Lighting up India’s off-grid communities

June 17, 2020

Signify and South Pole are working to bring light to off-grid communities in India.
 

Ever wondered what it’s like to live in an off-grid community? Try switching off all your lights in your home and unplug everything. On second thought, don’t do that. It’s dangerous… And that’s the point.
 

Without light and electricity, there are hidden dangers. Dangers from what you can’t see and dangers when resorting to candles and kerosene. In many respects, normal life grinds to a halt after dark in off-grid communities.

But Signify and South Pole, leading project developer and provider of global climate action solutions, are working to change those circumstances and bring light to off-grid communities in India.

India is modernizing rapidly, but to keep up with growing energy needs, the country needs more investment in clean energy technologies. In Gumla district, for example, more than 500,000 people lack access to electricity.
 

After sunset everything shuts down. People stay inside. Shops close and children study by the light from kerosene lamps. The necessities that we take for granted are denied to these communities.

The Gumla project develops renewable energy power plants using hybrid sources of Solar PV. Generating power from an off-grid system avoids burning fossil fuels and thereby reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Each solar panel is expected to last 25 years, at which point new solar panels will be provided, ensuring project continuity.
 

Watch the video below to see how Signify and South Pole are working “to unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world” in Gumla district.