The Solar Man of India: Sustainable innovations by a visionary from Bengal - GetBengal Story
Santi Pada Gon Chaudhuri, the Kolkata-based scientist, achieved the title of “Solar Man of India”, delivering his exceptional projects of solar electrification, developing the marginalized areas of India. Solar-powered ATMs, Solar-powered bulbs, Micro Solar Pump, and Micro Solar Dome are some of the remarkable inventions of this Bengal gem.
Being an electrical engineer from Jadavpur University, SP Gon Choudhuri’s academic background is in specialization from Edinburgh University, and he also possesses a Doctorate of Science from Calcutta University.
Mr. Chaudhuri’s 35 years of experience in the renewable-energy sector leave the country to rethink the genius inventions that mainly intend to evolve the country’s growth. He started his journey in this kind of sustainable inventions in 1983 by enlightening dim bulbs using solar power in Herma, a tiny hamlet of Tripura. This invention left all the residents of the hamlet stunned since electricity was considered impossible there. This event worked like a catalyst for Mr. Chaudhuri’s further innovations, and therefore, he got appointed to the North Eastern Council as an advisor. Later, he led a vast project on conventional sources of energy throughout the United States.
Chaudhuri’s journey took another turn when he illuminated Bengal’s rural area of Sundarban with solar grids. Sundarban used to live in the dark until 1994, after which Santi Pada Gon Chaudhuri made his remarkable entry, introducing the Solar Lighting System using a mini-grid concept. His establishment of a solar power plant in Kamalpur Village in the Sagar islands allowed people to enlighten their lives with the help of a local grid for a limited period of time. This was the first time a village in Asia experienced lights leveraging mini-grids.
Another notable innovation of Chaudhuri was the solar water purifier, which was involved in serving clean drinking water via solar power. This solar water purifier needs no external electricity and has the ability to treat water containing suspended particles and bacteria with the help of solar-powered ultraviolet light. This innovation managed to save 30 units of power in a month in exchange for a one-time investment of Rs 40,000. The capacity of these purifiers is around 200 litres, even on cloudy days and can continue up to 3 to 4 days.
The journey did not end here and continued with Micro Solar Power innovation. Mr. Chaudhury has extended his helping hand when various toilets, constructed under the Swachh Bharat Project, became non-functional due to a lack of running water. Gon Choudhuri installed a small micro solar pump to lift water from the nearest water body, which transports the water to a tank above the toilets. This installation ensured water availability at all hours.
Gon Choudhuri also invented the Micro-Solar Dome, a smart device that collects solar energy during the day. It delivers light at night using a solar PV system. It has two domes, one on top and one below and can be installed on any type of roof, including asbestos, clay tiles, concrete, stone, tin, or metal sheets. Notably, the dome also comes with a USB port to assist in charging mobile phones. It gives light during the day and continues to work for up to four hours after sunset.
Talking about the expense, each dome costs about Rs. 1600. However, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy offers a subsidy of Rs. 720 to make it more affordable. About 10,000 domes have been installed in remote tribal areas across more than eleven states till now. Whereas, over 100 domes were also given free of cost to people affected by Cyclone Fani in Odisha.
Janata Solar ATM is another remarkable contribution by Gon Chaudhuri, which helps people who are unable to read or write to withdraw money. This ATM system uses biometric fingerprint recognition.
Currently, this Bengal-gem is working on a new project to accumulate solar energy in water, allowing power to be available 24 hours a day. Also, a prototype of this machine has already been developed, and if successful, it could be a big breakthrough. His team is working on this with Visva-Bharati University and the University of Sheffield.
Being a remarkable scientist, Gon Choudhuri received the Mission Innovation Champion Award in Vancouver for his innovations and contributions to India’s development.
Moreover, Chaudhuri also designed India's first solar housing complex in Kolkata and developed the country’s first solar power plant. Apart from teaching at IIT Shibpur and IIT Kharagpur, he is leading a research centre where 20 young scholars work on new solar ideas.
In addition, he organizes training programs in Agartala and Tripura with the intent to literate the tribal communities about solar energy. Gon Choudhuri is changing lives in rural India and inspiring the next generation to join his mission.
