Smart Power India’s ‘Solar Se Samridhi’ Campaign encourages business owners in rural UP to adopt rooftop solar

October 14, 2022, Varanasi: The ?Solar Se Samridhi? campaign by Smart Power India, a subsidiary of The Rockefeller Foundation in India, was launched in September. The campaign aims to promote the adoption of Rooftop Solar in micro-enterprises and catalyse the energy transition for millions of micro-enterprises by putting in place structural elements to support the market players. This is in line with the Government?s vision to increase the uptake of Rooftop Solar in the state. The UP Government recently announced the development of rooftop solar projects to solarise government and semi-government buildings as part of its new renewable energy initiative.

In the first phase of the campaign, a mobile van known as the ?Solar Rath'' has travelled across 55 villages in the Varanasi district, covering a distance of 1430 kilometres and engaging the people of Varanasi with interactive roadshows and performances. The campaign has engaged with 5300 potential rural MSMEs so far, with entrepreneurs showing interest in adopting rooftop solar for their businesses for more than 5kW of anticipated demand. The initiative has been gaining popularity in the villages.

With the ?Solar Se Samridhi? campaign, Smart Power India is advancing on the Government?s vision and organising interventions in the local communities to sensitise entrepreneurs about the benefits of switching to clean energy for productive use. The campaign is set to expand its outreach to other parts of the state, with activities starting in the Mirzapur region soon.

Encouraging the team, Mohan Kumar Sharma, Deputy Commissioner, Varanasi, UP, said, ?The state government is committed to supporting sustainability goals, and this campaign has added great value to the vision of the state. Switching to solar energy will help in reducing emissions in the state due to the use of conventional sources like diesel and help businesses grow in a sustainable way.?

On this important milestone of the awareness drive, Mukesh Khandelwal, Head C&I Programme, Smart Power India, said, ?It is great to see the positive response from the community through the past month showing acceptance for a switch to cleaner sources of energy. Smart Power India?s Rooftop Solar for C&I Programme has been driven by the renewable energy goals set by the Government and continues to improve socio-economic outcomes in rural India.?


About Smart Power India (SPI)

SPI, a subsidiary of the Rockefeller Foundation, was established in 2015 to develop and scale sustainable models to accelerate electricity access and spur economic development amongst rural underserved communities. It is committed to creating knowledge and accountability in the public domain through robust evidence-based research and providing field and analytical support to the Government, private sector, implementers and other donors in their pursuits for rural electricity access. SPI develops and disseminates relevant knowledge in the rural electricity access and services space with an aim to promote research and innovation and partners with policymakers, practitioners and academic institutions to come up with actionable insights and innovative strategies. While SPI?s work covers the spectrum of supply and demand side issues of rural electricity, its focus is the last-mile customer. SPI exchanges knowledge by promoting and facilitating platforms for networking, knowledge sharing and collaborative research, networking, knowledge sharing and collaborative research.

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