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International Journal of Environment and Sustainability, 2016, 5(2): 99-104 103
schedule of electricity supply, electricity is effec- global warming and other environmental con-
tively available for only half an hour to one hour. cerns, geopolitical and military conflicts, and, of
During data collection, the researcher also wit- late, continued and significant fuel price rise. Re-
nessed that the light bulbs kept going on and off. newable energy is the solution to the growing
energy challenges as they are abundant, inex-
It was found that although training programs on haustible and environmentally friendly. Thus,
use and maintenance of solar power plants are the Government, being the main regulatory body
regularly organized by CREDA, the end-users in the country, has an important role to play in
were most negligent and thus, lacked awareness. promoting renewable energy in the country. Na-
CREDA was involved in training and capacity tional Solar Mission was taken as the main policy
building of the local people for laying and main- initiative by the Government, under which at-
taining the solar power plants. Every village had tempt was made to understand the impediments
a plant operator who belonged to that village and associated with the Remote Village Electrifica-
was trained by CREDA. However, it was ob- tion Program in Chhattisgarh.
served that most of the beneficiaries were not
aware of solar energy. Although some of them After conducting the research, many major im-
knew that the electricity was coming from the pediments came out both from the implement-
power plant in the village, few knew that the en- ers’ and the users’ perspectives, such as lack of
ergy source was solar. Many of the respondents awareness, high costs involved, the discontin-
were not even aware that there was a power uous supply of electricity and limited capacity. It
plant in their village. It was surprising to see that is suggested that solar power projects be
even the plant operator’s wife was neither aware developed, taking care of the local needs of the
of the power source, nor the power plant. The people. The local people ought to be involved at
maintenance and upkeep of solar power plants every stage to have a clear understandingof their
were not up to the mark since the beneficiaries requirements so that the projects can be tailored
are the most negligent. Thus, major problems to suit their needs.
such as theft of PV panels, overloading etc. were
present. Another benefit of involving the local people is
that when people are involved in something,
It was seen that cost is the biggest impediment to they feel connected to it and thus, problems like
implementing solar energy policies. Since the overloading can be taken care of. When the prob-
Government is trying to increase the capacity of lem of overloading is taken care of, the problem
solar power plants in each village, huge invest- of erratic electricity supply would also be solved.
ment is required by the Government. It was also Another major area of concern is monitoring of
found that the Nodal agency of each state has to these solar power plants. Proper monitoring
fight with the Central and State governments for teams need to be made to overcome the prob-
finances. Another barrier that was reported by lems of thefts and malicious damage. Also, the ca-
CREDA officials was limited manpower available pacity of the solar power plants needs to be in-
in the organization. This resulted in many prob- creased so that more appliances can be sup-
lems poor associated with training of the local ported, therefore dealing with the issue of over-
people, maintenance of the power plants and so loading. Another area that needs attention is the
on. amount of time the electricity is supplied. It is
suggested that the electricity be supplied for at
Thus, all the above came out as the main imped- least twelve hours a day and especially during
iments to solar energy policies’ and their imple- the nights.
mentation which need to be worked upon.
Awareness is a major area that requires immedi-
4. Conclusion and Suggestions ate attention. Training programs need to be de-
veloped in local languages to spread information
Continued use of fossil fuels is set to face multi- on the benefits of solar energy and proper use
ple challenges: depletion of fossil fuel reserves, and maintenance of the plants being installed in
the villages. Also, the involvement of women is
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