Energy Efficiency in Small and Medium Enterprises: The Pottery Sector in Khurja, India
Khurja’s Pottery industry is old and is still largely based on downdraft coal-based kilns (see picture below).
There is an urgent need to modernise the kilns in to gas, electric and diesel fired kilns. The industry is very keen to get gas
and is of the opinion that if gas can be made available to them it will not only help in containing the pollution problem but also
help them modernise their plants and enable them face tough competition from foreign industries by making its product of
much better quality
THE PROJECT SEEKS TO ANSWER THESE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:
How to choose appropriate technology
What is the present adoption and diffusion of cleaner EE processes?
What are the barriers to adoption?
How can the adoption process be accelerated and made more sustainable?
What will be the impacts of energy efficient technological changes on energy consumption, production, sales, economic efficiency, and poverty?
Downdraft Kiln
The project aim is to explore approaches to promote energy efficiency in small and medium industry sectors in India and Ghana. In order to make the appropriate linkages in our discussion between energy efficiency and poverty, we will address several issues. First, we have to establish the meaning and operational definitions of poverty. Then we will explore the causal factors that have an impact on poverty status, alternate development paths and measures that reduce poverty. Separately, we have to examine the role of energy in any development path which may be adopted and determine whether energy is a principal factor which can promote the desired path, and, whether there are preferred and less preferred energy options for the development strategy.
We can then determine whether and in which ways any improvement in energy efficiency in economic sectors contributes or can contribute to a reduction in poverty. Once the links between poverty, appropriate development strategies and energy and its efficient use are established, we still need to examine whether the focus on small and medium enterprises is a valid one. So we need to review the specific advantages and disadvantages of SMMEs and their economic performance within a poverty reduction development path.
If we do find a causal link between the several different concepts, there are several new issues that will need to be explored. One is the extent to which this particular project can contribute to poverty reduction and how that can be measured. Another issue is, if there are several alternative ways to achieve the same energy efficiency goals, or if the selection of an alternate sample of beneficiary groups creates a differential impact on poverty, then which strategy should be preferred. This question of strategy can be addressed at a larger level with regard to the overall policy of DFID and it can also be addressed at a more micro level with regard to the project boundaries and sub objectives. It will become clear that the answers at the larger program level can well be different than at the project level.
This project is funded by DFID
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