy systems,
was presented with the award last night by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed,
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed
Forces.
Mr Barua said he would use the money to fund a scholarship programme for women entrepreneurs.
It
is my dream to create 100,000 green jobs in my country and the award
will help me achieve this, he told The National before accepting the
prize in a ceremony at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, where
the World Future Energy Summit started yesterday.
Executives
at Masdar, Abu Dhabi's green initiative, hope the award will help speed
up the search for clean energy to address global warming.
On
the eve of the conference, the Abu Dhabi Government pledged that at
least seven per cent of the emirate's energy capacity would come from
renewable sources by 2020. The target forms an important part of the
comprehensive energy policy the Government is due to unveil in the
coming months.
The new target is expected to create up
to US$8 billion (Dh29.3bn) of new investment in renewable energy in the
emirate, according to Sultan al Jaber, the chief executive of Masdar.
The
summit has brought together government officials, heads of industry,
environmentalists and investors who will explore green policy making,
investment and business deals. Dubbed the Davos of renewable energy,
the three-day forum is expected to attract about 15,000 delegates.
However,
last night the spotlight belonged to Mr Barua, whose company has helped
transform whole villages and prevented hundreds of thousands of tonnes
of greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere by fitting
more than 200,000 homes in rural Bangladesh with solar energy systems.
The
initiative, which is based on microcredit schemes pioneered by Prof
Muhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi economist and winner of the 2006 Nobel
Peace Prize, has not only provided some of the country's poorest
residents with access to affordable, clean power but has also created
thousands of jobs.
The company now employs 2,500 staff and has an annual operating budget of $100 million.
When we started in 1996, only 15 per cent of people in Bangladesh had access to grid electricity, said Mr Barua.
Although
the current figure is double that, most Bangladeshis live without the
comforts that people in the UAE take for granted.
After
sunset, you have to live on kerosene, he said, explaining that most
rural Bangladeshis now rely on the imported fuel to power lamps and
cooking stoves.
Since the kerosene has to be rationed,
the electricity provided by the solar panels means that families who
have them can now own mobile telephones, television sets and radios, he
said.
Schoolchildren can also study after dark and shopkeepers can run their businesses longer.
Mr Barua's company makes solar energy accessible to people who could otherwise not afford it.
For
each solar panel system Grameen Shakti supplies to a v?llager, the
Bangladeshi government subsidises ?36 (Dh174) of the cost, but alsoo
lends the company ?230 at a low interest rate.
The
company then collects small payments from the villagers, who would
never be able to secure such a loan themselves, at a slightly higher
rate of interest to pay for the unit and fund its operations. The
villagers are charged a flat rate of six per cent interest and repay
the money over three years; Grameen Shakti reinvests all the revenue
back into the scheme.
The company offers villagers
about 10 models to choose from. The solar panels are provided by the
Japanese company Kyocera Solar, but the batteries are sourced locally
and Grameen Shakti manufactures other parts itself.
The most popular model is a 50-watt system that costs $400. All the units come with free maintenance and 20-year guarantees.
Mr Barua said one reason for the scheme's success was that the price of solar panels had gone down.
Back
when we started, we were buying panels at $7 per watt,†he said. “The
price is now $3 per watt and we are even getting offers for $2.5. If
the price goes down to less than $2, then we can make solar power
economically viable in the cities as well.
The parts
are also assembled almost exclusively by women who have been widowed or
find themselves in other difficult situations.
Reference: http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090120/NATIONAL/693635552/1001/OPINION |
