Families and micro-businesses to get clean energy in India

21 February 2008
Families and micro-businesses to get clean energy in India

Green Microfinance and MicroEnergy International of Germany have launched Energizing India program at the recent 2008 AAAS Annual Meeting.

Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF), a microfinance institution, has contracted with Energizing India in its endeavor to provide micro energy products for its quarter-million clients consisting of micro-businesses and families in four Provinces in south India.

Energizing India will provide clean energy products to ESAF's clients and will establish working relationships among ESAF and various renewable energy providers.

Energizing India is led by microfinance specialists and energy engineers, who are experts on micro energy systems, which include solar, micro-hydro, micro-wind, and village-scale biofuel systems, which uses biomass not produced on productive forests, grassland or cropland.

Green Microfinance willl assist in structuring micro loans for local enterprises and for low-income consumers. Such micro-financing will encourage the development of affordable and efficient renewable energy systems, not only for the ESAF clients, but throughout a network of microfinance institutions in India.

According to Elizabeth Israel, President of Green Microfinance, by providing loans for environmentally sustainable products to their low income clients, microfinance institutions can substantially contribute to greener communities, and to increased family business revenue.

"Most importantly, by working with organizations such as ESAF, we are directly nurturing and growing millions of green micro-businesses," Elizabeth Israel said.

An estimated total of 75 million Indian families are not on the national grid, including over two-thirds of all rural families. Rural families buy kerosene for lighting and gather and/or purchase firewood for cooking. For example, off-grid Indian families consumed over 180 million tons of wood in 2001.

More information

Green Microfinance

MicroEnergy International of Germany

ESAF

Source: Solar Daily