loader image
Skip to content
Blogs - Efficient Lighting / News and announcements

Press Release

Shell and C-Quest Capital agree funding for an Efficient Lighting Project in India
3 mins

Carbon project developer, C-Quest Capital (CQC) and Shell International Eastern Trading Company (Shell) have agreed the financing for one of the largest household efficiency projects globally. The project, dubbed ‘Project Shine I’, will replace inefficient incandescent light bulbs (ICLs) with energy efficient LED globes across disadvantaged rural, and peri-urban regions of India.

The LEDs we are distributing use up to 90% less energy compared to a standard 100w ICL.” Jake Griffiths, CQC Portfolio Manager, said. “Unfortunately, in the areas we are distributing them people cannot afford to purchase them or there is a lack of accessibility”.

By exchanging old ICLs for LEDs, not only do households gain access to energy efficient technologies which results in economic savings, but we are also able to reduce the amount of waste generated from old globes. This scales over time as LED globes have the potential to replace 10-20 ICLs in their lifetime due to better reliability and resilience to voltage fluctuations”.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) estimates that lighting alone accounts for nearly 5% of global CO2 emissions. Project Shine I will distribute up to 50 million LEDs.

 

“This agreement enables the delivery of LEDs to over 8 million households, avoiding up to 65 million tonnes of CO2e over the length of the project. Working with trusted project developers like CQC, we are able to offer our customers a greater choice of carbon credits, channelling finance to projects that make a verifiable impact on emissions and supporting the growth of the voluntary carbon market.”

Nick Osborne, General Manager of Shell Environmental Products

At scale, the reduced energy consumption from the LEDs will result in significant reductions in peak energy demand and resulting emissions from existing thermal power plants.

Along with significant emissions reductions, beneficiaries of the energy efficient LEDs have received increases in their disposable income as a result of energy bill savings.

LEDs also produce better quality light and less heat, leading to better productivity and health outcomes for recipients from being able to work and study for longer periods of the day with minimal eye strain and increased quality of life. These attributes disproportionately benefit women and girls who are more likely to invest in their education after household labour is complete.

Project Shine I will be verified and validated through VERRA and certified through SDVISta (AMS II.C). The project has sustainable development impact across climate, social, health and economic empowerment, helping address seven of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

About C-Quest Capital:

C-Quest Capital (CQC) is a world-leading carbon project developer whose purpose is to transform the lives of low-income rural families whose health, well-being, and economic welfare are most at risk from climate change. CQC does this by providing access to clean energy technologies and sustainable land-use solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, combat global climate change, and improve the health of those in need.

C-Quest Capital was recently awarded ‘Best Project Developer: Energy Efficiency’ and runner-up for ‘Best Project Developer: Public health’ in Environmental Finance’s Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) Rankings 2022.

CQC was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Washington D.C., USA, with subsidiaries in India, Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia and on-ground teams in Malawi and Zambia. CQC has carbon project operations in over 17 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, Central America, and South and Southeast Asia. CQC’s Transformation Carbon projects have already reduced CO2e emissions by 30 million tonnes and improved the lives of over 30 million people.

About Shell Environmental Products

Shell Environmental Products has almost 20 years’ experience in the compliance and voluntary carbon markets. The team has built a diverse portfolio that offers customers carbon credits from a range of methodologies: from nature-based solutions such as conservation, afforestation and reforestation projects, to renewable energy or cookstove projects.

For more information, go to www.shell.com/environmentalproducts

Shell International Eastern Trading Company is a legal entity through which Shell Environmental Products faces the external world.