Ø In Sept 2017 , while inaugurating ONGC’s corporate office, PM Shri Modiji said :

“ Our poor rural ladies are suffering due to air pollution caused by burning wood – straw – cow-dung cakes – kerosene , for cooking on chulhas . Millions of them are prematurely dying due to lung diseases. We must give them Solar Chulhas “

Still no more than ( perhaps ) 100 Solar Cookers in use , after 5.5 years

Not surprising when you consider the following :

Core CarbonX Solutions Pvt Ltd, a company based in Hyderabad, Telangana, plans to give away at least 2 million cookstoves to rural folk in Odisha for free.

In return, the company will earn 2-4 carbon credits (depending upon the type of the stove) for each stove annually, for enabling lesser use of firewood.

Each carbon credit sells in the market for about $8-10, Managing Director, Niroj Mohanty, told businessline on Tuesday, on the sidelines of a workshop on ‘Deep Electrification Pathways’, organised here by the Delhi-based think-tank, Vasudha Foundation.

Vida Carbon of Canada is partnering Core CarbonX in this venture. Core CarbonX buys energy-efficient stoves in the market for about Rs 1,200-Rs 1,600 and distributes them.

The company began distribution cookstoves last year, when it gave away 60,000 stoves in India and another 30,000 in Myanmar, earning $11 million (as commitment).

This model, in which companies like Core CarbonX acquire and sell carbon credits, is taking root in India, and the companies are called carbon credit developers.

Another company, the BSE-listed EKI Energy Services, through its associate company, has set up a plant at Nashik, capable of manufacturing 3 million cookstoves a year.

It is believed that the cookstoves distributed by these companies can bring down firewood consumption by at least 40 per cent.

The workshop had an interesting discussion on the kind of cookstove solution that would work in urban and rural areas. Animesh Mishraa, Head – Sales, Corporate Communications and PR, EESL Ltd, said while electric cooking, solarised or otherwise, would be okay for the urban consumer, it would not work in the rural areas, where fuel – firewood or cow dung – is available practically for free. The model that India should follow, therefore, would be to promote electric induction stoves in urban centers and improved cookstoves in the rural areas.

EESL Ltd is a government company that provides energy-efficient equipment at its own cost and collects the same from consumers over a period, from savings in their energy bills. It recently floated an Expression of Interest for induction cookstoves. The response has been very good, with about 70 submissions, Mishraa said.

20 Apr 2023 ]

Clear as Daylight ?

Ø Company giving away ( FREE ) ordinary Cookstoves ( which enable LESSER USE of firewood ), can sell a Carbon Credits earned in the market for about $ 8-10 ( Rs 640 – 800 ). For 2 – 4 credits , that company can earn , Approx. Rs 1600 ( for 2 credits @ Rs 800 ) to , as much as Rs 3200 ( for 4 credits @ Rs 800 )

Ø As against this “ earning “ , their “ cost of purchase “ ( of an ordinary Cook stove ) is Rs 1600 , providing a margin of 100 % ( Rs 3200 – Rs 1600 ) !

Ø For giving away a total of 90,000 stoves “ last year “ , Core Carbonx , earned ( as commitment ) , $ 11 million. That works out to $ 122 ( Rs 9,760 ) per stove !

To best of my knowledge, as of today, there is NO SUCH INCENTIVE for any Company giving away ( of course, FREE ), a SOLAR COOKER which :

Ø Consumes neither any FIREWOOD , nor any LPG , nor any DIRTY ELECTRICITY but uses only FREE sunlight

How many “ Carbon Credits “ , would such a revolutionary Solar Cooker be entitled to earn ?

For a “ tentative “ answer, I sought help from ChatGPT as follows :

My Poser to ChatGPT :

Will the following specifications of a proposed Solar Powered Solar cooker , help you to calculate and show me

the number of Carbon Credits that this Cooker will be entitled to ?

( A ) Energy Consumption ( kWh ) > 1200 W

( B ) Battery Capacity ( kWh ) > 48 V, 100 Ah

( C ) Solar Panel Capacity ( W ) > 1300 W

( D ) Solar Panel Efficiency ( % ) > 20 %

( E ) Location > Mumbai - India

( F ) Weather Conditions > Tropical with 300 days / year of bright sunshine

ChatGPT replied :

Yes, with the provided specifications, it is possible to estimate the number of carbon credits that the proposed solar-powered cooker is entitled to. Here's how :

Firstly, we need to calculate the total amount of energy that the cooker can consume in one year.

We can do this by multiplying the energy consumption of the cooker (A) with the number of hours it is expected to operate in a year, assuming that it is used every day for 3 hours:

Energy Consumption per day = 1.2 kWh x 3 hours = 3.6 kWh

Energy Consumption per year = 3.6 kWh/day x 365 days = 1314 kWh/year

Next, we need to determine the amount of electricity generated by the solar panels.

The amount of electricity generated will depend on the solar panel capacity (C), solar panel efficiency (D), and the weather conditions (F).

The following calculations assume that the solar panels generate electricity for 8 hours per day, based on the number of bright sunshine days in Mumbai:

Energy Generated per day = Solar Panel Capacity x Solar Panel Efficiency x Sunshine Hours = 1300 W x 0.20 x 8 hours = 2080 Wh = 2.08 kWh

Energy Generated per year = 2.08 kWh/day x 300 days = 624 kWh/year

The battery capacity (B) determines how much solar-generated energy can be stored for use by the cooker when there is no sunlight.

