Bengaluru: SELCO has announced Richard Hansen, founder-president of Soluz Inc., as the winner of the Surya Mitra 2023 award.
Hansen is known for playing a crucial role in rural electrification in developing countries, pioneering the application of photovoltaic (PV) technology combined with microfinance.
Hansen founded Soluz Inc., a Massachusetts corporation, in 1993 to assist global transition to sustainable energy. The next year, he established a not-for-profit program in Honduras in 1994 to commercialise PV for rural electrification.
Hansen has provided advisory services for major institutions including USAID, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank in Bangladesh, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nepal, Nicaragua, and the Philippines. Since 2012, the Surya Mitra Award is awarded to exceptional individuals or institutions for their exceptional work in the field of sustainable development and for impacting the lives rural populations. The award ceremony is scheduled for May 27 at the Chowdaiah Memorial Hall, Vyalikaval.