The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Dipal Chandra Barua, Founding Managing Director of Grameen Shakti (GS) was awarded the first Zayed Future Energy Prize for his visionary efforts to bring renewable energy solutions to the rural people of Bangladesh.

The award was handed over at a colourful ceremony on January 19 by Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

The award winner Barua has devoted more than 13 years of his life in developing one of the most successful market- based sustainable models to reach the off-grid rural people on a mass scale.

His programs are creating income, green jobs in the rural areas; protecting the environment and health of rural people by replacing kerosene, reducing cutting down of trees and promoting organic fertilizers.

Barua will receive US 1.5 million to help accelerate the development of his programs and ideas.

Under his leadership, his organisation Grameen Shakti has installed more than 200, 000 Solar Home Systems, to become one of the largest and fastest growing Solar PV programs in the world benefiting more than 2 million rural people all over Bangladesh.

The GS now employs 3500 staffs and has an annual budget of US$ 100 million. It has developed a number of other initiatives including a biogas technology that converts cow and poultry wastes into gas for cooking , lighting and fertilizer and also an improved cooking stove program that is protecting women from indoor air pollution and reducing cutting down of trees.

It has installed more than 6000 biogas pants and over 25, 000 improved cooking stoves. In addition, the GS has trained rural women to be solar technicians hereby creating Green Entrepreneurs, according to a press release.

The Zayed Future Energy Prize was launched in January 2008 at the inaugural World Future Energy Summit to honour the legacy of the UAE's late ruler Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and his commitment to environmental sensitivity.

This prize recognises pioneering ambitious ideas that provide us with a more sustainable future. A pool of 204 submissions was received from more than 50 countries from every region of the world. Out of this one winner and finalist were honoured during the award ceremony.

Nobel Laureate Dr Rajendra Pachuri Chairman of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Chairman of the jury of the Zayed Future Energy Prize termed the award as the Nobel for Renewable Energy.

This award will inspire him to reach 50% of Bangladeshis with renewable energy technologies by 2015. He plans to install 1 million Solar Home Systems by 2010 and construct 5 hundred thousand-biogas plants and 10 million Improved Stoves by 2012.

He wants to make Bangladesh a land of renewable energy and set an example to other countries facing the same problem and be a Global Ambassador in the fight against Climate Change.