Electricity supply in India is beset with problems of low voltage and irregular supply. There is still a mismatch between demand and supply although the Government of India (GOI) plans of providing access to electricity to all by 2012. Further, GOI has identified about 25,000 villages as un-electrifiable through the conventional grid. These are remote and inaccessible villages, hence taking the grid there is not cost effective. But improving the rural people’s access to energy will not only improve the quality of life, but also stimulate regional development through generation of livelihood opportunities.

Electricite de France (EDF) in collaboration with Winrock International India (WII) - and its partner NGOs at the grassroot level - plans to implement sustainable DDG pilot(s) in remote villages in the state of Andhra Pradesh. These demonstration projects will form live examples of successful remote village energization, ready for replication/upscaling by the government/and or other donor agencies. The initiative assumes great significance against a background of addressing energy security, poverty reduction, environmental concerns, livelihood issues and the overall quality of life.

As a starting point, WII prepared a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for setting up DDG projects in Padmaraman Tanda village, Mahboobnagar District. This DPR was prepared to form the basis for implementation in the next phase for commissioning and operation of the project. WII carried out the following sub-activities as part of this DPR:

• Conducted detailed assessment of renewable energy resources
• Established fuel linkages to ensure fuel-security
• Identified energy services for domestic applications such as lighting, cold storage, drinking water, and commercial applications such as irrigation water, agro-forestry and other relevant applications with suitably sized renewable energy plants/models

The DPR was submitted to EDF and was accepted and appreciated. Discussions are in process to start the implementation of the next phase.