India is longer than it is wide. It stretches from the snow caped Himalayan mountains of Kashmir to the tropical beaches of Kerala. So how did we come to find ourselves on the “wrong side” of a very large country? For some perspective, Bangalore is a 39-hour train ride from Delhi which is still a three-and-a-half-hour car ride from Anupshahr. The answer: Vivek Shastry. I was introduced to Vivek by my brother Trevor. Vivek and Trevor studied together at the University of Texas and, when I told Trevor about the project, he connected me with Vivek. Early on in the project Vivek became an important influence. I wanted to be a solar expert but Vivek actually is an expert. He works for SELCO, a company that specializes in providing solar financing, technology, and services for villages in the southern state of Karnataka. When I called Vivek for the first time, my blurry imagination of the future became much clearer. He helped me understand the key factors in creating a solar project and advised me on how I should proceed. So when Adam asked me which city he should fly into, I thought it was a good opportunity to pay Vivek and SELCO a visit. And so began my very first business trip.
-Camden
After three airplanes, two unexpected in-flight meals, and one seven-hour delay, a wide-eyed, cowboy-hat wearing American arrived in Bangalore, a south Indian city that is giving Silicon Valley a run for its money as the tech capital of the world. Its amazing how much can be accomplished in a city where the traffic on a good day makes the George Washington Bridge during rush hour look like a carpool lane. I had not seen Camden in nearly two years, and here was my chance not just to spend time with my best friend of yore, but to work and collaborate on a project we both felt a strong passion for. Camden and I grew up halfway across the US from each other. Our lives seemed to always take us in different directions: when I was in Berkeley, he was in Tulsa; when I was in Kenya, he was in Boston; and when I was in Connecticut, he was in Ecuador. We each discovered our passions for the environment and renewable energy separately, and yet here we are together pursuing this common goal of a cleaner, safer, and more equal world. I’m not sure if it’s luck, fate, or another secret plot by our parents to bring us together, but I can tell you that we never planned to work in the same field. Somehow, while an infinite number of paths diverged in a wood, we both took the one less traveled, and found ourselves side-by-side in Bangalore, eager to absorb as much knowledge as possible about small-scale sustainable solar projects.
After a stop-and-go Uber ride across Bangalore, we met Vivek at an open-air rooftop restaurant/brewery called Brewsky. The view from the 4th floor included a mix of one and two story apartment buildings, lusciously green trees, and skyscrapers. The number of construction projects and big cranes in the distance made it apparent that a picture of the view would soon be obsolete (still, a picture is included above). We found Vivek sipping on a stout and we each ordered a beer, which we later learned were crafted by an American brew master. Chicken and lamb burgers ordered, beer sipped, and discussions of America completed, it was time to get down to business.
We came into this Thursday lunch meeting already thinking that we wanted to take on a project bigger than solar lanterns. Through Camden’s e-mail correspondence with Vivek, he had learned that lantern projects lack the level of sustainability and longevity that home lighting systems and micro-grids offer. When Camden proposed to me the idea of implementing a better system, I was all in; I did not come all the way to India to half-ass it, I was here to full-ass it.
Over burgers and beers Vivek reiterated that lantern projects usually only last a few years, and do not create an easily expandable model. If no electricity is like a bicycle, then a lantern is like a moped. A home lighting system, however, is like a brand new motorcycle. Now you may be thinking, “but Adam, what is a home lighting system?” Well, my interested reader, a home lighting system is a set-up that includes a panel, multiple LED lights, and an outlet, all of which are installed at each home in a community. SELCO has installed hundreds of thousands of these systems with great success. Vivek’s knowledge, encouragement, and support made us realize that upgrading our project to home lighting systems was no fantasy, but a real tangible possibility. He invited us to his office to meet his colleagues and learn more about these types of solar installations. We set a meeting time for Saturday because, believe it or not, Saturday is a work day here in India.
-Adam
The Village Solar Project 