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RENEWABLE ENERGY POWER PROJECTS UNDER

DDG SCHEME for RURAL ELECTRIFICATION in

INDIA

Mohit Sharma (Trendster / Trendy Baba)

© All rights reserved, Mohit Sharma

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Executive Summary………………………………………………….Page 4

Preface……………………………………………………………………… Page 5

1. Introduction……………………………………………… Page 6

2. Rural India and energy……………………………… Page 11

3. Barriers to Energy Access For Rural Masses… Page 15

4. Government Initiative……………………………… Page 18

5. Approach for meeting rural energy need… Page 20

6. Renewable Energy………………………………… Page 25

7. Solar Power - Bridge to Future………………. Page 27

8. Other Renewable Energy………………………… Page 31

9. Distributed Decentralized Generation Based Power Plan – P. 35

10. Understanding Bihar…………………………………….. Page 37

11. Concept of Distributed Generation…………………Page 59

12. Origin of Study…………………………………………………Page 60

13. Renewable Energy Technologies as DDG…………Page 62

14. NEW INNOVATION IN OFF GRID TECHNOLOGY……Page 65

15. The BIOMASS GASIFIER TECHNOLOGY………Page 69

16. BARRIERS……………………………………………………Page 71

17. The BUSINESS MODEL FOR GAYA SYSTEM……Page 75

18. Penetration of DDG………………………………………..Page 81

19. Conclusion……………………………………………………..Page 85

20. References……………………………………………………..Page 86

CONTENTS

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The reach of power (energy) in India is limited and there are certain areas where to install a new

renewable energy based plant is better than connecting it to the conventional power lines. People of

many villages and remote areas have not availed the benefits of electricity which affects their

standard of living. To increase the growth of power reach through small off-grid projects

government initiated few plans, schemes encouraging private companies to enter in this sector. The

Green Mantra (Environmental Carbon Solutions Pvt. Ltd.) is setting up renewable energy based

power projects in Bihar, Orissa and North Eastern States. The project covered is a 750 kw hybrid

power project of Biomass and Solar energy in a cluster of 19 villages located in Gaya district of

Bihar. It also covers the common areas related to usage of renewable energy in Orissa and North

East India.

Objective of Research

As demand for energy is increasing around the world & in India so there is a positive growth trend

is coming in the renewable energy sector also. There are many rural and remote areas which are

energy deficient. So, private companies are encouraged by Government creating opportunities by

various governmental schemes like Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojna, Distributed

Decentralized Generation and support in finance, distribution, technology, land, etc. As every area

has its dynamics and differs from others in terms of topography, density of population and energy

needs, there is a need of study for specific features related to the target are (a cluster of 19 villages

in Gaya, Bihar requiring about 750kw Plant) with the help of surveys, financial tools and earlier

standards.

Approach

Indian solar and non solar market were focused. REC‟s are traded trough any CERC approved

power exchanges. With increasing involvement of private players many schemes are yet to be fully

exploited to avail the maximum profit from such Projects. Assumptions of various permutations-

combinations on the basis of available data is also performed to make the results comparable.

Comparison with alternatives like Small Hydro, Wind is also carried out.

Primary and Secondary research method has used in the project.

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Power is the life blood of a developing economy. India is currently in a state of burgeoning

economic development. But the power scenario in India still has a long way to go. The government

policies are well in place to take care of the power requirements of the country at a macro

level. However, the issue of Energy Access at the grass root level still remains a cause of

major concern.

The modern day power system is undergoing rapid and dynamic metamorphosis from the

legacy system, in the direction of an intelligent power system. The use of renewable energy

resources as distributed generation at the sub-transmission / distribution level is on the rise

alongside advances in the efficiency of associated technologies and automation of the power

sector. Renewable energy resources (RERs) such as wind and photovoltaic (PV) technologies

that are time variant are planned for meeting variation of loads. PV and wind technologies

are two technologies that have seen the most significant growth for use and distributed sources.

The rural parts of the country still remain largely devoid of an efficient power infrastructure.

Research and policy implementation at this level can strengthen the power position of the country

at the ground level. Rural India is the backbone of India‟s economy. Nearly 70% of India‟s

population lives in villages and agricultural is the main support for their livelihood. It is, therefore,

ironical that India‟s rural population shares a much larger burden of poverty as well as energy

poverty. Eradicating energy poverty requires that adequate infrastructure is put in place so that

power can reach the corners of the country. Moreover, this power must be clean enough to be

environmentally acceptable, affordable by the people and also feasible to implement. Most of these

criteria are satisfied by Renewable Energy. Also, renewable energy can be implemented in a

distributed format which makes it more suitable for providing power to areas with difficult

geographical accessibility. This report looks at the providing energy access to the rural part of the

country through renewable energy especially through DDG Scheme.

With vast diversity of our rural population in physical, social, cultural, educational, and economic

background, the solution would need to be developed on case by case matching with the

peculiarities of a particular region. Eradicating energy poverty requires that adequate infrastructure

is put in place so that power can reach the corners of the country. Moreover, this power must be

clean enough to be environmentally acceptable, affordable by the people and also feasible to

implement. Most of these criteria are satisfied by Renewable Energy. Also, renewable energy can

be implemented in a distributed format which makes it more suitable for providing power to areas

Preface

PREFACE

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with difficult geographical accessibility. This report looks at the providing energy access to the

rural part of the country through renewable energy.

This report is a comprehensive effort, at macro level, to make an assessment of the current scenario

of energy access to the rural population, what should be our objectives and targets to remove the

rural energy poverty and how we can meet the challenges encountered and accomplish this

stupendous but important task. In such effort, the report identifies the vital role renewable offer.

INTRODUCTION

Energy is a basic necessity for human activity and economic and social development. Yet global

strategies for how to meet this basic need for the world's rapidly growing population are sorely

lacking. Lack of energy services is directly correlated with key elements of poverty, including low

education levels, restriction of opportunity to subsistence activity, and conflict. Rural electrification

is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Electricity is used not only

for lighting and household purposes, but it also allows for mechanization of many farming

operations, such as threshing, milking, and hoisting grain for storage. In areas facing labor

shortages, this allows for greater productivity at reduced cost. One famous program was the New

Deal's Rural Electrification Administration in the United States, which pioneered many of the

schemes still practiced in other countries. According to IEA (2009) worldwide 1.456 billion people

do not have access to electricity, of which 83% live in rural areas. In Sub-Saharan Africa less than

10% of the rural population has access to electricity. Worldwide rural electrification progresses

only slowly.

In impoverished and undeveloped areas, small amounts of electricity can free large amounts of human

time and labor. In the poorest areas, people carry water and fuel by hand, their food storage may be

limited, and their activity is limited to daylight hours. Adding electric-powered wells for clean water can

prevent many water-borne diseases, e.g. dysentery, by reducing or eliminating direct contact between

people (hands) and the water supply. Refrigerators increase the length of time that food can be stored,

potentially reducing hunger, while evening lighting can lengthen a community's daylight hours allowing

more time for productivity.

Indian Context, over 400 million Indians have no access to electricity.

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The problem is not one of distribution, but of provision. Many people attempt to steal electric power. The electric company then responds with punitive "tampering tariffs" that require charge legitimate users for electricity that fraudulent connections and meters might have stolen. These very high tariffs are resisted by all but the wealthiest users. The result is that the underfunded electric power company reduces service to the amount of electricity it can afford to produce. The electric companies therefore also prefer to serve large institutional customers that pay their bills.

Developments on cheap solar technology is considered a potential alternative that allows an electricity infrastructure consisting of a network of local-grid clusters with distributed electricity generation. That could allow bypassing, or at least relieving the need of installing expensive, and lossy, long-distance centralised power delivery systems and yet bring cheap electricity to the masses.

India's government has proposed legislation to compel village leaders to operate local generators run from biomass (see links). Locally-controlled generation is preferable to distant generation because the fuel, billing and controls for the generator will then be controlled by the villagers themselves, and they are thought more likely to come to an equitable arrangement among themselves.

Distributed generation throughout the power system, real time voltage and angle measurements

together with integrated two-way communication are all recently introduced components of the

power system. These serve to greatly improve power system‟s reliability and performance.

These advancements are being implemented at the transmission, sub-transmission and

distribution levels of the electric power system, with the objective of increasing the stability,

invulnerability, reliability and adequacy in meeting the increasing power demands.

The move toward sustainable and renewable energy technologies is evident due to the various

policies favoring the Renwable Energy Sector such as JNNSM, RPO(Renwable Purchase

Obligation). The use of renewable energy resources as distributed generators (DGs) at the sub-

transmission / distribution level is on the increase alongside advances in the efficiency of

associated technologies. These technologies provide sustainable and environmental feasible

alternatives for energy production that have the additional advantage of reducing the dependability

of the grid on imported fossil fuels and large central generation Photovoltaic, wind

technology, biomass are amongst these technologies.

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There are measurable impacts of the penetration of these renewable energy resources (RERs) on

the electric grid; they impact the power quality, reliability, stability and safety of the electric

power supply. In the present day distribution system, there is an increased instance of DG

penetration into the network, with measureable impacts on the system. PV and wind technologies

are two technologies that have seen the most significant growth for use and distributed sources as

shown in Figures.

FIGURES: TRENDS IN GROWTH IN GENERATION CAPACITY OF PHOTOVOLTAIC AND WIND

1. Energy Access & Energy Poverty

Access to energy services is a key component of alleviating poverty and an indispensable element

of sustainable human development. Without access to modern, commercial energy, poor countries

can be trapped in a vicious circle of poverty, social instability and underdevelopment.

During the past twenty-five years, electricity supplies have been extended to 1.3 billion people

living in developing countries. Yet despite these advances, roughly 1.6 billion people, which is one

quarter of the global population, still have no access to electricity and some 2.4 billion people rely

on traditional biomass, including wood, agricultural residues and dung, for cooking and heating.

More than 99 percent of people without electricity live in developing regions, and four out of five

live in rural areas of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

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Despite advances in areas such as rural electrification, the number of people lacking access to

energy services has remained relatively constant due to increases in population. The total number

of people without electricity has fallen by fewer than 500 million since 1990. Without modern

energy services, millions of women and children face debilitating illness or premature death; basic

social goods like health care and education are more costly in both real and human terms, and

economic development is harder to perpetuate. The services that energy enables, such as electricity,

can create conditions for improved living standards, especially in areas of public health, education,

and family life.

Electricity allows tasks previously performed by hand or animal power to be done much more

quickly with electric powered machines. Electric lighting allows individuals to extend the length of

time spent on production and hence on income producing activities. It also allows children time to

read or do homework and access to television and film, which opens rural residents to new

information that can instill the idea of change and the potential for self -improvement. Modern

liquid fuels permit modern modes of transportation that cut the cost, both monetary and in time, of

travel to nearby towns where, again, individuals are exposed to different ways of doing things and

different views. Faster and cheaper transportation can increase the reliability of supply of modern

fuels, reducing the need to maintain supplies of firewood as a back up and facilitating movements

up the energy ladder.

India has experienced rapid economic growth over the past decade, with an expanding middle

class larger than the population of the United States. In 2000, the population grew at a rate of

over 6 per cent, which required a rate of 9 per cent of energy growth . In the past 20 years alone,

urbanization has driven a 208% growth in India’s energy consumption. Under these conditions, it

is imperative that India meets its growing energy necessities in a self-reliant, sustainable manner.

However, providing 1 billion plus people with a constant energy supply is very difficult, especially

for a developing country facing rising gas prices.

More than 18,000 villages live without electricity in India; according to the International Energy

Agency, 404.5 million people do not have access to energy. Many who do receive electricity face

constant blackouts and uncertainties of a steady energy supply from their utility company?

Erratic voltage levels and an unreliable power supply are major problems, due to the inadequate

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energy supply and ageing transmission leading to power cuts . Rural areas face serious problems

with the reliability of power supply. India’s climatic conditions make it a very suitable place to rely

on renewable energy (RE); with very high solar irradiationnsolation levels and 45,000 megavolts

megawatts (MWV) of possible wind capacity, RE business growth has much potential. The Indian

economy also depends heavily on agricultural production, and the livelihood for a majority of the

population is farming. Installing RE for rural agricultural purposes is necessary to make a

significant impact. Photovoltaic and wind technologies have over the past years revealed an

almost 45% increase in the generation capacity of solar PV technology. This is reflective of a

global growth in the utilization of those technologies.

As the utilization of these resources constantly increases, the use of conventional tools for the

analysis of the power system, even with significant RERs penetration persists. For such studies,

assumptions / simplifications are made with regards to the modeling of the RERs technologies.

Advancing the models of these resources for power system studies has been of recent interest

with several works being conducted in this area for the various technologies.

2. RURAL INDIA AND ENERGY

Energy Poverty Is Universal

As per one estimate, globally, 1.6 billion people (1/3 humanity) have no access to electricity; 80%

of energy poverty is in rural areas of developing world.

Worldwide, more than 3 billion people depend on dirty, harmful solid fuels to meet their basic

energy needs like cooking. Some 2.4 billion people rely on traditional biomass i.e. wood,

agricultural residues and dung cake for cooking and heating. The Indian situation is no better.

India

With its large rural population of (70% of the total population) living in villages and being poor,

India is one of the worst affected developing countries suffering from energy poverty. As per the

data of 2004 (which might have only changed marginally as a result of various initiatives taken by

the Govt.), 26% villages (56.5% households)3 had no access to electricity; An ambitious scheme

launched in 2004, Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyuteekaran Yojana (RGGVY) targets to achieve

100% village electrification by 2012 (originally by 2010).

Energy Poverty impacts in several ways

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Social Dimension: Energy poverty is the main reason for rural poverty which in turn, give rise to

health issues, Up to 95% of rural energy needs are being met by inefficient burning of fuelwood,

dung cake and plant wastes and is used for meeting the basic needs of cooking, heating and

lighting, there being nothing left for productive use. These result in high pollution levels in low

income dwellings with consequent health issues propping up.

Economic Dimension: Lack of affordable and reliable energy restricts the income levels and

industrial/commercial activity leading to economic stagnation or slow growth.

Environmental Dimension: In the absence of affordable modern energy, there is no alternative to

the manner of use of energy natural sources, which results in huge pressure on the environment in

general.

Years ago, development experts thought industrialized countries should harness and drive

research, while developing countries focus on raising basic education and literary skills. India is

unique, in that it created world-class educational institutions (e.g. Indian Institute for Technology

- IIT) during a time when most of the country was impoverished. The investments made in the

scientific research capacity from IIT schools have led to a new generation of information

technology engineers that have orchestrated India’s IT boom. Now these same research

institutions are discovering technology that creates renewable and efficient energy. Ever since the

liberalization of India’s market, the government in the nineties formulated a great number of

policies to promote RE, including technology transfer. It is imperative for the GoI to balance the

amount of R&D on the national level and imported technology. Not only would India be proving

to the world that a developing country can utilize renewable energy options, but developed

countries would no longer be able to make the argument that international carbon reduction

treaties should not be pursued because of the lack of restrictions on developing countries.India is

proving its leadership and takes up the task of providing its citizens with steady, reliable and clean

energy, but more can still be done.

However, the reduction of RE prices and mass production should not be done to the detriment of

quality. Indian industry, which has cultivated an image of quality in other sectors, would be well

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advised to apply the same standards to RE technologies. Several local producers have been

recently criticized and some experts have expressed doubts on the quality of the new installations

following the implementation of Indian Solar Plan. In this framework, local authorities have a role

to play in imposing internationally agreed standards in their own markets as well for exports. This

will have a mid-long term important influence on the local markets (systems working as planned

over 20-25 years), as well as on the image of the technology and the industry.

The recent major cost decreases of RE is opening up market niches; utilizing the full potential of

these niches must be realized. Currently, the RE market in India is over US$2.2 billion, and is

growing at 15 per cent every year. Non-governmental Organizations should be also utilized

during RE project implementation and public-private partnerships between governments and the

private sector can link policy changes with private financing to promote RE. International lending

organizations, such as the World Bank and the ADB assistance are still greatly needed for RE

implementation, particularly for off-grid. The Banks can help create the right environment for the

private sector to invest in RE technology, implementation, and maintenance.

