In India's Rice Belt, 350 million people live without reliable electricity. But they do have lots of rice -- and rice husks discarded from harvest. So University of Virginia business students Chip Ransler and Manoj Sinha recently devised a way to give them their own form of energy independence by turning husks into biogas, which fuels mini power plants. Hundreds of homes in five rice-growing communities now have affordable power. And the ash from generating the gas isn't wasted: It can be used as fertilizer or as a low-cost ingredient for cement. With 125,000 Indian villages lacking power, "there's a lot of work to be done," says Ransler. In the next 18 months, Husk Power hopes to light up 100 more of them.
Related Stories: | Topics:Ethonomics, Chip Ransler, electricity, rich husk, social enterprises of the year, India, Husk Power Systems, University of Virginia, Rice Belt, Manoj Sinha, India, Manoj Sinha, University of Virginia, Higher Education, Education |
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Recent Comments | 3 Total
January 4, 2010 at 3:27pm by Emma Johnson
it must be more beneficial for industrial areas.
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January 20, 2010 at 1:40am by carpartshouse carpartshouse
sir
i truly admire and appreciate the noble initiative taken by you and your team at all levels.i have installed arice mill of three tonne per hour capacity at gaya district in bihar.power shortage is acommon problem at the location .i wish to seek your assistance for the cause.(rice huskbased)
RoJER
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