Assuming that:

# the battery is fully charged and

# the cooker consumes all the electricity stored in the battery,

- the total amount of energy that can be generated by the solar panel in a year is:

Total Energy Generated in a year = Energy Generated per year + Battery Capacity = 624 kWh/year + 4.8 kWh

Finally, to calculate the carbon credits, we need to compare the carbon emissions associated with:

# using the solar-powered cooker

# to those generated by using a conventional electricity source.

The average carbon intensity of grid electricity in India is around 0.82 kg CO2/kWh.

Therefore, the amount of carbon emissions avoided by using the solar-powered cooker in a year is:

Carbon Emissions Avoided = Total Energy Generated in a year x Carbon Intensity of Grid Electricity = (624 kWh/year + 4.8 kWh) x 0.82 kg CO2/kWh = 514.8 kg CO2

The amount of carbon credits that the proposed solar-powered cooker will be entitled to will depend on the price of carbon credits in the market.

However, assuming a price of $10 per carbon credit, the cooker will be entitled to:

Number of Carbon Credits = Carbon Emissions Avoided / Price of Carbon Credit = 514.8 kg CO2 / $10 = 51.48 carbon credits

Therefore, the proposed solar-powered cooker will be entitled to 51.48 carbon credits per year.

This “ tentative “ answer provided by ChatGPT should be viewed in the following perspective :

Ø Each Solar Cooker User will earn $ 514.8 / year by way of selling Carbon Credits . That is approx.. Rs 41,200 ( at $ 1 = Rs 80 )

Ø The proposed Solar Cooker is targeted for use in all cities / towns, where households are currently served LPG cylinders / piped gas

Ø Alltogether, in India , there are 290 million households , which is the potential market for Solar Cookers

QUESTION :

With all these “ fantastic advantages “ of the Solar Cookers, how come many companies are not coming forward to manufacture and sell , millions of cookers / year ?

ANSWER :

A great majority of buildings have 10 / 20 tenants ( 500 sq ft flats ) but a terrace area ( for mounting Solar Panels ) of barely 500 sq ft

Even if entire terrace is covered with Solar Panels , it may not be enough to power more than 1 Solar Cookers !

In fact, terrace area is not enough, even to cater to the COMMON electricity needs of most buildings !

Hence , Solar cookers won’t sell !

So , is there a solution ?

Yes

If Solar power can be generated anywhere and consumed any other place

My detailed suggestion in this regard was in my following e-mail to our Cabinet Ministers :

Ø A Tale of Two States ……… 28 Oct 2020

Extract :

In my building, we are 10 flat-owners. Each needs 20 KW of solar – total of 200 KW

That would require 20,000 sq ft . But the terrace is no more than 2,000 sq ft . Not enough for all

So, I ask :

Why do we need space in our own terrace in a Mumbai building for getting

200 KW of Solar Power ?

Why cannot we use 20,000 sq ft of space, 500 Km away from Mumbai, in

Kutch desert ?

In a nut-shell, produce solar power in Kutch desert and consume it in

Mumbai !

Or produce power in Ladakh and consume it in Kolkata

Here is a broad / conceptual frame-work [ Full details at A Tale of Two States ]

PRICING :

# IOC supplied Solar Cooker is “ rumoured “ to sell for Rs 15,000 .

# CSIR-CMERI developed Solar DC Cooking System is expected to cost between

Rs 65,000 – Rs 70,000

[ - but only Rs 5,000 as per https://www.indiascience.in/videos/csir-cmeri-launches-solar-dc-cooking-system-e-1 ]

INCENTIVE TO HOUSEHOLD BUYER / USER :

# Ultimate buyer / user householder ( no more than one Solar Cooker to be sold per household ), will be able to earn Rs 41,200 by selling 51.48 Carbon Credits on carbon trading exchanges . This huge amount is extremely powerful “ Selling Point “ for the manufacturer to market his product. Very stringent “ Authentication “ must be implemented to prevent BLACK MARKET / Re-Sale etc

INCENTIVE TO MANUFACTURER :

# I strongly recommend that Central Government introduce a PLI ( Production Linked Incentive ) Scheme for manufacture of “ SPECIFIED “ solar cookers. This could be @ 10 % of Sale Price

BENEFITS TO ECONOMY :

If this cooking system reaches 30 million households by 2025-26, then in seven years, it would lead to :

# Savings in LPG cost by more than ₹1 lakh crore,

# Forex savings of ₹ 50,000 crore,

# CO2 emissions reduction by 50 million tonnes

Dear Shri Prime Minister ,

Your 5.5 year old dream to “ save millions of lives of poor rural ladies by giving them Solar Chulhas “ is languishing

Now , if you ENABLE a poor householder to earn 54.18 Carbon Credits and sell it for Rs 41,200 , no one ( neither Opposition – nor Supreme Court – nor Election Commission ) can say it is a FREEBIE , even with 2024 Elections looming large !

It is time to WALK YOUR TALK

All it will take is a phone call to Chairman of IOC , Shri Srikant Madhav Vaidya (iocl.cocc@indianoil.in / +91 11 26260101,26260202 )

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

www.hemenparekh.ai / hcp@RecruitGuru.com