PROJECT SHINE – DISTRIBUTION OF LED BULBS
This is part of our Environment protection program which is based on CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) as a small step to our goal of carbon mitigation. This program is implemented by SEWA in collaboration with C-Quest Capital LLC, USA.
Area of Implementation: In the districts of Jorhat, Majuli, Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Sonitpur, Nagaon
SHINE is a Subsidized LED bulbs distribution program in exchange for Incandescent Lamps (ICL) bulbs for reduction of Carbon from the environment to the Grid Connected Rural Domestic Consumers Currently in the target District being implemented by SEWA, as an Independent Service Provider of C-Quest Capital LED Asia Ltd. Till now this program has been executed in the districts of Jorhat, Majuli, Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Sonitpur, Nagaon and we are gearing up to distribute in the remaining districts of Assam.
This program is registered under UNFCCC as a Clean Development Mechanism Program of Activity (CDM PoA). Under the Clean Development Mechanism, emission-reduction projects in developing countries can earn certified emission reduction credits. These saleable credits can be used by industrialized countries to meet a part of their emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. The CDM allows emission-reduction projects in developing countries to earn certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2. These CERs can be traded and sold, and used by industrialized countries to meet a part of their emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. The mechanism stimulates sustainable development and emission reductions while giving industrialized countries some flexibility in how they meet their emission reduction limitation targets.
The purpose of this Program of Activities- “SHINE – Distribution of LED Lightbulbs in India” (henceforth referred to as PoA) is to reduce fossil-fuel-based electricity consumption in the lighting usage of India’s residential and commercial sector by introducing more energy-efficient LED lamps/tubes to replace incandescent lightbulbs (“ICLs”) and fluorescent lamps (FLs), thereby contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The National LED Programme, which was later renamed as the Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) was launched by the Government of India in 2015 with the intention of promoting efficient lighting and reducing energy consumption by introducing low cost LED lighting technology in households. While the government’s initiatives increased awareness about LED lighting, there is still a large section of society that is yet not moving from the standard ₹ 10 incandescent lamps to LEDs for houses and offices. The overall penetration of LED in India is at a nascent stage with rural India still favoring conventional power guzzlers over CFLs and LED lightbulbs. Other barriers include reluctance to accept change, uncertainty about performance and lack of trust.
The last six years sales record of lighting devices in India too confirm that there is a good number of consumers who prefer incandescent bulbs & fluorescent lamps, hence there is a need to focus on these households and small commercial establishments who are still buying the inefficient bulbs/lamps and where the scope of energy savings is maximum.
The LEDs distributed under the scheme follows the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mandated technical specifications i.e. IS 16102:2012 for self-ballasted LEDs or that of equivalent international standard and comes with a 3 years replacement warranty.
Project Benefits/Outcomes: Contribution towards sustainable development
Economic Sustainability: Estimated space lighting demand in India for residential and commercial sectors are 30.5 GW and 11 GW respectively8 with projections of steady growth in the coming years. It is predicted that in the next two decades, the lumen hour demand in India will increase by approximately 82% for residential buildings and 54% for commercial buildings. This, coupled with the government’s aggressive plan for rural electrification under the ‘Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana’ is sure to fuel the demand for electricity which is currently growing at 4.9% per year. Considering this staggering demand in the coming years, energy efficiency in lighting has the potential to achieve tremendous energy savings in the country. LED technology has been globally recognised as super-efficient and eco-friendly in comparison to conventional lighting technologies. However, due to the high upfront cost of LED as well as the limited availability of LED technology in India, most of the residential and commercial consumers prefer energy-guzzling ICLs and toxic fluorescent lamps to LED. Incandescent bulb consumes 80 percent more electricity than LED lamp, but given their low price and ease of availability, they are used extensively in rural and semi-urban areas. The replacement of ICLs with LEDs under this PoA will contribute to economic sustainability by reducing the pressure on the Indian power system. While on one hand, this will result in surplus electricity being supplied to other consumers and on the other, the financial resources which were to be spent on infrastructure investments for production, transmission and distribution to satisfy the given level of demand would be available for use to drive economic development. It will also result in lower utility bills for the end-user who usually ends up paying higher energy costs when they use ICL/fluorescent lamps.
Environmental Sustainability: Thermal power plants accounted for an overwhelming 70% of the total generation capacity of electricity in the country in 2016. The introduction of energy-efficient LED technology will reduce the GHGs released in the atmosphere by the thermal power plants in course of electricity generation.
Under this PoA, low-income households, small and medium enterprises and commercial offices and shops will be provided with highly subsidized LEDs as a replacement of the ICLs or fluorescent lamps, thereby reducing GHG emissions through avoided use of fossil fuels ensuing from reduced consumption of electricity. In addition to reduced GHG emissions, the program will also result in reduced waste generation as LEDs last 25-50 times longer than the ICLs and do not contain toxic mercury as is the case with compact fluorescent lamp. Moreover, as LEDs are composed of solid-state components which are resilient in the face of severe voltage fluctuation and external shock they are less prone to damage, unlike fluorescent and incandescent bulbs, which are fragile and prone to early failure in low quality power supply regimes.
Technological Sustainability: The light-emitting diode (LED) is one of today's most energy-efficient and rapidly developing lighting technologies. Quality LED light bulbs last longer, are more durable, and offer comparable or better light quality than other types of lighting. However, the high upfront cost of the LEDs acts as a deterrent for its acceptance in low-income households. Small commercial establishments as well as SMEs also factor in the cost while opting for lighting technology. The long-term benefits of LED are often ignored as these consumers prefer cheap lighting options for their space lighting requirements. The table below compares maximum retail price amongst three brands of LED available in the market as against the average cost of ICL for comparable lumen.
Social Sustainability: This project “SHINE”, will not only reduce the carbon emission from the environment while we aimed to replace the Incandescent Light bulbs (ICL’s) with cleaner LED bulbs, and the Grid-connected domestic consumers will also get a great relief from high energy bills and frequent load shadings as LED bulbs can save large amount of energy in a more efficient way.
More significantly, as implementing this project requires a large number of Man-power, and local Youths in large number who were left jobless by the current Covid-19 Pandemic will also be employed and trained for the successful running of the project and what makes SEWA more enthusiastic about this activity. Currently, more than 100 youths are employed under this program and exercising their financial freedom.
126000+
HOUSEHOLD
700000+
LED
5+
DISTRICT
1320+
Total Villages
19+
SUBDIVISION
5420+
t CO2 e