Husk Power Systems provides renewable and affordable electricity to rural villages in India through small biomass power plants. Their mission is to install over 2,000 plants in 5 years to power homes, empower employees, and profit shareholders through social and environmental sustainability. Similarly, Samta Samriddhi Foundation aims to empower remote villages in Bihar, India through access to clean energy and smart agriculture. They established a 10,000 USD biomass gasification power plant in Tamkuha village, which generates electricity from rice husks and distributes it to over 350 households at cheaper rates than their previous expenditures on expensive and polluting fuels. Both organizations are working to address energy poverty and drive rural development through decentralized renewable energy solutions.

1. Husk Power Systems

2. Mission:
Husk Power Systems provides reliable renewable
affordable electricity that wows the world –
customers by our exemplary service and
operational excellence, employees by personal
growth and empowerment, and our shareholders
through
profitability,
social
impact,
and
environmental sustainability
Our target is to install 2,000+ plants in 5
years.

3. Choices Considered
Husk Power looked at the options…
$0.25/kWh
$0.25/kWh
$0.50/kWh
$0.50/kWh
$0.25/kWh
$0.25/kWh

4. Husk Power Systems discovers easy to
operate model
Husk Power looked at the options … then made our own.
HPS Installation Cost < $1000 per kW
Operational Cost is < $0.10/kWh

5. Rice Husk – a Huge Biomass Energy Source
40 Million Metric Tons
Enough to Light 145K Villages

6. Village
Paddy
Paddy
Irrigation Pump
Stored Husk
Village
To
H
Husk
Home Clusters
ou
seh
old
s
Water Boiling
To Industry
HPS Plant
To Irrigation
Rice Mill
Ash
Filters
Gasifier
Generator
Village
Pre-paid Meter
CO2
Broker
Village
Village
RHA: Rice Husk Ash
HPS
RHA
Refinery
Cement
Plant
Revenue
RHA

7. In last 2 years, HPS has consistently
delivered on its promises and beaten
internal targets:
• Completed installation of 23 power plants and developed
capabilities to install at a rate of one power plant/week
• Recruited, trained and deployed 20 technical operators in the last
6 months
Completed formation of company structure by opening a
Mauritius office and completing paper works
• Closed $1.3M of pre-Series A financing from a syndicate of four
investors (Acumen Fund, Bamboo Finance, LGT and DFJ/Cisco)
• Completed due diligence required to get additional ~$550K of
grant from Shell Foundation to implement Health, Safety and
Environmental best practices
7

8. The company is currently exploring multiple
avenues to monetize alternate revenue streams:
New Business Development Activities
1. Piloting a project with Airtel to become cell
phone towers’ energy provider in rural
areas
2. Partnering with Havells, an appliance
company
3. Exploring must-have product development
options with RHC (HPS’s waste)
4. Collaborating with established corporations
both in India and USA to explore
development of new products/services with
a focus on rural areas
Long Term Impact
1. Provides a long term stable source of
revenue and may give HPS an opportunity
to become Airtel’s channel partner to
distribute its products
2. Brings reliable and efficient CFLs at
customers’ door-step and provide 10-20%
cost advantage to beneficiaries
3. Develop new products such as Incense
sticks (also called agarbatti) etc. that can
be immediately monetized
4. Brainstorm sessions indicate HPS
becoming a conduit to reliable rural
demographics data for CPG companies in
addition to developing local must-have
products and services
8

9. 4-6 plants/wk
HPS Scaling Model:
3 plants/wk
1 plant/wk
5
1.
2 plants
1 plant
$70K
2007
$97K
BizPlan
2008
/m
ts
an
pl
h
nt
o
10 plants
7 plants
$550K
Shell
Foundation
MNRE
1H 2009
$5,500K
Series A
$1,100K
Seed Fin
$1,000K
Debt Fin
$3,200K
Debt Fin
2H 2009
2010
$4,000K
Debt Fin
2011
2012
Within “home” state
Replicate other regions
9

10. Husk Power Systems – Impact Value Chain:
INPUTS
• Renewable
Energy
• Flexible
Payments
• Buying local
waste
ACTIVITIES
OUTPUTS
OUTCOMES
• 1.5M people impacted (320,000 HH)
• 2,160 Jobs created in rural India
• 108,000 tons of CO2 saved per year
• $20 Savings/HH/Year = $6.4M / Year
10

11. Powering rural India one at a time :
Off-grid electricity generation & distribution in INDIA at
Bihar by SAMTA SMRIDDHI FOUNDATION.

12. SAMTA SAMRIDDHI FOUNDATION:
• A Non-Govt. Organization
registered in 2007 under the
Societies Registration Act 21,
1860.
• Based in Patna, Bihar.
• Funded by NRIs as well as
local residents.

13. Samta Samriddhi Foundation
Mission:
Empowerment of remote and neglected
rural areas of Bihar through spread of
Energy and smart Agricultural practices
Goal for the project:
To provide clean electric lighting to the
households in Tamkuha at a rate cheaper
than their current expenditure

14. Site Selection:
UP on 3 sides and the erratic Great Gandak on the fourth

15. Site Selection
• Population – approx. 1200 excluding
migrants + a thriving marketplace with
over 50 shops.
• No. of households – approx. 350
• Distance from distt. Headquarter - ~150
km.
• Distance from electrical substation – 82
km.
• Distance from nearest railhead – 47 km
• Paddy production of over 1200 tones/year.

16. Technology:
• Has to be non-conventional.
• Solar energy is expensive.
– Approx. Rs. 400 / W for installation.
• Wind energy is not amply available.
• Biomass energy is practically the only
available option.

17. Technology – Biomass Gasifier

18. Cost of Establishment
Piping etc
Site visits etc
Civil Work
Transportation
Electric Cable
Gasifier
Generator
Total Cost – Rs 10,00,000 *
*We teamed up with new suppliers for the gasifier and the generator
with govt approved suppliers the cost is over Rs 25,00,000
our system is cheaper even without the govt subsidy.

19. Power Distribution:

20. Power Distribution – Economics
Problem
• Rice husk at ~90p per kg
– Rs. 0.9 * 50 * 6 * 30 per month
– Had planned it at 50p per kg
• LPG cylinders are expensive
– Can’t procure enough from the LPG dealers at the
controlled prices
– Rs 500 per cylinder in the black market
• Rs. 500 * 10 per month
Solution
•Generate own rice-husk.
•Remove the LPG.

21. Power Distribution – Economics
Generating Rice-husk:
•
•
•
•
Setup a mini Rice mill in partnership with a local at the plant
– Milling capacity of ~400 kg paddy per hour using approx. 15 A
/ phase
– Milling at zero cost to attract consumers
• Operation and depreciation cost to be recovered by sale of
the bran
– Approx. Rs.10,000 per month (Rs.4000 organization’s
share)
Operate the dehusker and polisher alternatively
– Possible to operate in parallel with the electricity supply to
users
Generation of ~300 kg rice-husk per day
– Daily consumption is approximately the same
– More than 40% rice-husk generated assuming 6 months
operation of the rice mill
Cost of setting up the rice mill ~ Rs. 70,000
– Organization’s share Rs.35,000

22. This is not just about money …
“India got independence from England 60 years ago, but this village got its
Independence today.”
- Gyanesh Pandeyji (in 2007).

23. THANKS Friends For
YOUR Kind ATTENTION !
Presentation By :
ABHINAV
UJJWAL
MANAV
DINESH
RAJAT
ABHIT