India is an agricultural nation, yet the farmers and the rural poor remain the underserved. Klaus

Toepfer, the former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program, has once

said, “These countries need greatly expanded energy services to help in the fight against poverty

and to power sustainable development”. The benefits of RE in rural Indian communities are

tremendous; RE not only expands energy generation and greenhouse gas mitigation, but also

contributes to improvements in local environment, drought control, energy conservation,

employment generation, health and hygiene, social welfare, security of drinking water, and

increased agricultural yield . Implementing wind farms and solar power in villages brings

development in the form of infrastructure, efficient agriculture, and an overall better quality of

life for the rural people. Thus, the broader developmental goals, such as poverty alleviation,

sustainable development and employment generation should be integrated into the RE programs

while seeking direct support under bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The GoI, NGOs, the

international community, private businesses, and the villagers themselves all have a significant

part to play in creating this better life, and must work together in order to do so.

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Complexity of Energy needs of rural India

The energy needs of rural India, as seen in totality, are much more complex and are unlikely to be

fully or substantially addressed by 100% village electrification.

Such complexity is the result of large population, majority being poor with no capacity to pay for

the cost of energy and the only energy in use i.e. fuel wood for cooking being availed without any

financial cost personal human labor, the grid extension to the villages, even if materializes, would

be of limited help as there is large gap between supply and demand, quality and timing of supply

to the rural areas, high T&D losses and large component of hidden cost involved in such supply,

which would justify use of local energy resources than to rely on grid power for the rural

population.

About 75% of Energy in Rural India required only for Cooking and Lighting, largely met

by locally available bio mass and kerosene, supplemented by electricity from grid.

75% use biomass (firewood), 10% use dung-cake and only 5% use LPG for cooking

50% use kerosene and 48% grid electricity for lighting.

Agriculture is second largest rural energy demand , Electricity and Diesel are the main

sources

Human and Animal Energy is major source for domestic, agriculture and several other

requirements. Women and Energy have strong relationship in rural India. Drudgery of

women and children, Health Issues due to inefficient use of biomass and lack of ventilation

The Rural Poor

The Economic Poverty and Energy Poverty seem to be going hand in hand. It is difficult to make a

conclusive determination which one drives the other.

Let us take a look at the typical characteristics of the rural poor household. These are:

• The family consists of more than 5 members.

• It has no or limited land or livestock as its assets.

• It has limited or no other assets or equipment, it may be living in a self built Kachcha (temporary)

house.

• It has no access to electricity, either no grid connectivity or not being able to afford the cost

thereof.

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• It depends on water from, hand pump, pond or well, irrespective of whether the water is fully

potable or needs some treatment for making it fit for drinking.

• It depends on rudimentary cooking processes and equipment, typically the three stone chulha

(cook stove).

• The family survives on a single or two persons working as daily Wage Labor.

• It is substantially dependent on natural resources and hence is sensitive to earning shocks.

• It may be spending up to 70% of the budget on food expenditure, mainly rice and other staples,

unlikely to provide the minimum essential nutrients.

• The energy needs are predominantly met by women folk (who may at times be assisted by young

children) for fetching wood, biomass or dung and making dung cake for cooking and other needs.

Thus, Women and Energy have strong relationship in rural India in arranging and using energy.

• Drudgery of women and children can be well imagined who need to collect biomass on their

heads almost on daily basis to be able to cook their daily food. Thus, there is no time or energy left

with them for to pursue income generating activity or education.

3. BARRIERS TO ENERGY ACCESS FOR RURAL MASSES

The barriers or constraints to Energy Access to Rural Masses have their origins in economic,

social, technological and financial limitations coupled with inadequate focus by the planners,

Governments and national and international development organizations on the issues involved.

Some of the major barriers to Energy Access for Rural Masses are:

Geographically dispersed villages

Inadequate focus on local resources

Inadequate financing structures

Inadequate Interest of private sector

Unsustainable initiatives

Need for better monitoring

Ineffective targeting of subsidies

Affordability of Energy cost

Remote locations

Availability of ready to use technology.

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Energy crops competing with food crops

Funding Gap

Ability to pay

Sustainability of Renewable

Subsidies

The recent increase in the integration of renewable energy technologies into the electric

power system, has led to the development of a methodology for the optimal use of these

resources within the Power System that takes into consideration the variability of these

resources. Though there is presently, integration at the transmission, sub-transmission and

distribution level of the system, the use of distributed generators at the customer /load-end of

the distribution system is of particular concern.

The engineering problem is the development of a comprehensive scheme for the optimal

utilization of RERs technologies at the distribution level with consideration as to the impact of

these technologies on the reliability of the system. This work involves the development of

suitable models that account for the variability of the sources and consideration of the variability

of the loads at the distribution level.

The underlying benefits of this research are linked to the utilization of renewable energy

technologies as distributed generation. This provides the benefit of providing additional

generation without the large investment that would be associated with central generation

expansion; is accompanied by the relatively low efficiency, and cost of investment with regards

to the installation of these sustainable energy technologies and their associated electronic and

storage components. To ensure that the resources are use optimally within the confines of the

application, it is important that the implications of these resources are comprehensively studied

with consideration of their limitations such as variability.

Within this work the major solutions to be developed are:

i. The selection and implementation of a suitable yet simplistic model for the renewable

energy technologies (PV and Wind) to be integrated for power system studies.

ii. The development of an optimization scheme for the optimal switching of the resources

within the distribution system.

iii. The development of a further enhancement scheme that assess the impact of these

resources on the distribution system.

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Conventional placement of DGs has been studied as an optimization problem based on varied

objectives that include loss optimization, cost minimization, economic and operational limits of

the DGs. For the varied objectives, there have also been implemented a host of methodologies

from classical optimization formulations to evolutionary programming computational analysis.

Upon review of existing schemes developed that address the issue of the optimal placement of

conventional DGs with a network, this thesis aims to address the gaps that exists in involving the

variability issues that associated with the sustainable energy sources, PV and Wind.

Another critical issue in the utilization of renewable energy resources within the electric power

system is the various operation modes that exist; these technologies can be used for stand- alone

as well as grid connected applications. There is thus need for the extension of the studies to the

various grid connected operation modes for the distribution system.

Figure 1 demonstrates the inter-relation of the major components of the study conducted within

the report.

Figure 1 OVERVIEW OF REPORT OBJECTIVE

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4. GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

The Govt. of India as well as the State Governments has taken several initiatives to meet the energy

needs of the rural population. Some of these initiatives are discussed below.

RAJIV GANDHI GRAMEEN VIDYUTIKARAN YOJANA (RGGVY)- Ministry of Power, Govt. of India

This is a major national effort to universalize access to electricity – 57% of rural households were

without access in 2001. The program me launched in 2005 targets and achievements:

• 100,000 un-electrified villages.

• 78 million rural households in un-electrified and electrified villages.

• Provides 90% capital subsidy.100% capital subsidy for electrification of Below-Poverty-Line

(BPL) rural households.

• 44,000 villages electrified. Another 22,000 villages covered under intensive electrification. About

2 million connections given.

• USD 1.5 billion invested. Another USD 6.75 billion provided.

• National program me for Franchisee development launched. Franchisees in place in 14 states,

covering 63,000 + villages.

• Generated employment for villagers and improved consumer services.

• Resulted in significant improvement in revenue collection - in some cases more than 100%.

The programme has been in operation ever since its launch in 2005 and has helped in a major way

in rural electrification of India. The program has achieved electrification of about 83% un-

electrified villages by December 2009. Notwithstanding the progress in village electrification

through extension of the grid, the availability of modern energy for the rural poor masses is still

perceived to be a distant dream due to inadequate electricity generation and issues of affordability

for the rural poor.

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Integrated Rural Energy programme (IREP)

IREP aims at promotion of an optimum mix of both conventional and non-conventional

energy sources in selected blocks in the country. Central Sector Component - Provides

grants for support staff in the IREP project cells at the State and Block levels, training of

the staff and extension work. State Sector Outlays - Utilized for the implementation of

IREP Block Energy Plans. IREP is no longer in effect. The program is learnt to have been

of limited success primarily due to the State not having been able to allocate necessary

financial resources for the scheme.

National Biogas & Manure Management Programme

The National Biogas and Manure Management Programme‟ (NBMMP) aims at promotion of

indigenously developed simple-to-construct and easy-to operate family type biogas plants.

Cumulative Installations to over 41.2 lakhs biogas plants for providing clean cooking /lighting fuel

to over 4 million rural houses has been achieved by March 2009.

Solar Thermal Applications in Rural Areas

Solar thermal demonstration programme to promote different types of solar cookers, special

demonstration and pilot projects of solar dryers and solar stills, and demonstration scheme for

North-East, Islands, Jammu & Kashmir and Sikkim for solar water heating systems has been

implemented The programme also provides financial support to the manufacturers of solar cookers

for obtaining BIS approval.

Under the programme, central financial assistance at the rate of Rs.1, 500 per dish cooker and

Rs.15, 000 for community solar cookers is provided. For box type solar cookers, an incentive of

Rs.200 for ISI mark and Rs.100 for other solar cookers is provided to the promoter. As of March

2009, Cumulative Installations for demonstration solar thermal power plants is 6.57 lakh units.

Remote Village Electrification

The Remote village electrification (RVE Program) initiative during 10th plan aimed at providing

basic lighting / electricity facilities to renewable energy sources in remote villages and hamlets

which are not electrified and where grid connectivity is either not feasible or not cost effective. The

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total number of such villages and hamlets so far electrified is 2,300. Nearly, 4 lakh households in

4,237 remote villages and 1142 remote hamlets have so far been provided with solar home lighting

systems.

Biomass based distributed power generation program

Biomass power projects with an aggregate capacity of 703 MW through 102 projects have been

installed. Fuels used in such projects are rice husk, flora and agricultural residues. The Indian

biomass power projects are characterized by a number of innovative features such as use of diverse

range of biomass materials in the same boilers and use of air-cooled condensers, etc.

The promotion of biomass-based power generation in the country is encouraged through conducive

policy at the State and Central levels. The MNRE provides the capital subsidy for biomass and

bagasse cogeneration projects. Fiscal incentives such as accelerated depreciation, concessional

import duty, excise duty exemption, tax holiday for 10 years etc. were continued during the year.

Village Energy Security Program

The Village Energy Security Test Projects (VESP) aim at meeting the total energy requirements,

such as cooking, lighting and motive power of villages, with full participation of the local

communities, including women. The projects are environment-friendly and create avenues for local

employment and improve the quality of life. The activities envisaged under these projects are:

Preparation of a Village Energy Plan, including assessment of resources, energy services required

and configuration of energy production systems; formation of a village energy committee; creation

of a village energy fund; plantations and installation of energy production systems; operation &

maintenance; and capacity building including training.

5. APPROACH FOR MEETING RURAL ENERGY NEEDS

With several variables playing a major role, it would be an easy task to develop a fool-proof model

which would cater to all possible situations, but it would certainly help to establish the desirability

and effectiveness of most of the initiatives taken so far as also those that may come for

consideration in future.

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Some of the factors in such critical appraisal of the initiatives for meeting rural energy needs would

involve aspects of:

• Moving to the next stage from pilot/demonstration projects

• Contribution in meeting the extent of rural energy needs

• Use ABC classification based on magnitude of potential of each initiative to meet the rural energy

needs

• Prepare a detailed plan for selected initiatives to achieve specific time bound targets for meeting

the extent of rural energy needs, complete in terms of resource mobilization (financial, human

resource etc.), organizational, monitoring etc.

The Ultimate Goal

The Ultimate goal of all policies and research is simple - to meet 100% of energy needs of rural

India:

in the shortest possible time

at an affordable cost; and

in environmentally sustainable manner

The above is an ambitious statement and should also keep in view considerations such as:

Targets for rural energy poverty alleviation in short, medium and long term

Identification of appropriate sources of energy

Identification of appropriate technologies

Where to find the resources financial, technological and organizational

The utilization of distributed generation at the distribution level of the power system is a

vastly increasing practice in the present and future electric grid. The utilization of renewable

energy technologies as distributed generation sources, due to their suitability for remote

applications, cost effectiveness and environmental impact, has resulted in the need for the

advancement of currently available power system analysis tools to include models of these

technologies that include consideration of the variability / intermittency of these sources.

Over the years, there have been drives towards the development of components for the

realization of new planning and operational tools that are geared to the study, monitoring and

22

operation of the new renewable energy resources (RERs)-integrated grid. The major categories

of this work are:

i. Development distribution system modeling and analysis.

ii. Probabilistic modeling techniques for variable meteorological factors such as

solar insolation and wind speed.

iii. Modeling techniques for renewable energy resources technologies such as

photovoltaic modules and wind turbines.

iv. Development of optimization schemes for the sizing and placement of

classical and conventional distributed generators (DGs).

v. Further enhancement techniques that include power quality assessments,

reliability assessment and cost-benefit analysis for the quantification of the impact of

distributed energy resources (DERs) on the system under study.

The usual practice for increase in demand is to increase investments in both the generation and

transmission network of the supply system. However the same power balance and improvement of

power quality can be achieved by the used of Distributed Energy Resources.

Distributed Generation allow for improved performance of network without comparatively large

investments in generating resources and in transmission and distribution system. The utilization of

DGs throughout distribution networks has been seen to reduce the power generation central power

units and the number of utilized online generators.

Distributed Generation (DG) technologies offer technical, economic and environmental

advantages. Economically, these implementations reduce expansion costs while remaining more

geographically independent that central generation. Utilities are able to delay infrastructure

investments and diversify energy sources. Operational options are available for grid inter-tie or

stand-alone applications at the distribution level with numerous positive technical implications that

include: improved performance of network without comparatively large investments in generating

resources, improvement of the stability, power quality, reliability and security of electric power

system. DGs may also reduce power losses of the system, and contribute to peak load shaving.

The utilization of renewable / sustainable energy technologies as DGs provides a more

environmentally sensitive approach. Cleaner, more efficient sources result in lower emissions and

environmental impact. However, the utilization of distributed generators increases the uncertainty

of power system stability in disturbance events.

23

Distribution System The classical power system is sub-divided into three (3) major sections: generation, transmission and

distribution system. However, the inter-relation between the transmission and distribution systems

can be sub-divided into several subsections as identified in Figure 2. The distribution level of the

power system feeds from the sub-transmission and features the branched loads of the system.

Figure 2 STRUCTURE OF THE POWER SYSTEM NETWORK

There are various distribution system topologies that typically include radial and mesh topologies.

Due to the nature of the existing distribution system, the inclusion of distributed generation has

been look at as an advantageous. Distribution networks are generally configured radially for

effective and non-complicated protection schemes.

There are four distribution system configurations: (i) radial, (ii) loop, (iii) network and (iv) primary

selective . These vary in terms of the configuration, the types and number of components, the

reliability and the resilience of the system. Of these radial and loop have been the two most

exhaustively studied. These topologies have featured in DG placement and reconfiguration studies.

Key components for distribution systems include generators, power transformers, lines, shunt

capacitors, switches and various loads. In the present day distribution system, distributed resources

(DRs) including distribution generators (DGs) and electrical storage technologies are increasingly

prominent.

24

These components impact on the function and nature of the distribution system. As an example, the

conventional unidirectional flow of energy in the distribution system is now no longer standard.

Previous work conducted has indicated the need for special considerations of these technologies

in the analysis of the distribution level system.

Major Considerations

Some of the major considerations in defining the Vision for meeting rural energy needs of India as also

the underlying objectives would be addressed through answerers to the questions like:

How do we strengthen our rural economic competitivess and ensure creation of good rural

jobs?

How do we make our rural population self reliant and empowered?

How do we reduce the arduous human labor so prevalent in our rural population, more

particularly for the women and the children?

How do we protect are natural environment?

Limitations of Present Initiatives

There seems to be near total reliance to meet the rural energy needs though 100% electrification of the

villages though extension of the grid supported by distributed generation in a limited way using

renewable sources of energy. This is unlikely to achieve the desired results and provide satisfactory

responses to all the questions mentioned above. Some of the limitations are:

• Target to achieve 100% Village Electrification, which was originally to be completed by 2010, may

not be completed even by 2012.

• Huge costs involved for expansion of grid to all the far flung rural areas

• Against tariff of Rs 3/- (approx.), actual of supply Rs 9/- per kWh

• As distance from grid increases cost of expansion of grid increases by about Rs 1 per km per

kWh.(figures to be checked?_

• Poor revenue collection: Rs0-10 p.m. (poor) and Rs. 0-130 p.m. (others)

• Sustained thru redistributive policies, tariff cross-subsidies, and financial relief to loss making

utilities.

