Contents: Foreword. Preface. 1. Bengal's natural protection: the Sundarbans edge. Interview: V. Subramanian. 2. Folk, flora, fauna: dramatis personae on the sandy stage. Interview: Ajai Vikram Singh. 3. Solarized Sundarbans/S.P. Gon Chaudhuri. 4. Approaches to electrification of remote villages: relevance of the Sundarbans experience/E.V.R. Sastry. 5. Distributed generation and rural electrification in the Sundarbans/Akanksha Chaurey and Parimita Mohanty. 6. Overview of off-grid power supply through renewable energy and its social impact/C.R. Bhattacharjee. 7. Sagar Island's Wind-diesel Hybrid Power Project: a social assessment/Bhaskar Natarajan and Manjushree Banerjee. 8. Wind-diesel hybrid technology/Jan Imhoff C Eng. 9. Sundarbans: an attractive destination for the students of renewable energy/Konrad Blum, Indradip Mitra, and Torsten Broeer. 10. Resolving the energy crisis through tidal power: the ecological challenge/Roshni Sengupta. 11. Renewable energy projects in Sundarbans: a reporter's view/Gautam Gupta.

"Sundarbans-the name itself evokes curiosity and intrigue. Not surprisingly, the Sundarban islands have attracted tourists from far and wide. Literally meaning beautiful forests, the Sundarbans have witnessed winds of change in the last few years. The 54 islands that comprise the Sundarbans are today connected to the mainland through road, rail, and waterways. While a number of islands, with a population close to 2 billion, do not have access to conventional grid electricity, the successful implementation of new and renewable energy projects has quite literally lighted up the lives of the residents of the Sundarban Islands.

Sundarbans is a region that stands out as being vulnerable to the impacts of climate change including drastic sea level rise. However, the population of Sundarbans is blissfully unaware of the perils facing them. As such, they have shown tremendous faith in the efficacy of renewable energy sources. The success has been so remarkable that the Sundarbans may be considered a rather unique hub of stand-alone renewable energy systems.

This book provides a detailed insight into the entire renewable energy programme in the Sundarban islands. Beginning with the conceptual stage, the book goes on to describe the programme in its entirety, aided by interviews and visuals. Written in a succinct and pithy style, the book is aimed at students as well as non-specialist readers. It has been authored by technocrats, researchers, students, renewable energy entrepreneurs, reporters, and professional writers."