“i’m glad i was able to participate in the training of solar entrepreneur as part of the community solar program from my village. my work is recognized in the village and people look up to me with respect when they know of my work. but i can’t ignore my household responsibilities and take up this work as a full-time occupation. even since my husband fell ill, i have had to leave the work of a solar entrepreneur and focus on my household and our agricultural work.”

these were the words of one of the interviewees of my field study in jharkhand, india, regarding the impact of the community solar program on beneficiary households. her comments represent the hidden cost of solar energy implementation in rural communities that are geographically remote, not connected to the grid, politically neglected, and economically marginalized.

in 2024, i spent a month in the dumardih panchayat of gumla block in gumla district of jharkhand, india, conducting an ethnographic field study on the distributional impacts of one such community solar program implemented by bindi international. 

the village population of dumardih panchayat consists of indigenous (tribal) households and non-tribal households that have historically depended on agriculture for their livelihood. however, non-tribal households are relatively well off compared to tribal households; furthermore, tribal communities rely on subsistence agriculture for their livelihood and reside in more remote locations away from the main village. as such, there are ethnic divisions between these two groups.

the beneficiary households are spread across tribal and non-tribal ethnicities. the geographical remoteness of tribal households further exacerbates their challenge to access, electricity, education and healthcare services compared to other households who are economically relatively well-off, have access to resources, and have higher power in decision making in community matters.

solar for rural communities in india

the dominant story of solar in rural india often emphasizes numbers: how many households have been electrified, how many watts of solar are installed, how many hours of additional study children get at night, and how much indoor air quality improves. the beneficiary households see reduced indoor air pollution, additional light hours, increased safety, and better sense of well-being. 

solar energy was first introduced in gumla district in 2015 by a non-governmental organization called mlindia with financial support from the indian renewable energy development authority (ireda) (kumar, m., 2022). the first program was a solar mini-grid (20 kw – 40 kw) installed for 44 villages for a total combined capacity of one megawatt (kumar, m., 2022). gumla district has been one of the aspirational districts in the country out of the 112. the categorization is based on literacy rate, health, nutrition, basic infrastructure, and poverty level in the district (green and kapoor, 2023). this has been the driving factor for setting up solar power base programs to reduce the challenges with last mile connectivity in the district and provide opportunities to set up rural enterprises, and boost livelihood (kumar, m., 2022). 

one such organization is bindi international association. the organization was established in 2015, with the aim of empowering rural women across india and contributing to the achievement of the united nations’ sustainable development goals. this focus informs their approach to providing financial independence to rural women: bindi international provides training in digital literacy, marketing, and banking to enable women in remote areas to participate in the rapidly evolving digital world. 

their community solar program model provides electricity access to non-electrified and under electrified households. the program also provides skill training on solar technology to rural women and has established women as key players in delivering renewable energy solutions to remote communities. bindi international identified mahila vikas mandal (mvm), a grassroots non-governmental organization that creates and supports women-led self-help groups as the ground partner for implementation. the organization selected beneficiaries based on a survey of households able to pay an up-front, one-time payment of inr 1000. the households were also required to pay inr 150 per month as a deposit towards a corpus fund created to finance the operation phase of the program. this fund is managed by a village energy and electrification committee (veec), composed of beneficiary household members. the home lighting system consisted of a 40-watt system (a battery pack, four bulbs or two bulbs and a ceiling fan).

the bindi international team designed the program based on consultations with the village community, including a committee representing the beneficiary households. this committee oversees several aspects of the program, including paying the trained women for repair services, replacing parts, and appropriating funds to scale up the system. the program introduced a new culture of ownership, management, and use of solar energy for lighting and cooking that was not present earlier.

however, data from the study showed that women who were trained in the installation, repair, service, market, and sale of new solar products bear the burden of responsibility of solar intervention falling on women, exacerbating existing inequalities in the gendered division of labor within these communities. this is the hidden cost of solar technology based intervention in rural communities. in the rush to adopt a clean energy society, we are overlooking the unequal burden of labour across gender created by such community renewable energy programs.

an uneven burden

my ethnographic study revealed an amnesia in energy scholarship and policy: nobody wants to talk about how the burdens of transition fall unevenly, often along lines of gender. gendered expectations of labour, cultural norms regarding decision-making, and marginalization based on income and ethnicity disproportionately impact marginalized women.providing clean energy through solar home systems gives rural households the power to control their energy supply. but although it represents progress in some ways, the transition from kerosene to solar energy does not automatically dismantle the social, and economic inequalities that shape women’s everyday lives. limited access to resources, limited role in decision making makes its way into design, implementation and operation of community energy programs.