• Rural supply low priority, first in power cut.

• Rural electrification more in deficit states and less in surplus ones

• 13 hours of rural supply considered adequate for irrigation pumps

• “Rural” equated to agricultural; casualty education (schools and children)

Relevance of Renewable

25

To bridge the gaps, renewable can play a very important role, including:

• Potential to create large no. (Net) of jobs especially in rural sector

• Revenue Neutral or even better (savings v/s cash investment)

• Benefit to sectors like Construction, Professional Services, Farming, Trucking and Transport, Metal

Fabrication etc.

Reliance entirely on Renewable Energy sources would not be practical in the short and medium term,

despite claims of falling costs, and the rural households would need to be provided with an adequate

share of relatively lower cost energy from conventional sources.

A comprehensive integrated rural energy development program combining both conventional and non-

conventional energy sources, optimized for blocks of rural population, to be evolved.

Nonetheless, the long term planning must hover around meeting most of the energy needs of rural

India from Renewable Sources of energy. The grid extended to villages could perhaps at some time in

future, be used to plough back the energy generated from such renewable sources to the grid rather

than from the grid.

6. RENEWABLE ENERGY

In the context of other forms of energy service and use to augment the grid extension, especially for

the rural population, Renewable Energy is poised to play a major role. Unlike in the past when these

resources were perceived to too expensive to be of any practical use, several forms of renewable

energy are fast coming into the viability zone, especially when adverse effects of fossils are taken into

account on human health and ecology.

Vast Potential

The Renewable have huge potential to meet the entire energy requirement of the world as evident from

the following:

• As per some studies, less than 1% of earth‟s deserts can meet the world‟s energy demand using CSP

technology and covering 4% of the world‟s deserts with photo voltaic cells could supply the entire

world‟s energy.

• Wind energy can also theoretically meet 15 times the world‟s energy requirement.

26

Global Outlook

Global Investments in renewable power generation rose from $ 28 billion in 2004 to $ 71 billion in

2006 3\(New Energy Finance). The global renewable energy market is doubling every three years.

Public Investments in R&D, subsidy schemes that favor renewable, and the probability of a future

global carbon market, are all for fuelling the clean tech boom. While driven by supportive public

financing and regulation, the challenge of mitigating energy poverty can offer significant commercial

opportunities for investors in the area of renewable

Major Renewable Energy Resources

The major renewable energy sources in commercial use include:

• Solar

• Wind

• Biomass

• Small Hydro

Initiatives in India

India is fast emerging as the World‟s clean energy hot spot. The total demand of electrical energy in

India is projected to be shooting up to 240, 000 MW by 2012 and the Govt. has rightly recognized the

need to supplement a significant portion of additional generation from renewable energy resources. As

much as 18% of additional generation capacity commissioned during first three years of the Tenth plan

came from renewable. It is estimated that by 20, 000 MW will be contributed by renewables. A major

part of investment in renewable energy sector has come from private sector which is very encouraging

for the future of this sector.

In the 11th Five Year Plan (2008-2012), India‟s renewable energy market is expected to reach an

estimated US $ 19 billion with an investment of US $ 15 billion to add 15000 MW of additional

renewable capacity. The Govt. of India has planned a subsidy support system of approximately US $ 1

billion in Govt. funds.

India has realized the major role that Renewable Energy can play in meeting the challenges of energy

security and climate change though:.

• Proactive role of State Govts.

• Emerging IT solutions for emission reduction

• Innovative Microfinance Schemes

27

• Clean Transport

• Carbon Markets

• Corporate Interest in Rural Renewable

India presently generates 13,878 MW (as in Aug 2009) of grid interactive power from renewable

sources including wind, solar, small hydro, biomass and bio-gas cogeneration, which accounts for 9%

of total installed generation capacity. The 11th five year plan targets 14,000 MW of grid interactive

and distributed renewable power by 2012, which means 10% contribution of renewable in power

generation capacity by 2012.

If Renewable Energy has to contribute effectively in our medium term and long term energy mix,

leapfrogging of initiatives needed taking clue from international trends as well as the successful pilot

and demonstration projects in the country. Nature has been magnanimous in provision of RE resources

like solar, wind, biomass and small hydro to India. The challenge for India is to mainstream renewable

based power generation.

7. SOLAR POWER – THE BRIDGE TO FUTURE

Irrespective of the international debate of climate change and negotiations amongst nations on price on

carbon and commitment to the extent of carbon reduction, for an energy safe future which also takes

care of the health concerns of the population, it is inevitable to focus on policies that will accelerate

deployment of clean technologies like solar that make a real difference in fighting climate change, As

per an estimate, solar and other renewable energy resources can, with the right policies in place, can

play an increasing significant role in meeting the electricity needs of that country, which shows solar

energy replacing a large part of coal based energy generation by 2020. The situation of energy needs

and availability of clean energy resources offer similar possibilities for India.

While national and international politics will continue to play its role in shaping policies towards solar

energy, educating the public and the media is vital. The solar industry needs to address this as a

challenge rather than creating more business and more profit and these efforts need to be supplemented

by NGOs and other institutions/organizations concerned with the ill-effects of climate change on one

side and meeting the energy needs of the rural masses on the other.

Salient features of Solar Energy:

• The cleanest

28

• Most abundant

• Inexhaustible

• Most predictable of all renewable energy sources

Potential

Against total equivalent energy consumption of 21.8 TW by 2030, total solar radiation intercepted on

earth 173, 000 TW of which 120, 000 TW reaches earth‟s surface i.e. solar energy potential is about

8000 times (800000%) of total global energy requirement in 2030. It offers viable solution for rural

energy needs (at least in part).

Solar Energy Technologies

Solar Photo Voltaic: This technology is based on conversion of light energy from solar radiations

falling on a photo voltaic cell directly into electric energy, which can either be stored in storage

batteries and used as required or can directly be used as electricity for any purpose like lighting,

heating, running a motor or other appliances or for any chemical processes. The photo voltaic cell uses

the property of some semi conductor materials to convert light energy into electrical energy.

The advantages of Solar PV are:

• It can generate power through Centralized Systems – Grid connected or Stand Alone.

• It can produce power through Decentralized Distributed Generation (DDG) Distributed Generation,

for Street Lights, Lanterns etc

• Direct solar radiation can produce some electricity under less than ideal condition, low sun angles

and overcast sky.

• Offers modularity and scalability, large units more prone to clouds

• Clouds may cause spikes, up to 20 MW manageable

Solar Thermal

Sun light can be used by its conversion into heat energy though

• Passive System- through building systems

• Active System: CSP

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has initiated a major project on Solar Radiation

Resource Assessment (SRRA) station across the nation to assess and quantify the solar radiation

availability along with weather parameters with a view to develop Solar Atlas. Centre for Wind Energy

Technology (C-WET), Chennai is implementing the project by installing a network of 51 Solar Radiation

Resource Assessment (SRRA) station in the first phase in different States using high quality, high

29

resolution equipment/instruments.

Sl.

No States

No.of SRRA station

Proposed Completed

1 Rajasthan 12 12

2 Gujarat 11 11

3 Tamilnadu 7 7

4 Andhra Pradesh 6 6

5 Karnataka 5 5

6 Maharashtra 3 3

7 Madhya Pradesh 3 3

8 Jammu & kashmir 1 1

9 Chhattisgarh 1 1

10 Pondichery 1 1

11 Haryana 1 1

Total 51 51

Each SRRA station consists of two towers of 1.5 m and 6 m tall each. The 1.5 m tall tower

houses a Solar Tracker equipped with Pyranometer, Pyranometer with Shaded Ring and

Pyrheliometer to measure solar parameters, such as, global, diffused and direct radiation. The 6

m tall tower houses instruments measuring rainfall, ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure,

relative humidity, wind speed and direction. Each SRRA station is totally powered by 160 Watt

SPV Panels and consists of 13 equipments/instruments and records 37 parameters inclusive of

both measured and derived. The data from each SRRA station averaged to 10 minutes will be

transmitted to a Central Receiving Station established at C-WET, Chennai through GPRS mode.

The implementation of the project has started from February 2011 and all stations have already

been installed, completed and commissioned.

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)-

It is also termed as Concentrated Solar Thermal Power (CST), Solar Thermal Electricity Generation

(STEG). The technology uses heat from the sun to generate electricity in much the same way the

conventional thermal power station. The sun‟s rays are focused on a central receiver containing a

mineral oil or other thermal carrier. As this liquid gets heated up (reaching temperatures as high as

400C-600 C ), it passes though a heat exchanger and generates steam, which is then used to drive a

steam turbine. With the present state of technology development and costs involved, the areas having

solar insulation levels of 2000-2500 kWh.m-2 are better suited for the technology.

30

As in any thermal power plant, water is required for raising steam using solar heat. Since the high

levels of solar insulation are predominantly in arid areas, this is matter of concern. However, water

consumption can be reduced by as much as 90% using dry cooling, which however would result in

higher price by about 10%. Water is also required for washing of parabolic mirrors for maximum

performance, but the amount of water required is less than that required for steam.

Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC)

Another possibility CSP offers is in its integration with Gas based Combined Cycle Power Plants

(typically known as Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC) Power Plants. Conceptually the

disadvantage of solar based energy generation being not available when sun is not available is taken

care by ensuring generation though natural gas, the available solar heat during day time can be utilized

for augmenting power generation in steam cycle with scaled up stem generators and Steam, Turbines

would help in achieving lower cost of generation from high cost natural gas.

Storage – the USP of CSP technology

The concept seeks to address the biggest limitation of solar power- its non-availability when there is no

sun. The heat collected during day can be fed into storage tanks – using a medium like molten salt to

hold the heat. When needed, that heat can be released to generate steam to run the turbines.

Generation from Solar Plant with storage can be shifted to match the utility system load profile. It

allows solar to provide power when it is needed most. As a result Storage CSP Plants are able to

achieve higher annual efficiencies up to +50%. Such peaking power has a high commercial value.

Adding storage and extra collector field to serve it pays off when there is good feed-in tariff or good

peaking power price.

Other Salient features

• The concept of CSP technology is based on creation of high temperature, which generates steam or

hot gases for STG or GTG.

• Best suited where high direct solar radiation

• Flexible- storage, backing by other fuel use

• Suitable for peaking energy or for extended hours of generation.

• Generally, each installation tailor-made

• Some options are: ISCC, Direct Steam, Lineal Fesnal Reflectors for lower cost, Molten Salt for

storage (freezing a challenge).

• Capability to produce lowest cost, commercial scale bulk electricity

• Capability to dispatch as needed.

Capital cost

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Though initiatives for solar power generation were taken back in 1980s in USA, the use of solar

energy has not for become commercially popular due to several constraints. The biggest of such

constraints has been the capital investment involved in such projects. Though it is difficult to pin

pointedly mention these costs but till about a year back these were perceived to be as high as Rs. 15 to

20 cr. Per MW of installed capacity.

In the recent past, say last one year, with the technological advancements and increasing population of

solar power installation, the perceived costs have substantially come down. So much so that for some

of the CSP projects in USA, taking into account the state tax credit provision, the expected tariff by

2012 would match with the peak load tariff of grid power.

8. OTHER RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES

Biomass Energy

Biomass is a major source of energy especially in rural areas. However, it is being used in an

inefficient and un healthy manner with the consequent adverse impacts of depleting forest reserves and

human health with all its consequences on the socio-economic status of the rural population. Biomass

includes fuels like wood, agro-waste, Bagasse, rice husk, animal ding etc.

Advantages of Biomass Energy

There is an immediate and immense need for better use of biomass. Good biomass for energy could:

• diversify energy supply at reasonable cost,

• improve trade balances,

• provide rural income and employment,

• reduce GHG emissions from fossil fuels.

Use of biomass for energy would be bad if;

• GHG emission reduction is not achieved.

• Biodiversity loss though Land Use change is not controlled/monitored through suitable safeguards.

• Suitable Safeguards not used for tackling food insecurity, overuse of water and mismanagement of

soils.

Global Potential for Better Use of Biomass for Energy estimated at 25 to 30% of Global Energy

Supply by 2050.Use of biomass for energy is associated with direct and indirect Land Use Change

emission. The impact needs to be monitored and controlled.

Indirect Land Use Change emission can be controlled by

• Using residues and wastes

• Promoting more efficient energy conversion

• Using land “set-free” from higher yield crops

32

• Using abandoned or degraded land not in competition with food, feed or fibre production

• multiyear crops

• Multiple cropping schemes (agro forestry)

• Land based algae

• More efficient conversion:

• CHP

• Next generation bio fuels

• Integrated bio-refineries

With Carbon Capture Sequestration (CCS), sustainable bio-energy could, in long term, achieve

reduction in atmospheric CO2 levels

Major Mile stones in better use of bio energy would be

• In the first phase mainly being used for electricity and heat, less for transport.

• CCS will push (2050) shifting biomass use to road, ship and aviation fuels.

• Biomass for energy cultivation of potential crops on low carbon land could help sequestion of

atmospheric carbon in soil and could reduce deforestation process thorough economic development

alternatives and access to modern energy.

• Use of good biomass will also help in:

• GHG emission reduction

• Maintenance of biodiversity

• Energy Security

• Low Social Trade Off

Biomass in India

India being tropical with good sun and rain is ideal for bio-mass production. The availability of

biomass in India is estimated at about 540 million tonnes per year covering residues from agriculture,

forestry, and plantations. Principal agricultural residues include rice husk, rice straw, bagasse, sugar

cane tops and leaves, trash, groundnut shells, cotton stalks, mustard stalks, etc. It has been estimated

that about 70-75% of these wastes are used as fodder, as fuel for domestic cooking and for other

economic purposes leaving behind 120–150 millions tones of usable agro industrial and agricultural

residues per year which could be made available for power generation. By using these surplus

agricultural residues, more than 16,000 MW of grid quality power can be generated with presently

available technologies. In addition, about 5000 MW of power can be produced, if all the 550 sugar

mills in the country switch over to modern techniques of co-generation.

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Biomass does not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as it absorbs the same amount of carbon in

growing as it releases when consumed as a fuel. Its advantage is that it can be used to generate

electricity with the same equipment or power plants that are now burning fossil fuels. Biomass is an

important source of energy and the most important fuel worldwide after coal, oil and natural gas.

Traditional use of biomass is more than its use in modern application. In the developed world biomass

is again becoming important for applications such as combined heat and power generation. In addition,

biomass energy is gaining significance as a source of clean heat for domestic heating and community

heating applications. In fact in countries like Finland, USA and Sweden the per capita biomass energy

used is higher than it is in India, China or in Asia.

Biomass fuels used in India account for about one third of the total fuel used in the country, being the

most important fuel used in over 90% of the rural households and about 15% of the urban households.

Instead of burning the loose biomass fuel directly, it is more practical to compress it into briquettes

(compressing them through a process to form blocks of different shapes) and thereby improve its

utility and convenience of use. Such biomass in the dense briquetted form can either be used directly

as fuel instead of coal in the traditional chulhas and furnaces or in the gasifier. Gasifier converts solid

fuel into a more convenient-to-use gaseous form of fuel called producer gas.

Scientists are trying to explore the advantages of biomass energy as an alternative energy source as it

is renewable and free from net CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions, and is abundantly available on earth

in the form of agricultural residue, city garbage, cattle dung, firewood, etc. Bio-energy, in the form of

biogas, which is derived from biomass, is expected to become one of the key energy resources for

global sustainable development.

At present, biogas technology provides an alternative source of energy in rural India for cooking. It is

particularly useful for village households that have their own cattle. Through a simple process cattle

dung is used to produce a gas, which serves as fuel for cooking. The residual dung is used as manure.

Biogas plants have been set up in many areas and are becoming very popular. Using local resources,

namely cattle waste and other organic wastes, energy and manure are derived. A mini biogas digester

has recently been designed and developed, and is being in-field tested for domestic lighting.

Indian sugar mills are rapidly turning to bagasse, the leftover of cane after it is crushed and its juice

extracted, to generate electricity. This is mainly being done to clean up the environment, cut down

power costs and earn additional revenue. According to current estimates, about 3500 MW of power

can be generated from bagasse in the existing 430 sugar mills in the country. Around 270 MW of

power has already been commissioned and more is under construction.

