CO2 Emissions Mitigation Potential of Solar Home Lighting Systems in India

The clean development mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol (KP) provides industrialized (Annex-I) countries with an incentive to invest in emission reduction projects in developing (non-Annex-I) countries to achieve a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at lowest cost that also promotes sustainable development in the host country. Solar home lighting systems (SHSs) could be of interest under the CDM because they directly displace greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while contributing to sustainable rural development, if developed correctly. In this study an attempt has been made to estimate the CO2 emissions mitigation potential of SHSs projects under CDM in India. It is observed that annual CER volumes could reach 0.5 to 1.4 million by 2012 and 3.7 to 9.0 million by 2020. This would require that the government sets the subsidy level for SHSs at a level that allows them to become viable with the CER revenue. From a macro-economic point of view this makes sense if the sustainability benefits are deemed sufficiently high to warrant promotion of this project type.