Cummins Power Generation brings green, sustainable power to remote village in India
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The village of Padarwadi is located about 110 kilometers from Pune. The people of Padarwadi are essentially subsistence farmers than rely on the income from their 35-ton annual rice harvest. A key step in processing the raw rice is de-husking. Throughout the year, the villagers would transport the rice by hand to another village to use its electric de-husker. The journey required scaling over a kilometer of steep foothills and a return trip for the final cleaning and polishing process. Without electricity, the residents had no way to de-husk the harvest efficiently themselves. Working with the Cummins Engine Research Facility (CERF), a partnership with IIT Mumbai, and Maharashtra Arogya Mandal, Cummins India met with villagers to explore solutions. The result was an electric generator that could use oil extracted from local pongamia seeds for fuel. The seeds are readily available and considered a renewable (green) fuel as well. The emission byproducts are equally innocuous. The energy produced powers the village’s new electric de-husker and other needs—making the village much more self-sufficient. Now, the entire harvest process is conducted efficiently and more cost-effectively in Padarwadi. Maharashtra Arogya Mandal is an NGO whose membership is comprised of volunteers. One of its goals is to develop a sustainable and replicable electrification model for remote villages across India, using locally available renewable energy sources. The Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) engine technology developed for the generator set by CERF proved to be an ideal solution for Padarwadi. It can also be easily replicated for similar needs in other remote villages. Beau Lintereur, vice president, Cummins Power Generation, said, “We are delighted with the success of the project and the prospects it presents for the people of Padarwadi. It is the joint efforts of our employees, representatives of Maharashtra Arogya Mandal and most importantly the resilience of the villagers that has resulted in this solution for producing power within the village…which is green, sustainable and scalable.” Related posts:
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