Technologies for biomass based energy generation

• Gasification

• Pyrolosis

• Direct Combustion

One of the perceived limitation of biomass is the requirement of land especially clash with the land

requirement for food crops. It is estimated that the total land requirement for use of good biomass is 16

34

mmn hectares where as the total available degraded land is about 100 mm hectares. Such criticism

therefore, would be misconceived.

Examples and Success Stories

There are several success stories of good biomass in the country. One such example is Impunia grass

based bio mass plant at Jhansi (100kW). 18 such projects planned to be replicated: It is given to

understand that cost of power is comparable with grid power.

Limitations of Biomass as energy source

Another perception seems to be that bio mass energy projects may use up the agriculture, plant

residues and other bio products which would otherwise be used as organic (compost) manure. Looking

into the totality and macro level picture, the constraint even if real is much amplified. Such material

would constitute a very small percentage of the total bio mass energy materials.

Wind Energy

Both offshore and onshore wind energy are suitable for generation of power and are being used,

although offshore use is yet to pick up in a major way due underlying higher costs. However, some

countries are moving forward with their plans for offshore wind energy.

More than 95 percent of the wind potential is concentrated in five states in southern and western India.

Even if the previously estimated potential of 102 GW is fully developed, wind would provide only

about 8 percent of the projected electricity demand in 2022 and 5 percent in 2032.

The new Berkeley Lab study has found the total techno-economic wind potential to range from 2,006

GW for 80-meter hub heights (an indication of how high the wind turbine stands above the ground) to

3,121 GW for 120-meter hub heights. Given these new estimates, the availability of wind energy can

no longer be considered a constraint for wind to play a major role in India‟s electricity future. The

research team have been discussing their findings informally and formally with several key government

agencies in India and have gotten positive responses.

Improved wind technology, including higher efficiency and hub heights, accounted for much of the increase along with more advanced mapping techniques. The previous wind potential estimate in India of 102 GW is based on the assumption that only two percent of the windy land is available for wind power development. However, this assumption is not based on any assessment of land availability. The Berkeley Lab study undertook a systematic assessment of the availability of land using publicly available GIS (geographic information system) data on topography and land use and found a significantly higher availability of land that can potentially be used for wind power development, which is the primary reason for the higher potential

35

estimates. The study excluded land with low-quality wind, slopes greater than 20 degrees, elevation greater than 1,500 meters and certain other unsuitable areas such as forests, bodies of water and cities. The researchers obtained off-the-shelf wind speed data for heights of 80 meters, 100 meters and 120 meters from 3TIER.

Offshore Wind Energy

• Expanding to grow leaps and bounds in next decade.

• Globally, Offshore Wind Energy potential estimated at 45 GW by 2020.

• Growth likely be led by Europe supported by North America and Asia.

• Growth so far has been slow, due to various reasons, including higher cost.

• In last eight yrs grew from 70 MW to 1.5 GW.

• In Europe, Onshore Wind Projects are struggling to find land and higher capacity factors leading to

Govts being pressured to provide incentives to Offshore Wind Projects.

• Asia to tap Offshore Wind market by 2014.

• China, with its 9000 miles of coast line, well poised to tap Offshore Wind Energy; China‟s potential

of Offshore Wind Energy estimated at 750 MW; has one operational Offshore Wind Project and two

more in planning stage.

• Higher capital cost getting weighed out by low running cost, longer lasting turbines, high and steady

volumes.

Small Hydro and Micro Hydro Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has been vested with the responsibility of developing Small

Hydro Power (SHP) projects up to 25 MW station capacity. The estimated potential for power

generation in the country from such plants is about 15,000 MW. Most of the potential is in Himalayan

States as river-based project and in other States on irrigation canals. SHP projects are economically

viable and consequently private sector has started investing in such projects. The viability of these

projects improves with increase in the station capacity.

Of the estimated potential of 15,000 MW of small hydro power in the country, 5415 potential sites

with an aggregate capacity of 14,292 MW have been identified. The Ministry is providing financial

support to the States for identification of new potential sites and preparation of a perspective plan for

the State for development of small hydro potential. The Ministry is supporting 142 SHP Projects in the

government sector aggregating to 266 MW capacity in 23 States/ UTs. So far, a total of 77 projects

aggregating to a capacity of 148 MW have been commissioned and the other projects are at various

stages of execution.

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The Ministry aims to double the current growth rate that leads to a capacity addition of 500 MW per

year with total installed capacity of 4000 MW by the end of 11th Plan. State Nodal Agencies provide

assistance for obtaining necessary clearances and allotment of land at potential sites.

Micro-hydro power is the small-scale harnessing of energy from falling water, such as steep mountain rivers.

Using this renewable, indigenous, non-polluting resource, micro-hydro plants can generate power for homes,

hospitals, governmental buildings, private handicraft centers or small scale industries schools and workshops.

Practical Action promotes small-scale hydro schemes that generate up to 500 kilowatts of power. The micro-

hydro station, which converts the energy of flowing water into electricity, provides poor communities in rural

areas with an affordable, easy to maintain and long-term solution to their energy needs.

"Run of the river" systems do not require a dam or storage facility to be constructed. Instead they

divert water from the stream or river, channel it in to a valley and drop it in to a turbine via a pipeline

called a penstock.

The turbine drives a generator that provides the electricity to the local community. By not requiring an

expensive dam for water storage, run-of-the-river systems are a low-cost way to produce power. They

also avoid the damaging environmental and social effects that larger hydroelectric schemes cause,

including a risk of flooding.

Water from the river is channelled through a settling basin, which helps to remove sediment that could

harm the turbine. The water then flows into the Forebay Tank where it is directed downhill through a

pipe called a penstock. When the water reaches the bottom, it drives a specially designed turbine to

produce the electricity.

Micro-hydro power can also be supplied to villages via portable rechargeable batteries. People can use

these convenient sources of electricity to fuel anything from workshop machines to domestic lighting –

and there are no expensive connection costs. The batteries are charged at a station in the village, thus

providing the local community with a clean, renewable source of power.

For industrial use, the output from the turbine shaft can be used directly as mechanical power, as

opposed to converting it into electricity via a generator or batteries. This is suitable for agro-processing

activities such as milling, oil extraction and carpentry.

Micro-hydro schemes are owned and operated by the communities they serve, with any maintenance

carried out by skilled members of that community. So they provide employment in themselves, as well

as providing the power to re-energize entire communities.

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Understanding Bihar The Background

In order to contextualize the scope and potential for the development of renewable energy systems and

their contribution to the future of sustainable development of Bihar, it is necessary to summarize the

current social condition of Bihar, as it has emerged after the division of the State.

1. Bihar is primarily an agriculture based state with 90% of the population living in the rural areas and

10% urbanization (2001 census). It is possible that the 2011 census may show a marked increase in

urbanization; but the basic rural character of the State will not change.

2. The farm / agricultural land holding pattern is characterized by an overwhelming majority of

marginal, small, semi-medium and medium farms (data 1995-96), distributed as below

S.

No.

Size class Percentage of

holdings

1 Marginal 0 – 1 ha

0 – 0.5 ha

0.5 – 1 ha

43.09 %

(20.81 %)

(22.28 %)

2 Small 1 – 2 ha 19.21 %

3 Semi-

medium

2 – 4 ha

2 – 3 ha

3 – 4 ha

22.88 %

(13.64 %)

(09.24 %)

4 Medium 4 – 10 ha

4 – 5 ha

5 – 7.5 ha

7.5 – 10 ha

12.76 %

(06.05 %)

(04.16 %)

(02.56 %)

5 Large 10 – 20 ha and

above

10 – 20 ha

20 and above

02.07 %

(01.47 %)

(00.60 %)

(Source: Bihar Through Figures - 2007, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt of Bihar, pp.97)

Again, these figures may change in the latest Census; they will certainly change in the direction

of increases in the percentages of marginal, small and semi-medium farms due to well

recognized processes of population growth, land division at the household level, continued

marginalization and impoverization etc. From the planning perspective, it can be safely

assumed that 80% and more of the farms will in the near future lie in the size classes

denominated as marginal, small and semi-medium holdings.

3. Unlike most of the surrounding states, as well as the all-India average, Bihar has a

significantly higher percentage of agricultural labourers as compared to cultivators. A

comparison with selected States is shown below (data 2001)

38

Percentage of agricultural labourers and cultivators in Bihar and other states

Sr.

No.

State % Cultivators Percentage of

Agricultural Labourers

1 Bihar 32.16 42.84

2 Jharkhand 41.20 16.32

3 Uttar Pradesh 46.98 15.14

4 Madhya Pradesh 46.65 20.32

5 Rajasthan 54.95 05.78

6 Orissa 35.82 21.88

7 West Bengal 19.79 19.64

8 All-India 33.10 20.29

(Source: Bihar Through Figures - 2007, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt of Bihar

Even when compared with States at broadly similar levels of development, this adverse ratio

of agricultural labourers to cultivators shows that landlessness is widespread and possibly a

leading cause of poverty. Moreover, the overwhelming predominance of small / marginal

farms, as indicated in the previous paragraph, implies that the current pattern of agriculture

cannot absorb such a large labour population (the small / marginal farms will utilize

household labour in preference to employed labour to conserve cash); nor does the current

low productivity of small / marginal farms provide the wherewithal to increase agricultural

employment; unless the productivity of small farms is increased significantly – which is the

challenge to be faced by RE sources – this situation cannot be significantly changed in the

immediate future. This implies that one of the major objectives to be achieved has to be the

effective deployment / implementation of RE sources / systems to enhance agricultural

productivity particularly at the small / marginal farms level to put them on a sustainable growth

path.

4. Another major implication of the surplus labour in the rural areas is that labour

migration probably takes place to States / areas where employment opportunities are available.

This would be a continuation of the historical pattern both during the colonial period

(labour exported to West Indies, Mauritius etc.), labour migration to Bengal (both West and

East) during the colonial period, labour employed in coal mining and other mining activities

(Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh etc.) in the post-independence era and the

continuing migration of labour to agriculturally and industrially developed states such as

Punjab, Maharashtra, Delhi etc. Since it has been reported in the initiation workshop that

biomass materials like rice husk are being exported to Punjab and sugarcane is being crushed

outside the state; this implies that both biomass based materials as well as able-bodied labour is

creating energy / development in other states but these are unable as yet to create significant

energy / development in Bihar.

39

5. The migration of able-bodied labour out of a region has other sociological implications viz.

that those who are left behind are generally women and children, the old and the dependent

and the disabled. Since they are often unable to look after their own needs, being dependent on

a money- order economy, being subject to debt exploitation and many other travails

associated with extreme poverty, the immediate intervention of renewable energy systems

deployed for welfare functions is also an important consideration, very often to be borne by

the state and its institutions. Otherwise the vicious circle of poverty will continue, with

children unable to attend school or receive education, women being forced to labour long

hours for getting fuel wood and water, ill health forcing debt on older people and so on. There

is now enough literature worldwide

to assert that vicious cycles can be replaced by virtuous cycles of sustainable development

in which renewable energy plays a central role.

6. Another way of understanding Bihar is to consider the relative contribution of various sectors

to the Net State Domestic Product at current Prices (Rs Cr.)

Table 1.3 Contribution of various sectors to the Net State Domestic Product in Bihar

S. No. Sector 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05

1 State 1,841,931 2,004,703 2,158,718

(100%) (100%) (100%)

2 Agriculture 384,882 428,031 430,519

(20.89) (25.35) (19.94)

3 Manufacturing

(Regd. & Unregd)

244,105 262,977 285,219

(13.25) (13.11) (13.21)

4 All services 988,800 1,071,998 1,180,417

(53.68) (53.47) (54.68)

(Source: Bihar Through Figures - 2007, Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt of Bihar, pp.64)

It is evident that Agriculture contributes significantly more to the Domestic Product than

combined Manufacturing (both Registered and Unregistered). All services contribute by far

the largest percentage of the Domestic Product. This circumstance can, in fact, be turned

to Bihar„s advantage since Agriculture can become a net producer of green energy (and green

materials) in the near future and services generally have a low intensity of energy

consumption per unit of value addition. Also, instead of committing to a long term path of

energy-intensive industrialization and energy-dependent infrastructure, if Bihar can chart a

path of light industry which can also produce electricity or energy as a by-product, from

renewable sources, it can lay the foundation for sustainable growth across all three sectors of

the economy. A significant range of agro-processing industries (food processing, dairies,

cheese factories, abattoirs and meat processing industries etc.) have the possibility of co-

generating electricity and / or heat if suitably designed at the initial stages, which not only adds

40

to their viability but also contributes to green electricity in grids. This will be explored further

in the chapter on Bio-energy.

7. The current electricity scenario in Bihar can be judged from the following table

Current Electricity Scenario in Bihar

Attribute Value

State installed capacity 590 MW

Of which Thermal 540 MW

(Barauni) 320 MW

(Muzaffarpur) 220 MW

Hydro (Kosi) 50 MW

Share of CG stations 1379 MW

AT&C Losses 44.45 %

Energy shortage 16.4 %

Peak Deficit 27.6 %

Per Capita consumption 93 kWh

National consumption 650 kWh

Source: 3rd North East and East Power Summit 2010, CEA and PFC

Existing power stations

Name of power station

Installed Capacity (MW)

Agency

Hydro

Kosi (4x4.8)

19.2

BSHPC*

Sone E&W Canal(2x1.65+4x1.65)

9.9

BSHPC

East Gandak Canal(3x5)

15

BSHPC

Agnoor

1.0

BSHPC

Dhelabagh

1.0

BSHPC

Total

46.1

Thermal

Barauni (2x50+2x110)

320

BSEB

Muzaffarpur (2x10) 320 BSEB**

Total 540

*BSEB transferred the project to BSHPC on 16th Nov.2003

**Now transferred to new JV-Vaishali Generating Co.

(Source: Road Map for Development of Power Sector in Bihar – A Report of the Special Task Force on Bihar, Govt. of India, July 2007)

Thus Bihar, with approx 600MW of its own generation capacity, is heavily dependent on

the power supplied by Central Generating Stations. This lack of power poses an enormous

constraint for all future development – whether in agriculture, industry or services.

41

Supply position

Peak March 2011 April 10– March 11

Peak Demand (MW) 2123 2140

Peak Met (MW) 1402 1649

Peak Deficit (-) / Surplus (+) -721 -481

Peak Deficit / Surplus (%) -34 -22.5

Energy

Energy Requirement (MU) 909 (p.m.) 12384

Energy Availability (MU) 773 (p.m.) 10772

Energy Deficit (-) / Surplus (+) MU -136 (p.m.) -1612

Energy Deficit / Surplus (%) -15 -13

(Source: Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Govt of India), March 2011 http://www.cea.nic.in/reports/monthly/executive_rep/apr11/25-

26.pdf

Power supply position

Period Peak

Demand

(MW)

Peak

Met

(MW)

Peak

Deficit/

Surplus

(MW)

Peak

Deficit/

Surplus

(%)

Energy

Requirement

(MU)

Energy

Availability

(MU)

Energy

Deficit/

Surplus

(MU)

Energy

Deficit/

Surplus

(%)

9TH PLAN

END

1409

1288

-121

-8.6

9370

8992

-378

-4.0

2002-03 1389 1325 -64 -4.6 8096 7422 -674 -8.3

2003-04

973

788

-185

-19.0

7588

5878

-1710

-22.5

2004-05

980

980

0

0.0

7201

6476

-725

-10.1

2005-06

1314

1116

-198

-15.1

7955

7218

-737

-9.3

2006-07 1399 1162 -237 -16.9 8425 7741 -684 -8.1

2007-08

1882

1243

-639

-34.0

9155

7933

-1222

-13.3

2008-09 1842 1333 -509 -27.6 10527 8801 -1726 -16.4

2009-10 2,249 1,509 -740 -32.9 11,587 9,914 -1,673 -14.4

APR-DEC

2010

2,073

1,659

-414

-20.0

9,792

8,422

-1,370

-14.0

DEC 2010 2,023 1,373 -650 -32.1 1,232 947 -285 -23.1

(Source: Power Scenario at a Glance, January 2011, Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Govt of India (pp. 92-93))

http://www.cea.nic.in/reports/planning/power_scenario.pdf

Proposed projects

Name of power project Installed

Capacity(MW)

Agency

Hydro

Indrapuri Reservoir (5x90) 450 BSHPC

Telhar Kund PSS (4X100) 400 BSHPC

Sinafdar PSS (3X115) 345 BSHPC

42

Panchghotia PSS (3X75) 225 BSHPC

Hathiadah-Durgawati PSS(8X200) 1600 BSHPC

Dagmara Barrage (3x42) 126 BSHPC

Thermal

Barauni Extn. (2x250) 500 BSEB

Muzaffarpur (2x250) 500 BSEB

Nabi Nagar 2000 BSEB

Katihar(4x250) 1000 BSEB

Pirapanti 4000 BSEB

(Source: Road Map for Development of Power Sector in Bihar – A Report of the Special Task Force on Bihar, Govt. of India, July 2007).

