Project completion report : technologies for the rural poor

While the project has resulted in significant networking and technology transfer between U.S. and Indian scientific and academic institutions, on the whole the technologies that it developed have little relevance to rural India - though technically sound, they tend to be too expensive and too complicated. In one case, an integrated solar energy system designed to provide power for street lighting, water pumping, and other civic services produced electricity at the rate of $24,000 per kw -- compared to $350-500 per kw for a diesel generator. Of seven subprojects, only one developed a low-cost technology (solar drying) suitable for commercialization in rural areas. The criteria for selection of SP"s for funding as set forth in the Project Paper were adequate, but clearly should have been more rigorously applied to guard against selection of inappropriate technologies. The project teaches the vital importance of working out a viable plan for the commercialization of technologies developed in research projects of this type, and suggests that the involvement of public and private commercial entities in this phase of the design process might be useful. Another factor that may have influenced the kinds of technologies produced was the selection of U.S. universities and national laboratories (e.g., the Jet Propulsion Laboratory) as collaborators. Their interest in performance over commercial viability, coupled with the inexperience of Indian counterpart institutions, helped accentuate the tension between the theoretical and practical elements in the project"s design. More positively, the project has provided valuable experience to USAID/I in developing a new project in commercial energy research.