SBA Hydro

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SBA Hydro partners with local residents in the Himalaya Mountains to develop micro-hydropower stations in India.

SBA Hydro’s impact in rural India:

• The company has developed a customizable, flexible-use hydroelectric turbine and is coupling this technology with a cooperative-based approach to implement village-based hydroelectric projects.

• The company supplies electricity to remote villages in the Himalayas that previously suffered long periods of blackouts and relied on polluting diesel generators for much of their power needs.

• SBA Hydro meets the electricity needs of over 2,500 rural households, enabling villagers to set up micro-enterprises and crop-processing facilities.

Market Opportunity:

• 56% of rural households that do not have access to electricity (RGGVY) and there is push by the Indian government to fill the need with renewable energy.

• SBA Hydro was established to harness the underutilized resources of the streams of the Himalayan Mountains to produce clean energy.

• The SBA Hydro team is from northern India, where they saw the rural unemployment not as a problem, but as an opportunity to train local plant operators.

Unique Business Solution:

Business Model: SBA Hydro partners with local residents in the Himalaya Mountains to develop micro-hydropower stations. SBA trains local staff to plan, construct and operate the station, funds the development of the station and after a period of about 10 years transfers the station fully to the local community. SBA Hydro sells electricity to the national grid.

Competitive Advantage:

• SBA engineers have more than 40 years of experience in hydropower plant design and construction.

• SBA trains local operators for the hydropower installations, creating a community commitment to operating and maintaining the stations.

• SBA has a strong network within the rural communities and within the Indian government.

Environmental & Social Impacts:

• Every micro-hydropower station of 100 kW capacity generates about 600,000 kWh of electrical energy every year.

• Each micro-hydropower station trains and employs 10 local stakeholders.

Successes:

• SBA Hydro group has two micro-power installations in operation, generating a total of 1,200 MWh of electricity every year and providing jobs for 20 local employees.

• From all of their operations, SBA has sold 60 million kWh of electrical energy back to the national grid, increasing the amount of sustainably generated electricity used in India.

Future Plans & Challenges:

• SBA Hydro aims to establish 10 new micro-hydropower stations every year.

• Through their decades of experience with the government, they have developed strategies for streamlining their permit process.

Partnering with New Ventures:

• SBA was featured during the New Ventures India Investor Forum and was able to raise funding from contacts made at the forum.

Financial information on this company has not been included for confidentiality reasons. Please click here to learn how you can receive more information about this company.

Profile updated: March 2011