43

These projects will add enormously to the States existing generation capacity. However, by their very

nature, large projects will involve long construction and commissioning times as also large financial

burden on the States financial resources.

Table 1.9 Bihar’s share of power projects

Name of the project Total Share(MW) Unallocated Shares (MW)

Farakka (3 x 200 MW+ 2 x 500 MW) 363 -

Kahalgaon (4 x 210 MW) 222 12(included in total share)

Talcher St-1(2 x 500 MW) 354 13(included in total share)

Kahalgaon St-II (1x500 MW) 63*

Sub-total 1002

Rangit Hydro ( 3 x 20 MW) 21

Chukha (270 MW) 80

Tala HPS (3x170 MW) 130

Sub-total 231

Total allocation to Bihar 1233 Including unallocated share

of 25 MW

* Date of Commercial Operation (COD) yet to be declared.

(Source: Road Map for Development of Power Sector in Bihar – A Report of the Special Task Force on Bihar, Govt. of India, July 2007)

Tentative share of Bihar in central sector projects expected during 11th Plan

Name Agency Capacity (MW) Tentative Share (MW) Target date

Teesta ST-V NHPC 510 52 2007-08

Thermal

Kahalgaon St-II

NTPC

1000

126

(firm share)

2007-08

BARH-I NTPC 1980 324* 2009-11

NORTH KARANPURA NTPC 1320 127* 2011-12

FARAKKA ST-III NTPC 500 53 2009-10

BARH-II NTPC 1320 188 2011-12

NABINAGAR

(other than railway)

NTPC

500

103

2010-12

*as indicated by NTPC, allocation yet to be decided by MoP

(Source: Road Map for Development of Power Sector in Bihar–A Report of the Special Task Force on Bihar, Govt. of India, July 2007)

Power scenario at the end of 11th Plan

Peak 2011-12

Peak Demand (MW) 3607

Peak Met (MW) 1534

Peak Deficit (-)/surplus (+) MW -2073

Peak Deficit/Surplus (%) -57.5

Energy Energy Requirement (MU) 19905

Energy availability (MU) 11755

44

(Source: Road Map for Development of Power Sector in Bihar – A Report of the Special Task Force on Bihar, Govt. of India, July 2007)

Thus, both energy deficit and peak deficit have increased enormously towards end of 11th Plan as

compared to Table -6 (2006-07), indicating demand for outstrips supply.

Peak 2011-12

Energy Deficit (-) / Surplus (+) -8150

Energy Deficit / Surplus (%) -40.9

45

.

Table - Demand forecast

Year Peak Load

(MW)

Energy

Requirement (MU)

2006-07 1570 9629

2007-08 1842 11134

2008-09 2177 12874

2009-10 2575 14886

2010-11 3046 17213

2011-12 3607 19905

2016-17 5598 32857

2021-22 9567 58248

(Source: Road Map for Development of Power Sector in Bihar – A Report of the Special Task Force on Bihar, Govt. of India, July 2007)

Since Bihar has started with per capita electricity consumption well below the national

average, the demand growth will be high in the foreseeable future; this will happen in a

situation where all states will be competing for power from CGS. This also indicates the

tremendous potential forfuture RE development in Bihar.

T & D losses

Year T & D Losses

2003 – 04 36.66

2004 – 05 38.88

2005 – 06 43.96

2006 – 07 50.67

2007 - 08 48.79

(Source: Power Scenario at a Glance, January 2011, Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Govt of India (pp. 92-93))

http://www.cea.nic.in/reports/planning/power_scenario.pdf

8. Varying estimates exist of Bihar„s Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses :

Table 1.14 Estimates of Bihar’s AT&C losses

Years Source Estimate

2004-06 Power Road Map 40 %

2004-05 BSEB 46 %

2004-05 ICRA 48 %

2003-04 PFC (Performance of State Power Utilities Report) 77 %

2004-04 PFC 74.09%

Reduction Trend 3% p.a. in 2004-05 compared to 2003-04 (PFC Report)

46

With regard to T&D losses, the following observation has been made in section 5.8.10 of

National

Electricity Policy 2005, released by Ministry of Power, Govt of

India:

― It would have to be clearly recognized that Power Sector will remain unviable until T&D

losses are brought down significantly and rapidly. A large number of States have been reporting

losses of over 40% in the recent years. By any standards, these are unsustainable and

imply a steady decline of power sector operations. Continuation of the present level of

losses would not only pose a threat to the power sector operations but also jeopardize the

growth prospects of the economy as a whole. No reforms can succeed in the midst of such

large pilferages on a continuing basis.

Action on reduction of AT&C losses has to be taken on a priority basis, for which adequate

powers are available under the Electricity Act, 2003. The following sections of the Act are

relevant:

Table 1.15 Provisions under Electricity Act 2003 to reduce AT&C losses

Section

Number

Pertaining to Penalty

Section 135 Theft of Electricity Imprisonment upto 3 years or fine or both,

subject to qualification; burden of proof on

consumer

Section 136 Theft of Electricity lines and

materials

Imprisonment upto 3 years or fine or both,

subject to qualification; for repeat offence,

imprisonment not less than 6 months and upto 5

years and fine not less than Rs. 10,000

Section 137 Receiving stolen property Imprisonment upto 3 years or fine or both

Section 138 Interference with meters or

works of licensee

Imprisonment upto 3 years or fine upto

Rs.10,000/- or both; in case of continuing

offence, daily fine upto Rs.500

Section 145 Civil court not to have

jurisdiction (to entertain suit or

grant injunction)

(Source: Ministry of Power, Govt of India) http://www.powermin.nic.in/acts_notification/electricity_act2003/preliminary.htm)

47

This is an impressive performance, yet it adds to the problem of demand being far greater than

supply.

10. Agriculture power sales 28% of total sales

Agriculture power revenue 4 % of total revenue

11. The Credit Deposit (CD) Ratio of different categories of banks in Bihar is as shown: (Other figures

in Rs. Crores, rounded)

Table - CD Ratios of banks in Bihar

Bank Deposits Advances CD Ratio

Commercial Banks 91243 26974 29.5 %

Cooperative Banks 2972 1543 51.9 %

RRBs 12801 5615 43.8 %

Total 107017 34132 31.9 %

(Source: State Level Bankers Committee, Bihar: 35th Review Meeting, Jan 2011, pg 20)

Thus, commercial banks business constitutes the largest share of the banking industry in Bihar

and has the lowest CD Ratio.

With respect to other parts of India, the comparative picture is as shown below:

Table 1.17 CD Ratios of Commercial Banks

2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07

Bihar 20.70 21.90 23.70 26.90 31.40 30.20 31.10

India 56.70 58.40 59.20 58.20 66.00 72.50 75.00

(Source: Road Map for Rural Industrialization of Bihar – Report of the Special Task Force on Bihar, Govt. of India, July 2008;

Annexure VIII – pg 74)

The above comparison indicates that local savings (as deposits) are not returning to the local

economy (as Advances or Credit); in effect, capital is flowing out of Bihar. Taken together with the

earlier observations, this implies that labour, biomass resources and capital have been flowing

out of Bihar. This may serve to elucidate the major reasons why development is not taking place

in Bihar at the desired pace, despite aspirations.

12. The recovery data for bankers is as follows: (Rs Crores)

Table - Recovery data for bankers in Bihar

Bank Demand raised Amt. recovered Recovery %

Commercial 6152 2715 44.13 %

Cooperative 533 225 42.22 %

RRBs 792 560 70.66 %

Total 7478 3500 46.81 %

(Source: SLBC, 35th Review

Meeting, pg. 21)

The bankers accept that the recovery rate is poor. Informal discussion with the bankers

has indicated that with poor rates of recovery, bankers are wary of further lending. Hence, one

of the most powerful engines of development is brought to a halt.

48

13. However, section 5.8.1 of National Electricity Policy 2005, released by Ministry of Power,

Govt of India, states that ―Public service obligations like increasing access to

electricity to rural households and small and marginal farmers have highest priority over

public finances.

14. The districts affected by left wing extremism have been officially recognized, as follows:

Arwal, Aurangabad, Gaya, Jamui, Jehanabad and Rohtas.

(Source: SLBC 35th Review Meeting - pg 27, pg 29A)

15. The figures indicate that there are a very large number of cooperative institutions financed by

the Bihar State KVIC, almost 2500 in number; their organizational reach could be utilized

for the rapid diffusion of RE across Bihar, particularly as many of them are backwardly linked

to forms of agricultural production. This aspect needs further study.

16. The composite picture that emerges from all of the above, based on an energy perspective, is

as follows :

a. Due to shortages of grid electricity from conventional generation sources, industrialization

will continue to lag, particularly because large sources of generation have long gestation

periods while domestic demand will spurt as aspirations for electricity increase. This

indicates that, under the appropriate conditions, fast deployment modular RE systems can

grow rapidly.

b. Agricultural growth can add to the energy supply sources provided the principal constraints

electricity for irrigation – can be suitably addressed through RE deployment.

c. Growth of light industry linked to various forms of agricultural processing can

become sustainable provided the process waste streams can be harnessed for energy generation.

d. Service sector growth, which is low on energy consumption, can become sustainable

in energy terms, provided there is a conscious strategy for the substitution of energy by

information. Thus, many operations such as billing, financial and banking transactions,

travel booking, payments etc. can be conducted via computers thereby avoiding travel

cost, travel time and travel energy. With the rapid growth of telecom connectivity, this

49

option for development must be consciously utilized to the fullest extent for rapid growth in

the services economy and improvement of the quality of services. This will also

generate low energy employment and progressively higher value employment in the tertiary

sector.

17. Broadly taken together, the various policies across agriculture, water, rural industrialization

and renewable energy are capable of driving growth in a desirable sustainable direction,

though careful monitoring will be called for at all stages, given the present deficit of

infrastructure and other aspects of development. This is the real challenge that the RE Action

Plan has to confront.

18. Finally, this path of development has to be pioneered in an international environment forcing

a multiplicity of crisis, as below:

a. the climate crisis

b. the water crisis

c. the fossil fuel availability crisis

d. the crisis caused by escalating prices of fossil fuels

e. the global agricultural crisis

f. the health crisis

This emergent scenario of global crisis adds further constraints to the development path to

be chosen and it would be unrealistic for any Action Plan to ignore this backdrop. The

remainder of this Report will concentrate on RE sources as potentially providing solutions in

the emerging context, for Bihar. It is important to note here that RE represents hitherto

untapped resources over and beyond the aforementioned labour, capital and agricultural

commodities. These resources are manifest as wind, solar, bio-energy and small hydro

resources which can be harnessed to energize development.

50

INTRODUCTION: DDG

Electricity is the most critical strategic infrastructure in our society today and its importance

will increase in the future. Its direct importance in reliably delivering energy to point of use

enables every other major technological infrastructure in our society. By 2050 World Energy

Council envisages the global energy mix will be made up of at least eight energy sources (coal,

oil, gas, nuclear, hydro, biomass, wind & solar) with none expected to have more than 30%

share of the market. Electricity can make this diverse supply portfolio possible while

simultaneously meeting global energy and environmental demands.

In spite of several initiatives taken by Government of India and progress in extending the

national grid, 26 percent of rural households still do not have access to electricity. In India the

Ministry of Power has specifically targeted scheme; Decentralized Distributed Generation

(DDG) for state actors & community organizations to invest in off–grid generation and

distribution in rural areas. In many areas, despite grid availability, households have chosen not

to connect, frequently because of insufficient and unreliable supply of electricity. With the

demand for power outstripping its availability, rural areas face major challenges of very low per

capita consumption and inadequate power supply (most rural areas receive only a few hours of

supply per day) made worse by poor quality of service.

Rural electrification supply in India has been lagging in terms of service as well as penetration;

Decentralized Distributed Generation (DDG) is other option for rural electrification that

has been implemented in many areas. The rural household has access to electricity, and the

supply suffers from frequent power cuts, high fluctuation in voltage and frequency with so called

blackouts and brownouts. A major bottleneck in the development of the power sector is the

poor financial state of the utilities, which can be attributed to the lack of adequate revenues and

state subsidies for supply to the rural subscribers. The present policies of building large

centralized generation and extended distribution networks are clearly unlikely to solve the

problems of rural electricity supply, at least in the near future. Decentralized power generation

close to the rural load centers using renewable sources appears to have the potential to

address at least some of the problems of rural electrification. It is another option for rural

electrification that has been implemented successfully in remote villages where connectivity to

51

the grid is not feasible and cost effective. Grid Extension and Decentralized Distributed

Generation are the two basic means used to electrify rural areas.

THE NEED: There is a far greater challenge in justifying DDG projects in developing countries, particularly

in rural settings to provide electricity to meet the basic needs of village dwellers that do not

have access to grid electricity. Here, the challenge is to work out the economic viability of the

projects which is often more important than the limited choice of site-specific technologies.

Limited rural income generally can only cover operating costs and some equity, leaving the

majority of the initial capital expenditures to be supported in the form of grants from local

government or development agencies.

The starting point still remains the assessment of a suitable technology option which can be

managed by the local community. This means that both business and technical capacities of the

local community must be built to operate and maintain the energy system. For such

applications in remote locations, the most suitable of all technologies (solar photovoltaic or SPV)

turns out to be the most desirable option. Small diesel-generator (DG) sets, which are much

cheaper, offer electricity albeit at high cost to end-users. Currently, a biomass gasification

system coupled with a gas engine is emerging as another attractive option and stands in

between the other two technologies. This technology uses gas rich in methane produced from

biomass gasification (not combustion) which after clean-up is fired in a conventional

compression ignition dual-fuel engine. An alternator linked to the engine produces electricity.

Renewable Energy based-DDG projects across the world have been successful in areas where

demand exists and DDG has been found to be economically viable. However, successes at the

local or the micro-level have rarely been scaled up. This is due to a number of institutional,

financial, and technical reasons. In this section, we look at the issues that have impeded the

development of Renewable Energy based DDG projects.

Financial institutions in India, due to lack of adequate knowledge of these technologies, their

advantages, and returns, are not convinced enough to lend for the purchase of these (RETs).

A number of government agencies collect data at the rural level that focus on different aspects

52

of energy, including resource availability, supply potential, and to a limited extent demand

assessment. This data is neither shared nor collated into a single database for an informed

decision-making system either by the government or private sector, which results in limited

data and information for rural energy entrepreneurs looking to enter the clean energy DDG

market.

DDG concept has been dependent on national programs that have either been technologycentric

or end-use-based without any inter-linkages. Owing to a rigid program based approach,

little or no attention has been given to either the effectiveness of these programs or the issues

that promote human welfare through a measurable approach.

Governments are slowly coming forward with creative ways to support DDG. However, the

gap between government subsidies and the true cost of a project can at times be too wide to be

bridged by local users. Special-purpose models are being created to clearly delineate the

responsibility of the local community in terms of ownership of assets through shareholding,

operation and maintenance, and payment mechanisms. These models still need to be

standardized, improved upon and tested across several different locations before they can be

widely applied.

THE PROPOSAL:

The base line study will be done in remote villages (Cluster of 19 villages from the states of

Bihar, Jharkhand, and Orissa) of India and this study shall be undertaken by The Green

Mantra (TGM). The aim of this study is to demonstrate how renewable sources of energy can

reduce poverty through improved quality of life and increased livelihood opportunities in

remote, non-electrified villages of India that are not likely to get electricity from the grid.

53

SCOPE OF WORK: The study will start with significant amounts of desk study to compile a full inventory

of all types of energy interventions in the proposed three states namely Bihar, Orissa

and Jharkhand.

Based on extensive desk studies of available reports, field surveys and site visits, those

Interventions that targeted the poor or rural dwellers will be identified. As a first step

for ensuring energy access, village inventory data is to be compiled to understand

the local availability of resources to meet the energy needs, the skill set of the affected

population and their capability to pay for energy resources.

