The solar charkhas — which feature 12 spindles, double the number on her old wheel — are equipped with a motor and battery pack, and provided along with a 400 watt solar panel. Many women work at home, while others do so at production hubs in their villages which are run by local nonprofits. It is not just cotton spinners and weavers who are benefiting from solar energy in Uttar Pradesh. The Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) said it had installed about 700 megawatts (MW) of solar off-grid capacity. Nonetheless, in the case of the solar charkhas initiative, he hailed their effects on local women in a short space of time.
