In 2016, Mumbai-born engineer Sushil Reddy set off around India on a solar-powered electric bike. His aim: to raise awareness of solar power and the pressing need for society to shift to more sustainable sources of energy.
His maiden journey took him on a nine-state, 7,500km circumnavigation of his home country. On the way he met thousands of people – villagers, farmers, motorists, businesses – and engaged them in conversations about solar energy and its many benefits. He even earned himself a Guinness World Record for the longest journey on a solar-powered electric bike.
Since his first epic ‘SunPedal Ride’ voyage, Sushil has been on several more adventures on his e-bike, including in the USA, France and, in 2018, Iceland. Adventure Uncovered caught up with Sushil in early 2019, fresh from completing a 15-day ride in the city of Bengaluru, southern India.
Adventure Uncovered: What was the original thinking behind the SunPedal Ride?
Sushil Reddy: After graduating I worked in a solar energy company installing solar rooftop plants in Mumbai and some parts of south and north India as well.
Whilst working in this sector, I realised that there’s a lack of awareness about solar energy, and how it is beneficial to people. Not only how it is beneficial to them on the technical side, but also the business and economic side of it, because there’s a misconception among people that solar is very expensive due to its upfront cost. But it does give back over the long term.
This lack of awareness of basic facts about solar energy in India prompted me to start a cause in India to raise awareness about solar energy. The idea was to go on a tour across the sunniest states – Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Madar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Initially the plan was to go in a car or in a bus with a group of people and host seminars and workshops across universities or villages, towns and talk to people on the road and tell them about what solar energy is.
And then we decided to make it interesting and added the solar powered electric bike, because the idea was to raise awareness about solar energy, which is a more sustainable form of energy. So we thought, if you’re doing such a cause, let’s do it in a sustainable way, not in a bus or car which is obviously using fuel from coal or other resources.
We thought biking would be the most sustainable form of transportation. And then we had the idea to use an e-bike and thought of charging the battery using solar energy, since the cause was to promote solar power.
When we spoke to you before, you’d just completed your first ride around India. What’s been happening since then?
I recently completed my 15-day ride on the solar-powered electric bicycle in the city of Bengaluru in the southern part of India. The aim of this ride was to visit schools and corporate organisations in the city to raise awareness about clean energy, electric mobility and clean air. The ride ended in the Intersolar India exhibition and conference where I got to meet and interact with solar industry professionals to discuss possible collaborative efforts with the SunPedal Ride initiative. I got an opportunity to discuss further at the World Sustainable Development Summit in New Delhi recently about possibilities of collaboration with The Energy Resource Institute for outreach and awareness activities. I am currently in Mumbai finishing my Masters thesis to complete my Masters degree in Sustainability at HEC Paris.