IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Fall 2013 - 72

overcome consumer inertia. Renewable energy options have to be analyzed in contrast with other cooking
energy options of consumers in order
to identify the missing links.
A few strategies can help in
addressing these challenges. Renewable energy technology dissemination programs should be conducted
in a socially acceptable manner.
furthermore, understanding the
grassroot problems of local people
is imperative to devise effective
solutions and this requires a collaborative spirit. The benefits of dissemination programs must occur at
a user level instead of at a regional
or national level. If each user is satisfied at the local level, then naturally the program will succeed on a
larger scale. Additionally, training
and workshops should be conducted
to make people comfortable with
modern technology. Bridging the
gap between urban and rural people
is also essential for bringing sustainable development to rural communities; education can be used as a
tool to do so. Policymakers should
introduce credit based coursework
on rural technologies at engineering colleges with an aim to connect
modern youth with their rural counterparts and to help them understand
the importance of engineering in
rural development. Engineering
students should be encouraged to
be part of dissemination programs.
Colleges can do so by making it
mandatory for students to conduct
workshops and to help implement
RETs in villages. Interaction with
urban students can also be important
in motivating rural people to aim
higher in life and to adopt modern
ways of thinking.
Government rural energy programs can contribute only in a
small way to meet energy needs. In
order to achieve long term sustainable change, work has to be done to
reduce costs, increase efficiency, and

encourage the involvement of more
rural people in the energy movement.
Moreover, to ensure sustainability, a
good feedback system is necessary.
Impact assessment through rural surveys should be implemented and critical evaluation systems for intense
follow up must be in place.

Future Promise and
Opportunities
In the last few years, rise in crude oil
prices has led to a gradual increase
in consumer fuel prices, making
energy less affordable for many
people. As a result, governments
around the world are reducing subsidies on fossil fuels and increasing
investments in alternative energy
technologies. This presents a good
opportunity for promoting the use
of RETs. In India, less than 5%
of the energy needs today are met
by RETs, and most of those RETs
cater to lighting [9]. Therefore,
there are many opportunities for
dissemination of RETs for cooking.
However, it has been recognised
that energy planning at a decentralised level can be more effective
for sustainable rural development
than target based technology specific programs because of the area
specific nature of the rural energy
problem and the variations in the
socio-cultural environments. from
experience, it has been learned
that energy programs can make a
significant impact on rural energy
scenario only if these are integrated
with the development priorities of
rural stakeholders.

Author Information
Shailesh Upadhyay is a Policy
Analyst with the Nuclear Policy
Working Group, University of
California, Berkeley, Berkeley,
CA. Email: shailesh.upadhyay17@
gmail.com.
Ujala Shanker is with the University of California, Berkeley,

Berkeley, CA, ujalashanker@
berkeley.edu.
D.P. Kothari is retired from the
Indian Institute of Technology,
Delhi, India. Email: dkothari@ces.
iitd.ernet.in.

References

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[10] "Scenarios of emission reductions and
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IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

fALL 2013

http://iitd.ernet.in http://wcd.nic.in/gbsummary/ http://www.thehindubusinessline http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ http://petroleum.nic.in/reportprice.pdf http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes http://www.cdm.unfccc http://www.arti-india.org/index2.php

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Fall 2013