This can be achieved using data and information available through geological surveys,

demographic surveys, energy supply, demand projections and locally available natural

resources like wind, solar, biomass, and water/hydro resource to meet the energy needs.

The effort would be to first get access to available data through government records,

published information and support of organizations like Google, etc. and supplement it

with grass root level validation and value addition using a survey questionnaire to

assess the availability and acceptability of local resources to meet their energy needs.

WORK PLAN/ METHODOLOGY

The methodology for the study incorporates both formal and informal approaches to obtaining

the information desired. The Work Plan shall be implemented in the following three phases:

1. Selection of District/Block of Villages /Cluster for initial study

2. Preparing a database of Village level Inventory in selected states

3. Prepare a detailed project proposal with cost estimates and revenue model

1. Selection of District/Block of Villages /Cluster for initial study.

54

They are:

Aurangabad

Gaya

Koraput

Other area in Bihar/ Jharkhand/ Orissa.

2. Preparing a database of Village level Inventory in selected states.

Some of the issues involved and its implication while building up Village Inventory data

base are as under:

Physical maps of the area (geological maps) showing topography, forest cover, water

bodies etc.

Socio –political Map / Census data helps in identifying different groups, fixed and

migratory communities, Number of households, adults, women, children , social and

cultural values etc.

Pre existing energy infrastructure such as proximity to electricity grid/sub stations,

gas pipelines, solid fuel availability and delivery system.

Availability and proximity to motor able roads, railway tracks, waterways etc.

Availability of Schools, Banks, post office, Primary health centers, ponds, wells,

tanks etc.

Level of education and skill sets of local people will help in understanding the most

effective means of communication like posters, leaflets, talks and drama etc.

Income levels in community and how is the wealth held – in cash, fixed assets like

land, building, capital goods, livestock etc.

55

Decision making process in community, stakeholders, gatekeepers, influence

Groups.

Predominant commercial activity /business in the community such as making

handicrafts from local produce, pottery, carpet making etc.

Whether income is mostly locally generated or comes from elsewhere e.g. migratory

workers in other states or foreign countries.

How does income vary across the year e.g. with agriculture harvesting, remittance

from abroad or regular salary payments from local industry and offices.

What is the current level of expenditure by local people per month to meet their

energy needs (in cash or kind).

An understanding of the ability to pay by local people and their willingness to pay.

It helps to understand the pattern of expenditure by local people as it helps in

understanding their priorities.

Sense of ownership and attitude towards theft and pilferage by local community.

Modalities for collection of revenue. Who will collect? Where will the cash be kept?

Periodicity of collection regular or harvest linked (payable when able).

3. Prepare a detailed project proposal with cost estimates and revenue model.

The revenue model shall be based on:

Decentralized Distributed Generation scheme

56

Micro grid models ( areas connected to grid but poor availability of power)

Domestic consumers & commercial enterprises tariff

Selection of Technology and its sizing/suggested suppliers

Sources for funding recommended

Recommendation of Local Entrepreneur to set up and operate EA project

Skills and support required to enable and empower LE

Income generating schemes suited to availability of local resources, possible after

commissioning of EA project

Sample Districts Selected: 1. Aurangabad (Bihar)

2. Gaya (Bihar)

3. Korput (Orissa)

Dist I – Aurangabad (Bihar)

Population = 25,11,243 (Twenty Five Lac, Eleven Thousand Two Hundred Forty Three)

As per the 2011 Census, 85% of the population of Bihar lives in villages. Of the 38 districts in

Bihar, the villages from District Aurangabad have been selected for the proposed study.

Aurangabad district is located in south western part of Bihar with a total population of more

than 25 lakhs and about 2.86 lakhs households. It is predominantly a rural district (rural

population being 18.43 lakhs against 1.7 lakhs in urban areas, as per Census 2001).

2.42% of the total population of Bihar resides in Aurangabad District, where 1239 villages are

yet to be electrified (including de-electrified).

57

The number of villages for which electrification is to be carried out and the different type of

consumers to be provided connections are given below.

Category of consumers for electrification

Particulars No.

No. of Villages 1239

BPL Consumers 65219

Dist II – Gaya (Bihar)

Population = 43,79,383 (Forty Three Lac, Seventy Nine Thousand, Three Hundred Eighty

Three)

In addition to Aurangabad, the villages from Gaya have also been selected for the proposed

Baseline Study.

Gaya district is located in the central part of Bihar with a total population of more than 43 lakhs

with 5.1 lakh number of households. It is predominantly a rural district (rural population being

29.97 lakhs against 4.76 lakh in urban areas). It is the fifth highest in the population percentage

of Bihar, with a density (per sq km) of 880. The district has a total of 2680 Villages spread in 24

Blocks including 2059 Villages which are yet to be electrified (including de-electrified). No. of

Villages for which electrification is to be carried out and the numbers of the different types of

consumers to be provided connections are given below:

Category of consumers for electrification

Particulars No.

No. of Villages 2059

BPL Consumers 73664

Dist III - Koraput (Orissa)

58

Population = 13,76,934 (Thirteen Lac, Seventy Six Thousand, Nine Hundred Thirty Four)

Koraput is one amongst 30 districts of Orissa state. Total 14 Taluks, 231 Villages are in this

district. This district is a part of the tribal belt in southern Orissa with a population of more than

13 lac people with a literacy percentage of 49.87%; out of which 38% are females and 61% are

males.

Electrification Data: Particulars No.

Total No. of villages 1997

Electrified village 1102

Non-electrified village 895

% of Electrification 55.18%

Preface

Energy is a key driver to sustain an impressive economic growth of 6-8% in the country.

There is hardly any area where energy input is not required though in a varying measure.

So, it is quite important to ensure a sustainable flow of all forms of energy. That is not all;

as energy should also be used quite efficiently. Energy conservation is all the more

needed in the present day scenario. As of now, around 75-80% of our population lives in

the villages, where energy supplies are quite deficient in nature. As per census 2001,

nearly 44% of the rural households do not have any access to electricity. Out of these

some of the villages are situated in quite inhospitable terrains where taking grid power

would either be quite difficult or un-economical. Thus it leaves due scope for alternate

forms of energy to make their way into such remote rural areas.

Recently, the concept of rural electrification via Distributed Generation (DG) has come

as a boon for the rural areas. This is in tune with the Govt. of India‟s initiative to provide

electricity to all by the year 2012. The key objective is to ensure an integrated

development of the villages accompanied by wholesome economic growth of the country.

59

CONCEPT OF DISTRIBUTED GENERATION

For a large and dispersed rural country, decentralized power generation systems, where in

electricity is generated at consumer end and thereby avoiding transmission and distribution costs,

offers a better solution. Gokak Committee had gone into details about the concept of

decentralized generation to meet the needs of rural masses. The main recommendations of the

Committee are as under :-

1. The concept of Distributed Generation (D.G.) has been taken as decentralized generation

and distribution of power especially in the rural areas. In India, the deregulation of the

power sector has not made much headway but the problem of T&D losses, the

unreliability of the grid and the problem of remote and inaccessible regions have

provoked the debate on the subject.

2. The D.G. technologies in India relate to turbines, micro turbines, wind turbines, biomass,

and gasification of biomass, solar photovoltaic and hybrid systems. However, most of the

decentralized plants are based on wind power, hydro power and biomass and biomass

gasification. The technology of solar photovoltaic is costly and fuel cells are yet to be

commercialized.

3. In so far as the 18,000 villages in remote and inaccessible areas are concerned, the

extension of grid power is not going to be economical. Decentralized plants based on

biomass, gasification of biomass, hydel power and solar thermal power and solar

photovaltaics are the appropriate solution for these areas. A decision with regard to the

available options will have to be taken depending on the feature of each site/village.

4. As regards the remaining unelectrified villages, the responsibility should rest primarily

with the State Governments. The Govt. of India would, however, act as the facilitator to

them.

5. As people in many of the electrified villages are very much dissatisfied with the quality

of grid power, such villages also encouraged to go ahead with the Distributed Generation

Schemes. These should also be the responsibility of the State Governments

60

6. In so far as the 18,000 villages in remote and inaccessible areas are concerned, the

extension of grid power is not going to be economical. Decentralized plants based on

biomass, gasification of biomass, hydel power and solar thermal power and solar

photovaltaics are the appropriate solution for these areas. A decision with regard to the

available options will have to be taken depending on the feature of each site/village.

7. As regards the remaining unelectrified villages, the responsibility should rest primarily

with the State Governments. The Govt. of India would, however, act as the facilitator to

them.

8. As people in many of the electrified villages are very much dissatisfied with the quality

of grid power, such villages also encouraged to go ahead with the Distributed Generation

Schemes. These should also be the responsibility of the State Governments.

9. Though India has made considerable progress in adopting technologies based on

renewable sources of energy these are not yet capable of commercial application on a

large scale.

10. Association of Village Panchayat with Village Level Committees is important for the

success of the programme. The fact that the Rural Electric Cooperatives which were

established in the 80.s for distribution of power supplied by the SEBs incurred losses

need not deter us from trying them out again as these did have some positive features.

Origin of the Study

Providing electricity to the rural areas is high on the priority of the Central government.

The Ministry of Power (MOP) has put in place a mission known as REST, which stands

for Rural Electrification Supply Technology Mission. Primary purpose of this mission is

to speed up the electrification of all villages progressively by the year 2012 via use of

Renewable energy sources and similar other decentralized technologies. For rural electrification.

The essence being to set up De-centralised Distributed Generation(DDG) projects based on

renewable energy technologies like biomass and solar etc.

Site Selection

61

Following which, preliminary survey was carried out in the following few villages coming under

the jurisdiction of the Gaya district:

Amghati

Telni

Vohva

Danipur

Vijaynagar

Sarvodayapuri

Khajuriya

Vishanpur

Shankarpur

Kalyanpur

Bhakauriya

Gulariyataud

Ghavataud

Jhagraahi

Morve

Kodiya

Domataad

Purnibathan

A well structured questionnaire was framed for each of these villages to collect the

primary information. The study was based on an end use approach within which the

existing energy use patterns as well as the projected demands of the individual village

were evaluated. Accordingly, the collected data was thoroughly analyses to evolve a

suitable design plan for village electrification. Due consideration was accorded to the

local needs and there from to the demand and supply requirements of energy use in those

areas. The participatory approach of managing the intended facility was given a proper

recognition. In totality, the following few parameters were focused in the first instance

through closely held discussions with the individual rural groups:

· Technical Feasibility (of the energy options)

· Initial Readiness to pay for better mode of lighting (traditional oil lamps in use)

· Overall Sustainability (of the intended project)

62

Renewable Energy Technologies as DDG

BIOMASS GASIFICATION

The electric power demand in most Indian villages lies between 20KW-100KW and the locally

available surplus biomass is often sufficient to meet these power requirements. Widespread

availability of agriculture wastage, fuel wood, animal dung and wasteland make biofuel and

biomass based energy appealing, with biomass gasification representing one of the most

promising small-scale electricity generating technologies. The use of biomass gasification

technology for rural electrification still remains limited, though with large potential across

India. Current installed capacity stands at around 350 MW, with small-scale systems

representing around

43MW of this, across 1800 systems. The potential for larger scale replication of biomass

gasification systems is estimated to be between 20,000 MW and 57,000MW.

Fuel supply plays a crucial role in determining the financial viability and sustainability of

biomass gasifier power plants. Competition with food produce makes biomass a potentially

contentious fuel supply, precluding the dedicated use of existing farmland for biomass

production. Mismanagement or unforeseen shortages of managed crops can put pressure on

forests or common property resources and can threaten the feasibility of distributed power

plants. However, in general rural India has an abundance of wasteland and marginal farmland.

Successful projects have helped local communities to effectively utilize energy

plantations or common land for the growing of suitable biomass fuel crops. Agricultural

residuals can supplement fuel crops for small-scale gasification plants. In addition, in some

environments electricity allows for increased irrigation and utilization of ground water stocks.

Where the community can regulate the use of scarce ground water, farmers can grow cash

crops and drought sensitive crops instead of low yielding millets. For small-scale electrification,

particularly community loads in rural areas, biomass gasification represent a sustainable and

relatively low cost option for fulfilling basic electricity needs

BIOMASS DIGESTER

Biogas digesters also hold great promise in delivering change in rural areas, especially in India,

where there are large amounts of cattle. Biogas is produced from animal and human waste

through a process known as anaerobic digestion, done with organic matter. The marsh gas,

or methane, produced, can be used as fuel, replacing traditional biomass or even kerosene

and LPG. Some of the advantages of biogas are that there are lots of animals in India, thus it

can be produced at low cost, and that the technology to make biogas can be produced

63

locally as well. Furthermore, as Practical Action states, “small-scale biogas production in rural

areas is now a well-established technology,” particularly China and India.

SMALL HYDRO

Small run-of-river hydro has enjoyed modest success in many locations across India as a

localized, cheap, clean, reliable and minimal-impact electrification option. Currently only

210MW are installed across 267 projects, predominating in the north. Small hydro systems

offer significant potential for wider deployment across mountainous rural areas. Across

India significant untapped potential would allow for up to 15GW of additional capacity.

Prospects for significant expansion of hydro-storage are smaller, and recent growth is

stagnating.

The investment costs for small rural and remote hydro power projects in India vary between

Rs. 124,310–Rs.

233,335 per kW. This includes the cost of power evacuation and distribution system. At a

discount rate of 12%, the energy delivery costs range from Rs.3/kWh up to around Rs.9/kWh,

dependent on the plant load factors. Seasonal variation in water flow and under utilization of

the produced electricity can threaten the viability of hydro plants.

WIND HYBRID

Wind power represents one of the most widespread and commercially viable renewable

energy generation technologies, gaining significant levels of deployment across both the

developing and industrialized world. Most of the wind energy deployment is grid

connected. Due to supply variations it is less suited to off-grid stand alone generation.

However, when considered part of a hybrid system, alongside diesel, biomass or solar

generation, wind turbines can be economically appealing. Decreasing capital costs as well as

government incentives strengthen the viability of wind-hybrid systems. However difficulties in

siting of turbines, combined with often undocumented local wind-speed variations, make

effective deployment time and information intensive, reducing its suitability even in hybrid-

configuration for small-scale applications. Wind-hybrid systems are currently in limited

operation at a handful of DDG sites across India. While the wind resource is generally poor in

many parts of India, an estimate a potential for around 45GW across 13 states. They show

wind-hybrid systems to be viable for decentralised generation where average wind speeds

exceed 4.75m/s. The cost estimates are highly sensitive to scale, load factor, wind resource

64

and choice of back-up/supplementing generation. Diesel and increasingly biomass

gasification technology are chosen to supplement wind power, with per kWh cost

estimates ranging from between Rs.7/kWh and Rs.10/kWh; our fieldwork puts the

estimated cost per unit around Rs8/kWh.

SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC

The Indian climatic conditions are highly suited to solar photovoltaic (PV) technology; India

enjoys between 250-300 sunny days per year, translating to between 4-7kwh/m2 (compared

to an average of 2.7kwh/m2 in UK and Germany). With capital costs of between $3,000/kw

and $6,000/kw, solar PV and thermal technologies are very expensive, making them only

suitable for small highly dispersed loads or for remote locations. Solar Home Systems (SHS)

and small solar panel systems have been used in such niche applications especially in projects

that requiring small loads of 20-100W. SHS do not have sufficient capacity to serve small

rural industries and groups of villages with 50-100kw demand profiles. However, SHS and

solar lanterns have been successful in southern India and are becoming more widely available

in northern parts.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) under its PV programme has distributed

around 610,000 systems, totalling around 20MW of capacity. This includes solar lanterns,

home lighting systems, street lighting systems, water pumping systems, and an aggregate

capacity of about 1.2 MW of stand-alone power plants. For community scale solar power

plants, the cost of delivering electricity for Indian conditions at Sagar Island (Sunderbans,

West Bengal) to be between Rs. 26-34/kWh10. Similarly, energy delivered from solar

lanterns and SHS is estimated to typically lie between Rs.20/kwh and Rs.30/kWh

65

Technology Application Advantages Disadvantages

Small biomass

plants

Water pumps Mills

Refrigeration Lighting

and communication

Allows for income-

generating activities

Base load operation,

continuous operation

possible

Noxious emissions

Mini-hydro

Mills Lighting,

communication and

other

Long life, high

reliability

Allows for income-

generating activities

Site-specific

Intermittent

Water availability

Wind Lighting and

communication

Mills pumps

No fuel cost Expensive

batteries

Intermittent

energy services

PV/Solar Basic lighting and

electronic equipment

No fuel cost High capital

costs High cost

of battery

replacement

Needs further

R&D

66

NEW INNOVATION IN OFF GRID TECHNOLOGY

¾ Light-Emitting Tapes

Solar Charged adhesive and magnetic tapes with socket-less LEDs encased in

silicon for lighting outdoor stairwells, hazardous areas and materials, sign posts,

fence perimeters, entrances, vehicles, trailers, boats, docks, and traffic cones. The

weatherproof tapes may be cut into any lengths for fitting into small areas or any

size surface while emitting light to the cut point. Unlike

Electroluminescent or other LED light ropes in the market, this tape is powered by

the sun and is not affected by cutting it to any desired length.

