Women Entrepreneurship for Energy Democracy

Abstract

As a large percentage of the world's poor come from India, development in India is a key issue, the eradication of poverty is the foundation of the planning process for the economy. Accelerated growth is often the vehicle to eliminate poverty, and adequate energy is central to India’s growth strategies. There is an increasing recognition of the importance of access to clean and reliable energy for poverty alleviation but energy has always been a terrain of struggle, with practices of energy usage, distribution and production shaped by ongoing processes of social and political contestation, in this paper I have talked about empowering women through policies and enabling economic opportunities. Efforts towards sustainable energy delivery must be intensified and accelerated at the national, local and regional levels. A number of small-scale solutions that simultaneously increase women’s opportunities need to be identified, creating a deliberately woman-centred direct sales network to bring the breakthrough potential of clean energy technology to every nook and corner of India. I conclude the paper with; there isn’t ideal policy, but that balancing efficiency and equity suggests policies that encourage an energy democracy, where communities can actively address the impact of their energy needs by being decision makers and owners of efficiency and renewable generation efforts. Current barriers limit true energy democracy. But if we work together to find solutions that support all of us, we can build a just and more sustainable future.