Nearly 40% of the food that India produces is either lost or wasted, WUR reported in its study. This comes as a shocker when you realize that over 194 million people in the country are undernourished. What’s more shocking is that India produces food that is sufficient to feed everyone. Yet, where does it go wrong?
You see, the majority of food waste in India happens due to a lack of accessibility to cold storage facilities for farmers. Cold storage needs air-conditioned godowns to store perishable food, which is a challenge owing to the shortage of power supply in the rural parts of the country. To avoid massive food wastage through affordable storage places, solar refrigeration in India will play a critical role.
Role of solar refrigeration for food storage
Solar-powered refrigerators are refrigerators that rely on the sun’s energy to power the cooling system. It reduces the dependency on electricity produced from coal and other non-renewable sources. There has been a constant uptick in demand for solar refrigeration in India across industries from storing farm-produced perishable foods to vaccines. Its global market is expected to be worth $990 mn by 2025, according to Allied Market Research.
Solar refrigeration has a significant role to play in not just building a sustainable supply chain with reduced food spoilage but also improving farmers’ income. It is also expected to address the issue of greenhouse emissions since food waste contributes to an 8% increase in emissions.
Rise of solar refrigeration in India
The necessity of tapping into renewable energy is only increasing with the rising temperature of the earth. However, the challenge was to identify the most practical and dependable renewable source to produce clean and cost-effective energy. Due to its geographical location, India has an advantage with solar energy.
As per various studies, solar power in India has grown 18 times in just 7.5 years. With the Indian government pushing to make solar a mainstream power source, India is estimated to see a solar market growth of 40% between 2020 and 2025.
Solar refrigeration in India is likely to bring a new revolution in ensuring sustainability in the supply chain reducing food wastage by offering affordable cold storage for perishable food.
Benefits of solar refrigerators for food storage
Reduction in environmental contamination
The lack of sustainable cold storage systems to store food impacts the environment in a two-pronged manner as discussed earlier. It leads to food wastage, which could have been used to save millions of people starving to death. It also increases greenhouse gas emissions, which accelerates global warming. This in turn affects food production through disruptive weather conditions like floods and droughts.
Using solar refrigeration in India isn’t just about storing food sustainably but also saving the environment.
Saves substantial costs for everyone
Solar refrigerators like the Convertible Solar Freezers by Rockwell can save farmers and everyone involved in the supply chain a significant amount in operational costs. Although initially, it will require a bit of an investment, it will become the most cost-effective way of producing power. It can eliminate electricity bills over time giving you the best return on investment.
Presents a reliable source of food storage
Farmers depend solely on electricity or diesel to power the cold storage units that store their food. This is not only expensive but also unreliable. Power outages in rural areas are a well-documented fact. In addition to that, the unpredictability of oil prices affects the food storage. Solar refrigerators, on the other hand, have reliable and uninterrupted sources of energy, so farmers don’t have to look elsewhere to bring their produce to the markets as fresh as they were when harvested.
Conclusion
The challenges discussed above clearly underline the importance of solar refrigeration in India. It creates a sustainable supply chain for food, while also contributing to slowing down global warming. Primarily, it will give farmers independence from electricity and empower them to store their produce regardless of electric supply.
In India, there are very few refrigerator manufacturers that offer solar refrigerators. One of them is Rockwell. It offers Convertible Solar Freezers that require no electricity and are fully off-grid. It gives you about 36 hours of operation without any sunlight making it perfect for rural areas where electricity may be an issue.