¾ Power Generation Station

Not only can this remarkable power station provide enough energy to charge up your

digital devices, LED lighting, and even run a group of special window fans without

need of tapping into the grid, it can also charge “AA” and “AAA” batteries directly

for your flashlights, MPEG players, and digital cameras.

¾ Self-Powered Safety Strip

Weighing in at only 3 ounces (including batteries), this waterproof reflective active

light safety strip charges up using flexible solar film requiring only a few hours of

full sunlight to light up through

the night from over 140 lights dispersed across its surface. No replacement

batteries necessary to emit light for up to 5 years.

¾ Self-Powered Hollow Blinking Safety Cone

This retro-fitted product attaches to any traffic cone or safety barrel allowing it to

remain hollow for stacking and flashes red light all week long from only a few

hours of sunlight exposure on a single day.

67

ASSESSMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES IN GAYA

The economically exploitable renewable resources in Bihar are solar, wind, hydro and biomass.

With an solar average irradiation of 4.89kwh/m and average daily sunshine of 8 hours, solar

power is a very attractive energy resource. if the installation cost are competitive enough, solar

photovoltaic technology is tipped to dominate the scene as it can be implemented anywhere in

the state for electricity production

Wind power on the other hand, is not a very attractive resource in Bihar. This is mainly due to

low wind speed across the state. The resource may be exploitable with low power wind

generation, however it is expected that the penetration rate of such system will not dominate due

to higher installation costs compared with other technologies.

Hydro power is not feasible due to flat land topology, flow rate and available head heights are

not very high, limiting the application to low hydro schemes. The available flow for operation of

hydro power plant is seasonal which interrupted for many months of a year.

A variety of biomass resources are available in Bihar such as domestic waste, by product from

agricultural production such as rice and wheat husks. This option is most attractive as it can co-

exist with production of much needed food products, and the largest waste product from the rural

area of Bihar is agricultural waste, rather than domestic waste

ASSESSMENT OF SYSTEM DEMAND

The absolute minimum demand scenario assumes that every household is equipped with two

CFL lights. The service is assumed to have limited availability being 5 – 6 hours of electricity

supply service per day. Once there is access to electricity demand will certainly grow. It was

assumed that have more or less the same consumption pattern.

68

Cost of technology

Generation Type Capital cost O $ M cost Notes

Solar 1.608(LK)kwh 1500 kwh AVERAGE

IRRADIANCE(

Wind AVERAGE WIND

SPEED(2.1 M/S) AT

50 METRE HUB

HEIGHT

Bio mass

CHOICE OF TECHNOLOGY

The Projected village was extensively surveyed to arrive at the best possible technology Option

for basic electrification. Biomass based power plant was ruled out both on the basis .Of degree of

difficulty in collecting the dung as well as the non-uniform distribution of cattle (often put for

sale) amongst the community. There is a good sunshine (4.89kWh/m2/day) at the site, which

would have made it an ideal choice for the use of a solar PV based village powers system.

However, its high initial capital cost swung the balance in the favor of a biomass energy based

power system commonly known as a biomass gasifier.

Accordingly, biomass technology was deemed as a best possible alternative for

this village having a forest covers thousands of Ha. There is a grazing land more than 100 Ha

, which has been encroached upon by the villagers for agricultural purposes. Cluster of villages

has an annual surplus availability of woody biomass in the range of thousands of

tones enough to keep a biomass gasifier system of 650 kWe going on for a daily

operation of 4-6 hours. The dry and fallen wood is found year round excepting during

the rainy season.

69

The biomass Gasifier technology

Biomass gasification is a process of converting solid biomass fuel (like wood) into a

combustible gas. It is commonly known as the producer gas, which results due to a series

of thermo-chemical reactions. The gas is a low heating value fuel, with a calorific value

of 1000-1200 kcal/Nm3. Nearly 2.5-3.0 Nm3 of gas can be derived via the gasification of

about 1 kg. of air-dried biomass. It can then be used in an energy-efficient manner with a

fairly good control mechanism to meet thermal energy demands in ovens/burners, boilers

or kilns etc. However, the gas can be cooled, cleaned and fed to an engine to operate either on

dual fuel or in a 100% producer gas mode to produce some useful electricity.

The biomass gasifier with 100% producer gas engine is a proven and eco-friendly

technology and thus carbon neutral. Further, the ash content of biomass as wood blocks

(5 cm cube) is less than 0.5 %. It is also possible to use the unburnt charcoal taken out

from the gasifier for any commercial purpose.

In recent years, the rationale has been further by the environmental imperative. Local and

regional

environmental problems associated with the generation of conventional energy have provided a

strong argument for enhancing the role of renewable within the broad energy development plans

of the country. More recently, the Kyoto Protocol, agreed at the conference of parties to the

framework convention to climate change, in December, 1997, adds a global perspective to the

environmental imperative. It has been directed, last decadeand- a half, for promotion of wind,

biomass, and solar energy technologies (and of other RETs) in the Indian energy-economy. This

has provided a great deal of empirical knowledge about strategies for successful commercialized.

Future of biomass-sustainable energy: Unlike coal, oil and natural gas, whose reserves are

limited, sources like the sun, wind, and vegetative „waste‟ can be used to generate energy in a

sustainable way. The sun‟s energy can be used to generate electricity, and heat as well as cool

building cheaply over a long period of time without creating pollution. The wind energy is also

used to generate electricity. Biogas plants can utilize human and animal waste to produce fuel for

cooking and other uses, reducing the dependence on fossil fuels. It is estimated that the country

has potential of 100,000 MW renewable energy (Padmanabhan, 1999). However, the share of

renewable energy sources is 1378 MW, a mere 1.5% (exclusive of Hydro-power) of the total grid

power generating capacity in the country (90,00 MW). It has often been pointed out that an

important reason for the slow rate of diffusion of renewable energy technologies is the high

front-end cost. This will no longer be there as the fossil fuel is expected to reach their maximum

potential and their prices will become higher than the renewable energy options. It is expected

that the setting of clean technology in the coming years will facilitate channeling of funds from

the developed countries to support renewable energy sources development in developing

countries due to issues, such as, climate change becoming urgent. Thus finance is no longer a

70

constraint.

Renewable source of energy other than hydropower e.g. solar, wind and geothermal sources,

currently provide only a small fraction of global energy use. The most prevalent source of energy

is biomass. Biomass furls include wood, logging wastes and sawdust, animal dung, and

vegetable matter consisting of glass, leave, crop residues and agricultural waste. Globally,

biomass fuels accounts for 12 % of total energy requirements. In developing countries, however,

biomass accounts for 36% of all energy used smith (1987) and De Coninth et al. (1985). In India,

the biomass programmes are mainly targeted to meet the needs of rural and remote areas and

have helped in reaching electricity to the interior un-reached section of the population.

One of the reasons for slowdown in installation/commissioning of biomass-renewable energy

generation is due to inadequacy of the input material. To overcome this, attempts are being made

to use alternatives to cattle dung like poultry dropping, sericulture waste, press mud, wastes from

sago industry, bagasse from sugar mills and like wise. Since biomass based energy system can

help to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, a project on carbon emission reduction through

biomass energy for rural India, prepared by the center for application of science and technology

in rural areas, in the Indian Institute of Science, is proposed to be posed to UNDP/GEF for

multilateral funding.

Estimates indicates that if all forms of biomass were taken into account, their carbon dioxide

emission reduction potential would be equivalent to about 50 million tones by the year 2010

(Sharma, 1999). But this will only be possible once biomass is used as a source of energy. Mere

afforestation may not balance out excess carbon for an extended period of time. Because

uncontrolled burning and decay of the mature plantations will bring back a sustainable quantity

of carbon, back into circulation. The increased production of carbon dioxide in developing

countries should be offset by greater energy conservation. Efforts to make renewable sources of

energy less costly and more widely available should continue: practicable methods should be

developed for waste incineration as a energy in the table.

*) - Modernisation of Biomass Technology in India

Biomass as a technology has slowly built up in India in recent times. A decade of experience

with modern

biomass technologies for thermal, motive power and electricity generation applications exists in

India. Gasifier technology has penetrated the applications such as village electrification, captive

power generation and process heat generation in industries producing biomass waste. Over 1600

gasifier systems, having 16 MW total capacity, have generated 42 million Kilo Watt hour (KWh)

of electricity, replacing 8.8 million litres of oil annually (CMIE, 1996). An important aspect of

small gasifier technology in India is the development of local manufacturing base. The large

sized gasifier based power technologies are at R&D and pilot demonstration stage. The thrust of

the biomass power programme is now on the grid connected megawatt scale power generation

with multiple biomass materials such as rice straw, rice husk, bagasse, wood waste, wood, wild

bushes and paper mill waste. Nearly 55 MW of grid connected biomass power capacity is

commissioned and another 90 MW capacity is under construction. Enhanced scale has improved

71

economics as well as the technology of biomass power generation. Technology improvement is

also derived from joint ventures of Indian firms with leading international manufacturers of

turbines and electronic governors.

Four gasifier Action Research Centers (ARCs) located within different national institutions and

supported by the MNES have developed twelve gasifier models, ranging from 3.5 to 100 KW.

Two co-generation projects (3 MW surplus power capacity) in sugar mills and one rice paddy

straw based power project (10 MW) werecommissioned. While the co-generation projects are

successfully operated, the 10 MW rice straw based power project completed in 1992 ran into

technological problems and is closed since last two years due to want of suitable raw material. A

rice husk based co-generation plant of 10.5 MW capacity installed by a private rice processing

firm in Punjab and commissioned in 1991 faced problems such as unavailability of critical spares

of an imported turbine and uneconomical tariffs from the state utility despite power shortage in

the state (Ravindranath and Hall, 1995). The rapid escalation in the price of rice husk and low

capacity utilization added to the cost making the operation uneconomical. The experiences with

R&D and pilot project suggest the need for considerable technological and institutional

improvements to make biomass energy competitive.

The future of modern biomass power programme rests on its competitive ability vis-à-vis other

centralized electricity generation technologies. Policies for realizing biomass electric power

potential through modern technologies under competitive dynamics has a recent origin in India.

The biomass electricity programme took shape after MNES appointed the task force in 1993 and

recommended the thrust on bagasse based cogeneration. The focus of modern biomass

programme is on the cogeneration, especially in sugar industry. A cogeneration potential of

17,000 MW power is identified, with 6000 MW in sugar industry alone (Rajan, 1995).

Programme for biomass combustion based power has even more recent origin. It began in late

1994 as a Pilot Programme launched with approval of two 5 MW projects. Interest subsidy

programmes on the lines of that forthe bagasse based co-generation was extended in 1995. The

programme also initiated a grid connected biomass gasification R&D-cum-Demonstration

project of 500 Kilo Watt (KW) capacity. A decentralized electricity generation programme

initiated in 1995 provided support for total of 10 to 15 MW of small decentralized projects aimed

at energy self sufficiency in electricity deficient rural locales. The programme aims to utilize

some of the 350 million tons of agricultural and agro-industrial residues produced annually in

India.

The cost of electricity generation from these plants are anticipated to be

quite competitive at Rs. 1.8 per KWh. Modern biomass supply has to be driven by the dynamics

of energy market. Supply of biomass at a competitive cost can be ensured only with a highly

efficient biomass production system. Productivity of crops and trees depend critically on

agroclimatic factors. To enhance biomass productivity, the MNES is supporting nine Biomass

Research Centers (BRCs) in nine (of the fourteen) different agroclimatic zones in India with an

aim to develop packages of practices of fast growing, high yielding and short rotation (5-6 years)

fuelwood tree species for the degraded waste lands in these zones. Some centers have existed for

over a decade. Packages of practices for 36 promising species are prepared. Biomass yield of up

to 36.8 tons per hectare per year is reported (Chaturvedi, 1993) from some promising fuel-wood

species. Since the knowledge of these package of practices has remained limited within the

72

research circles, their benefits remains to be realized. The mean productivity of farm forestry

nationally is very low at 4.2 tons per hectare per year (Ravindranath and Hall, 1995).

Exploitation of bioenergy potential is vitally linked to the adequate land supply. While the use of

cultivable crop land for fuel remains controversial under the "food versus fuel" debate, there

exists a vast supply of degraded land which is available cheaply for fuel-wood plantations. The

estimates of degraded land vary from 66 million hectares (Ministry of Agriculture, 1992) to 130

million hectares (SPDW, 1984). With improved biomass productivity and efficient energy

conversion, it is feasible to sustain a significant share of biomass in total energy use in India by

utilizing a fraction of this degraded land for biomass plantation.

*) - Biomass Pollution Control Strategies

The combusting of unprocessed biomass dominates rural energy combustion in the developing

world and may also be important in urban communities. As many as two billion people,

particularly women and children, may be exposed to indoor pollution resulting from the use of an

open fire for cooking and heating, with inadequate ventilation. Concentration of particulates and

oxides of sulphur and nitrogen substantially exceed proposed health norms. The most important

effects are respiratory, ranging from predisposition to acute infections in children to chronic

obstructive pulmonary disease in adults. As many as 700 million women in developing countries

may be at risk of developing such as serious disease. In addition to these direct effects on health,

the environmental degradation resulting from the unsustainable use of biomass may compromise

the food producing capabilities of rural communities (WHO, 1992).

Mitigation of indoor air-pollution can be achieved by the use of processed biomass (charcoal),

biogas, or methanol and the adoption of simple ventilation measures and improved stoves.

Hopefully, there will be a discernible trend in developing countries together with the extension

of local processing technologies. The introduction of appropriate species of vegetation, to

provide a renewable source of biomass should be planned as a part of environmentally sound

development Kazuhisa Miyamoto (1997).

*) - Conclusions & Recommendations

Wider uses of improved technologies for the local conversion of raw biomass into better, more

efficient types of fuel, such as biogas, are needed through out the developing world. This results

in little pollution if equipment is properly maintained, and contributes to a cleaner indoor

environment. It will also be necessary to promote renewal of biomass vegetation, in order to

prevent environmental degradation with loss of agricultural land essential for the survival of the

rural communities. Renewal of biomass also promotes a balance between carbon dioxide

productions during fuel combustion and its uptake by the biomass vegetation during

photosynthesis.

National programme on biomass gasifiers

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is implementing a National

Biomass Gasifier Programme for mechanical, electrical, thermal heating applications and

village electrification since mid nineties. Various types of financial incentives are

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available for installation of gasifier systems under this programme. Biomass gasifiers in

the capacity range of 5 kW to 1 MWe electric capacity have been developed indigenously

and are being manufactured by various manufacturers in the country. The systems being

proposed for village electrification applications are based on 100% producer gas, which is a

recent technological development. The biomass gasification systems can be used for a diverse

range of applications in the rural areas. Apart from use as a cooking fuel and for electricity

generation, the gas can be used for heating applications in village industries. The estimated cost

of village electrification projects with biomass gasification systems is about Rs. 50,000/- to Rs.

80,000/- per kWe in capacity range of 5 KW to 50 KW including the cost of land, civil works,

distribution lines etc. Biomass Gasifiers in India are being made in capacities ranging from a few

kWs to MW.

