From India To Europe - This Cyclist On A Solar Powered Mission

The summer of 2016 we saw Sushil Reddy, 27, embark on a 79 day journey across the North West of India. This region typically gets a lot of bikers, folks astride their Bullets thumping their way through the beautiful scenery of states, like, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, but this trip was a wee bit different for our man Sushil. His concern wasn’t taking in the scenery, it was spreading the message of solar powered energy, which he both literally and figuratively pedalled 7424 kilometres across India in the blazing heat.

This young man’s trip was so long it even earned him a Guinness World Record for the longest journey on a motorized bicycle. On this pretty epic journey Sushil and his team stopped in schools and villages, spreading knowledge about the benefits of solar energy to many people who had no idea such technology existed. The best part is, this 2013 Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) graduate is ready to jump back up on the saddle this year.

Although, Sushil is still in the planning stages for his next education-inspired adventure, he plans to take his message abroad through the months of May, June and July. Moreover, his aim this trip is less about accomplishing a feat of physicality, like his last journey, and more about achieving progress in the adoption of solar energy. “This trip is more about going to universities and starting debates about solar projects in the long term. Spreading awareness is more important than a record”.

One destination Sushil is sure of is France. The Sun Trip Tour has invited the lad to join their annual 14 day and 1100 kilometre solar cycle ride. The tour takes place on the 8th through the 21st of July 2017, and according to The Sun Trip Tour it will take him from the Forez mountains to the Col de l’Iseran (highest paved pass in Europe) through Ardeche, Vercors and Chartreuse mountains while swinging by in two neighboring countries, Switzerland and Italy.

Sushil explains this trips is all about gaining knowledge on implementation techniques. “The ride I did in India was for a different kind of audience. I’m sure many people there (USA and France) have a better basic knowledge of solar energy. What I want to work on is the implementation side, so it can impact the entire world”. In Sushil’s mind he is trying to kill two birds with one stone. Firstly, he wants to help like-minded people spread awareness of the benefits of solar power. Secondly, he wants to gain knowledge regarding how India can adopt some of these techniques.

For Sushil, the end goal is for “developed nations and developing nation to work together”. He explains, “by 2022 India has a goal of producing 100,000 megawatts of solar energy. If similar projects are taken up in the west, we can impact the entire world”.

Sushil concedes that, “100,000 megawatts is a very ambitious target,’ adding that India is currently only producing, ‘about 9,000 megawatts”. However, he believes this target starts with awareness.

“People should be skilled in the engineering, marketing and sales of solar energy. Raising awareness through workshops for university students and school children can lead to a lot of careers in solar energy”. Sushil is adamant that this is the best way to reach India’s set target and is working on developing workshops with IIT professors and students. If these workshops go smoothly the young advocate for solar energy hopes to return to spreading awareness in villages, so India can gain a grassroots level of understanding the benefits of solar adoption.

The one daunting caveut on the horizon is, of course, the initial cost of investing in solar. “The main problem is the cost, as the initial investment in solar is very high and is a luxury for many”. Still, the bright, young man is no defeatist, saying “however, if more and more people start using it and see the advantages, the cost automatically will start coming down”.

Well, it’s gonna be a long road ahead for Sushil, as he travels the world extolling the virtues of using solar energy. All we can say is that seeing such devotion and determination from India’s youth fortifies our belief that one day solar will become a widely adopted source of energy in both India and the rest of the world.