The expansion opportunity for off-grid PV to go mainstream: Multiple case studies for village electrification and telecom power-up in India

Abstract

The authors have successfully installed more than 500kW of PV for rural electrification in India and have developed key learning points which can enhance PV adoption. The opportunities for the off-grid power systems are increasing dramatically to where this is no longer a niche application and could be called “non-grid”, including the cases where the grid is not reliable and PV becomes an adjacent power source. There are numerous drivers which can develop multiple 10's of GW of non-grid PV demand in the next decade based on leveraging the types of successful implementation as shown by the authors. The authors discuss three key projects: village electrification for lighting in Andhra Pradesh (162 villages 750kW), flour mill powering in Madhya Pradesh (29 Villages 485kW), and power-up of cell towers replacing diesel. The PV and battery combination provide key advantages for each application. In these cases, grid extension is not viable and PV presents a compelling solution over diesel. Key considerations are: diesel is prone to theft; PV/battery is now cost effective, has more robust components, lower pollution, and with longer Li battery lifetimes overall lower O&M. The particulars of the village electrifications are presented along with the overall costs and cost recovery modes with nominal usage fees collected. The compelling aspects for telecom power-up with PV are highlighted as this has potential for up to 5% of all global PV. Both the key application points of the installations and the market opportunity drivers will be detailed.