System capacity

There are around 100 households availing the benefit of biomass based lighting. Two

light bulbs of 40 W each are being used for indoor lighting in each household. These

lights remain operational for about 4 hours (6-10 p.m.) on a daily basis. Five nos. of street

lights also lit up a few vital entry and exit points within the village at night. Such lights

also stay on for about 4 hours daily. The plant capacity is around 8.20 kWe as per the

following breakup:

Number of households 100

Total domestic lighting load (@ 80 W per household) 8.0 kW

Street lighting loads 5 No.s (40 W each) 0.2 kW

Total connected load 8.20 kWe

The system capacity was scaled up to 10 kWe taking into account the near-term

electricity demand as also the associated technical losses etc. A well performing producer

gas engine offers a distinct cost advantage at Gaya since it does not use diesel. However what is

really needed is an assured supply of biomass.Table below gives a bird‟s eye view of Projected

village from several important considerations.

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Name of the Village

Distance from the nearest roadhead

Distance from block office

Distance from electrical substation/

11 kV line

Distance from nearest

powerhouse

Total number of households

Total population

Number of hamlets/dalit bastis

Community facilities available

Commercial establishments

Primary Occupation

Important crops

Total Household load

Total Street lighting load

Commercial load

Industrial load

Community load

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Daily hours of use (lighting)

Daily hours of use (commercial load)-

proposed

Technology option considered

Installed System capacity

Management of funds

TOTAL PROJECT COST

SOURCE OF FINANCING

REVENUE GENERATION

Raw feedstock availability

The wood collected for the purpose contains nearly 25-30% of moisture. It is removed

prior to being loaded in the biomass gasifier system through a sun drying system. Total

quantity of firewood used per day is around 60 kg to ensure 4 hours of daily operation.

Specific fuel consumption is nearly 1.5 kgs of wood per unit of electricity generated at

the site. Buffer stock of woody biomass is maintained for about 4-7 days at a time in a

specially created shed at a distance of just 0.5 km. from the plant location. Wood is

moved from that point to the system via a trolley mounted arrangement.

BARRIERS

Even when demand exist and economically DDG project based on renewable energy failed and

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success of pilot project was rarely replicated. This section identifies and categorized the relevant

barriers. Existing literature has explores technological, financial and broader institutional

barriers to small scale renewable technology dissemination. It has less often focused on the role

of organisational structures that determine ownership, management, local participation and

conflict with the prevailing regulatory environment.

Barrier is divided into three parts initial barriers, organisational barriers and structural barriers.

The majority of the projects surveyed represents pilot or early implementation initiatives and as

such encountered a range of challenges we might characterize as initial barriers. These barriers,

although significant and potentially critical, represent problems that can be overcome by

organisational learning, capacity building or simply by redesign of subsequent project strategies.

Organisational barriers are often problems that have been overcome in early projects, but

learning alone will not eliminate them. By the nature of project implementation, first movers

may possess the right combination of individuals, organisational capacity and other leadership

traits that mitigate the effect of the potential challenges. Subsequent large scale replication,

whilst continuing to face these same challenges, has to be able to succeed even without

exceptionally strong local leadership and find organisational structures that are less dependent on

exceptional individuals to take local or regional leadership.

Structural barriers take the form of those challenges faced by projects that arise from fundamental

problems in the regulatory and institutional environment. Examples include unfavourable licensing

constraints or problematic tax and subsidy regimes. These barriers will likely continue to pose a

threat to project replication unless concrete steps are taken to reduce or remove them through

various regulatory or policy actions.

Initial Barriers

The most significant initial barrier is the appropriate technology choice. Where organizations have

had limited experience with project implementation, or are using new technologies, equipment

failures, resource availability problems or other critical technology issues may threaten the longer-

term sustainability of the project. Few implementing organizations have yet demonstrated effective

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methods for handling technology risk, short of simply avoiding locations that are not suitable for

their favoured technology. Where state nodal agencies of MNRE have been charged with remote

rural electrification, they typically revert to solar lanterns.

In addition, establishing village power plants is associated with significant financial and

organizational risks. Unproven technology, unpredictable local conditions and uncertainty about

the capacity of the organization to deliver, all contribute to the risk of failure. Such project risks

can be managed effectively by replicating successful approaches and learning from failures.

Increasingly organizations are moving beyond pilot phase programmes with effective strategies

in place. For initial projects, financing can represent the single largest barrier to entry. High

capital costs of DDG projects exclude many smaller NGOs from considering such initiatives and

government subsidies are often hard to access. Where financing is available, it is sometimes

restrictive.

Organizational Barriers

Plant load factor plays a critical role in determining economic viability of DDG technologies. The

load factor is largely dependent on organizational approaches to distribution and supply ensuring

adequate load and where relevant bio-fuel supply for the system. Where organizational approaches

lack the incentive to increase or maximize load, by adding additional customers, the viability of the

project may be threatened. Where measures are taken to help communities increase load through

income generating activity or acquiring modern appliances, the project may succeed with increased

benefit for local people. Cooperatives and self-help groups may be suitable local bodies to work in

partnership with implementing agents to ensure engagement by local households and businesses,

whilst also highlighting the opportunities created by a reliable electricity supply.

Local cooperatives, NGOs, Village Energy Committees and Panchayats can help ensure the reliable

collection of bills and timely repairs and maintenance. Whereas past programmes implemented by

outside organizations without such local participation often saw subsequent disuse and petty

disputes emerging, the increasingly community oriented approach to ownership and management

has helped circumvent these issues.

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Typically government projects are able to avoid the regulatory challenges that can constrain non-

government organizations; however such top-down approaches can incur organizational and

participatory challenges of their own, with regards localized management and community

participation. Limited organizational capacity to engage with local people combined with retained

ownership that offers few incentives for cooperation of local people can contribute to both under-

utilization and disuse of power plants. Although government projects do not face the same hard

budget constraints as other projects, low plant load factor threatens long term viability of such

projects. Working alongside a local NGO, Panchayat, cooperative or self help group can help

establish sufficient demand for power to thus ensure sufficient PLF for viable plant operation.

Reliable resource availability or fuel supply can be critical for success of DDG projects. Local

knowledge of seasonal variation or farming patterns can be utilized to identify future problems. For

biomass gasification, successful projects, Have demonstrated effective energy plantations utilizing

village waste land. The addition of cash crop into the community can also help offset the risk

associated with other food crops for market, providing a stable price for gasifier fuels such as

Daicha, Ipomoea, rice husk and other crop residuals. Establishing effective fuel supply or drawing up

fuels supply agreements with the local community requires leadership or experience. Successful

projects have demonstrated how reliable fuel supply can be ensured however lessons must be

learnt from previous mistakes. Caution should be exercised with regards proximity of neighboring

biomass projects and upward pressure on food crop prices, both of which can be avoided with

utilization of waste land and dedicated plantations.

Structural Barriers

Whilst pilot projects have demonstrated the potential contribution from DDG renewable

technologies, large scale deployment is limited by numerous structural barriers. Tax, subsidy and

regulatory regimes can be used to accelerate effective rural electrification; however their effect at

present remains a constraining one. State actors retain a monopoly on generous central subsidies,

whilst non-state actors struggle to secure financing. Credit constraints exist under a risk-averse

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commercial banking sector and are reinforced by a lack of demonstrated medium term successes

that could build confidence and capacity for lending. Whilst several international support

mechanisms such as the UNFCC Clean Development Mechanism have begun to support small-scale

non-governmental projects, the transactions costs associated with applications make individual

submissions prohibitive.

The prevailing Indian approach to rural electrification remains highly centralized and a target-driven

supply push strategy; this can impede the contribution from non-governmental groups, local bodies

and the private sector. Where support does exist, incentives and financial grants are often misused

or misdirected hindering implementing organizations or constraining technology choice. Subsidies

that are currently tied to implementation rather than project performance have resulted in limited

viability and sustainability of many projects.

Whilst government reports have recognized the potential role for DDG in meeting India’s

electrification challenges, their recommendations (Gokak Committee 2003) and even policy

provisions (Electricity Act 2003) have failed to see changes at the state level. There continue to exist

severe regulatory barriers to rural generation and distribution; existing legislation lacks clarity and

open to alternative interpretation and rent-seeking with significant bureaucratic delays and barriers

(corruption, coop licensing).

The Business Model for Gaya village system

IT is quite apt to enunciate a properly functional business model for this specific mode of

power generation, which can translate into significant gains for all possible stakeholders.

Following three of models make good business sense:

· Technical

· Financial

· Social

·

Technical Model

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Seemingly, it is the most vital component of a decentralized distributed generation

system. Any inexactness in devising a site specific technical model can lead to plethora

of operational problems. A properly formulated technical model was

put into action, the immediate consequence of which is a smoothly functioning biomass

power system at Gaya. Following few are the key linkages of a successful technical

model:

Identification of village (s)

Feasibility study

Choice of technology

Constitution of a VEC

Land allocation by VEC

Award of annual maintenance contract

Raising dedicated plantation

Upgradation of technology

Social Model

The empowerment of the village community is quite crucial to an overall success of a

power system like at Gaya. It instills in them a sense of purpose and belonging to care

for the system upkeep in no uncertain terms. Of special significance is the role

intended/played by a designated body better known as the Village Energy Committee

(VEC). VEC is as good as a cooperative society and exercises control over the following

few parameters of immediate relevance to the community and system operation as a

whole:

Monthly Electricity charges

initial contribution from the beneficiaries

fuel supply arrangement

security of the plant

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Penetration of DDG As on 30 April 2010, 16.1 per cent5 of India‟s villages‟ were still unelectrified. These villages

are expected to be electrified through a mix of GE and DDG. The MNRE has undertaken the

remote village electrification program me targeted at electrifying un-electrified remote census

villages and remote un-electrified hamlets of electrified census villages where grid connectivity

is either not feasible or not cost-effective. A total of 5259 remote villages/hamlets were

identified in 2001 for rolling out the project, out of which 3332 villages have already been

covered .The plan is to electrify 296 villages through distributed generation technologies of

biomass gasification and small hydro.

Rural Energy Synonymous with Rural Electrification

Over the years, planners have regarded delivery of rural energy services as synonymous with

rural electrification. This is reflected by the fact that once a village has been declared electrified,

the energy needs of the village are deemed to have been met, regardless of whether electricity

is available to that village and whether the village rural electrification infrastructure is

operational throughout the year. At the same time, energy needs related to cooking, water

extraction, and space heating have not been look date as an integral component of this

energization program and thus are developed as disjointed and specific programs catering to a

particular end use.

Credit Access to Poor

The rural poor, owing to limited cash flows have limited options for investing in clean energy

technologies like solar home lighting systems. In light of this, access to credit becomes crucial

for facilitating access to clean energy technologies, especially for relatively capital intensive

DDG systems. Owing to the consumptive nature of energy, cumbersome procedures involved in

accessing formal credit and the reluctance of formal banking institutions to provide credit to the

poor for meeting their household energy needs, especially in the remote areas, the poor have

remained outside the mainstream, especially in terms of accessing clean technologies like solar

home lighting systems, biogas plants, etc. The poor are unable to provide the required guarantees

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and hence, financial institutions do not develop packages for decentralized rural energy

programmes.

Lack of Adequate Information/Data for Market Development

Limited data and information exists for rural energy entrepreneurs looking to enter the clean

energy DDG market. However, due to the fact that a number of government agencies collect data

at the rural level that focus on different aspects of energy, including resource availability,

Supply potential, and to a limited extent demand assessment, this data is neither shared nor

collated into a single database for an informed decision-making system either by the government

or private sector.

Lack of Research and Development (Including Customization) in Technology In spite of the need, sufficient emphasis has not been laid on technology development in the national level

energy emphasis on the necessity of designing devices as per the needs of the community and this is

reflected in the absence of a mechanism that can take and incorporate feedback for assessing R&D

requirements from the community in the planning process. For instance, the kerosene devices used in

rural areas for lighting purposes are technically archaic in nature. This not only results in higher kerosene

consumption, but also in higher emissions of smoke and poor luminosity.

Lack of Adequate Awareness about RETs in Rural India The use of RETs and their advantages are still not widely known in rural India. As a result most

rural folk are not aware of these technologies and their advantages. Furthermore, the high up-

front cost of these technology options make RE-based DDG options out of the reach of the

Common rural consumer unless backed up with some support and access to financing.

Lack of Confidence in RETs in Rural India

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Even in areas where the rural consumers are aware of these technologies, that is, in areas where

pilot projects or large scale programmes have been implemented, the limited Success of these

projects/programmes has resulted in the consumers often being wary of investing in these

technologies due to their past failures. The rural poor have a very Limited risk-taking capacity

and unless completely certain as to the products sustainability and viability, would not

Take the risk of investing in it.

Risks Associated with Developing a Marketing Enterprise in RE Technologies Entrepreneurs face issues like competition from highly subsidized yet unsustainable RE products

being marketed by the state Renewable Energy Development Authorities (IREDA) under the

MNRE programmes. These government programmes are often seen as another target to be

achieved, and as a result, the product development and customization to local needs, sustenance,

after sales services, etc., are poor. Besides, the marketing skills and Knowledge of entrepreneurs

with regard to RETs are often not very developed. Entrepreneurs face large pre investment risks

associated with the costs of marketing, contracting, and information collection.

One of the key requirements for entrepreneurs includes upfront investment in the supply chain to

ensure smooth delivery of services. For instance, the availability of spares in the local market or

trained mechanics, who undertake repairs and change installations, can contribute to sustained

delivery of services. Small-scale local entrepreneurs may also need to be made aware of the

unexploited market potential in the sector and be provided with initial assistance in market

research and development. In order to encourage such innovation and ownership, micro-credit

schemes have supported the development of local capacities to plan, execute, maintain, and

finance rural infrastructure.

Willingness to Pay

Successful deployment of rural energy interventions is contingent upon widespread willingness

to pay amongst rural households and energy users. Willingness to pay in turn is contingent upon

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the following broad conditions:

• Availability and access to credit.

• Image and brand status of service/product provider.

• Earlier experience with such products.

• Cost comparison with incumbent energy source––break up between up-front costs and

variable costs.

• Impact on livelihood.

• Life of the product and daily operability of the product.

• Repair and maintenance of the product and the availability of spare parts and service

network.

These, however, are quite likely to be only perceived barriers. It has been seen that electricity

consumption has high value for rural households and where access exists, willingness to pay is

high, even amongst poorer households. Consumers are generally willing to pay significantly

more for shorter outages and better-quality supply even in grid connected areas. This is also

confirmed by observations that in remote and off -grid areas consumers are willing to pay a

premium for electricity connections, either from diesel generators or for non-conventional

connections.

Financial Viability Financing is a major issue for DDG systems based on renewable energy. The major components

related to cost are capital cost and operation and maintenance cost. The relatively high capital

cost results in the overall high cost of generation related to these systems. Owing to the lower

income levels, the rural households are generally able to meet the operational costs and some

part of the capital cost related to the DDG systems. The relatively high capital expenditure

requires the government to provide Support in the form of capital subsidy/grant to render the

DDG systems financial viability. The involvement of the local community stakes in a way

enhances the viability of the project.

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Limited Site Specific Site Options

The DDG-based renewable energy projects are site specific and may face issues related to

limited options for technology selection owing to its dependence on the availability of the locally

available renewable energy resource and dispersed population. Further, low levels of population

Density may offer low levels of demand, resulting in short hours of operation of the system

thereby impacting the project viability.

Conclusion

This report work has achieved the following:

1. Found an alternative to enhance distribution networks in rural areas.

2. The cost-benefit analysis of the system is was done.

The ideal ratio range between the biomass and solar is also calculated on the basis of financial

tools, baseline surveys in the given 19 villages of Gaya, Bihar which is (65-70%) Solar and (30-

35%) Biomass based energy. These attributes are of prime importance and can be a useful

add-on. These are therefore suggested as future work.

The pricing, installation and distribution of power is based on the uneven features of villages

covered and the preferences, response of the residents. Levels of education, poverty are also

important factor in pricing slabs which vary from Rs. 40 to Rs. 150 per household.

This work presents a scheme that is useful in enhancing the present schemes for operation of

REDG-integrated distribution networks. In an attempt to make this tool more significantly

viable, the robustness of the scheme should be further examined. It is recommended that this

scheme be applied to a larger distribution system of this topology. Considerations for other

topologies of distribution system (i.e. loop, etc) should also be developed.

The advancement of this thesis in the future involves the consideration of two features:

The advancement of the performance assessment tool to include a more expansive set of indices

for the reliability assessment of the system as well as a cost benefit analysis scheme for the

evaluation of the impact of the integrated REDG on the system.

The development of a cost-benefit analysis component which is dedicated to the

determining the contribution.

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4. “AC Power Systems Handbook”, Jerry Whitaker, CRC Press 1999

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