“In the first three years, it worked well and people were using it. Subsequently, three years after the inauguration, the solar mini-grid started collapsing. With the penetration of thermal power, villagers could use high voltage electrical appliances, that too at a cheaper rate. The village got access to thermal power two years after the solar power project was set up in 2014. Then what is the use of such a power? The solar energy tariff was also higher compared to thermal power,” said a villager while requesting anonymity. These conditions are not there if you use thermal power. “As soon as we got solar power connections, there were also warnings to not use high power electrical appliances like television, refrigerator, motor and others. But it wasn’t long after things started going downhill. The 2014 solar power project was a boon for Dharnai village, which had no electricity until then.
Read more: To boost its slow progress on clean energy, Bihar looks at floating and rooftop solar alternatives The project also ensured installation of solar pumps in selected farms as a demonstration exercise. This included 70 percent household work and 30 percent agriculture work. Under the project, the street lights were powered with solar power while connections and meters were given to all households for their basic electricity needs. Kids were able to study late, families were able to cook at night, anti-social elements started keeping away and deaths due to snake bites started going down due to street lights powered by solar power.” A man crosses close to the anganwadi centre where solar panels on rooftops were installed in 2014. When asked about the benefits from the project, Anil Kumar, another resident of Dharnai, told Mongabay-India, “It brought many changes in the social life of the village. Rooftop solar systems were installed on the roof of the farmer training centre, panchayat building, anganwadi centres, mini-stadium and other major community buildings of the village. The project was funded by environmental NGO Greenpeace with support from other organisations such as CEED (Center for Environment and Energy Development) and Basix, a livelihood promotion institution. The village was showcased as the “first solar village” of the state, said Sharma, adding that the inauguration was followed by visits of senior bureaucrats, tourists, international visitors and others. It was a major event and with the chief minister himself at the village, everyone including local politicians, bureaucrats, media and people from nearby villages were in attendance.
Sharma recalled the day of the project’s inauguration. But even this solar installation came after around 45 households had moved applications (five years ago) in the electricity department seeking power connections.” “So there was a strong affinity towards it in the initial days. “After almost 30 years of darkness, it was the first time that the village had seen electricity and it was because of solar energy, 72-year-old Ran Vijay Sharma told Mongabay-India. It was only renewable energy like solar energy that would be a pure form of energy. The chief minister in his speech at that time, told the villagers that thermal power is derived from coal, a resource which would diminish over time. With this, the sun set on the solar dreams of Dharnai.Īt the now defunct project site, the villagers told Mongabay-India that when Nitish Kumar came to inaugurate the project, some people protested against it, demanding grid-connected electricity or asli bijli (‘real’ power) rather than solar energy which they termed as nakli bijli (‘fake’ electricity). Today, the grid project site has turned into a cattle shed.Īfter the initial enthusiasm, once the solar batteries stopped working, there were no repairs or maintenance and the village subsequently got connected to the thermal power grid where electricity was accessible at a cheaper rate. The project was showcased as a gamechanger for the state. In August 2014, Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar visited Dharnai village in Jehanabad district of Bihar to inaugurate a 100 kilowatt solar mini-grid in the village that would supply electricity.
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