Solar Power, Amul Style: Existing Model Can Be Extended to Rural Solar Generation

By Mahesh Bhave, Indian Institute of Management
November 6, 2012   |  

 

Could the Amul milk cooperative success serve as a model for solar-based electricity in rural India? The "white" revolution can extend to the "light" revolution for 400 million Indians without electricity and burn kerosene for cooking and illumination. Just as farmers contribute milk daily to the cooperative, they could lease their rooftops or land for solar panels, as well.

Some electricity generated will be for personal use, and the excess may be sold or stored in community micro-grids for use at night or when clouds block sunlight. Just as a cow is a local, standalone source for milk, solar panels are local, standalone sources of electricity.

Verghese Kurien, chairman of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), wrote, “Cooperative dairy development on the Amul Pattern has been instrumental in securing rural livelihoods in many parts of India through income generation, agricultural diversification, risk distribution, female empowerment and assured employment.” Cooperatives could augment these benefits by getting into the solar business.

Spark It Off

India experimented with rural electricity cooperatives in the 1960s. Five pilot cooperatives were established in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh, but the movement did not take off. One reason: absence of autonomy.

Focused on distribution, electricity cooperatives relied on the State Electricity Boards (SEB) for generation and transmission. SEBs are plagued by mis-governance and burdened by “free power for farmers” type political schemes. In 2005, India launched the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY). The programme also has made a limited dent in rural electrification.