Microgrids In India Research Articles

Who Benefits and How? A Capabilities Perspective on Solar Micro-grids in India

ABSTRACT Off-grids such as solar micro-grids offer a sustainable solution in providing universal energy access. However, the literature points out that services gained rather than energy access through any technology matter to people. Using capability approach, this study focuses on understanding the role of solar micro-grids in improving the well-being of rural communities in India. The findings indicate that solar micro-grids play an important part in expanding people’s choices and opportunities. Women appear to have benefited through assistance in household chores and reduced drudgery, while men seem to value entertainment and socialisation aspects. However, these energy-related capabilities are, to an extent, defined by socio-economic identities such as gender roles, and certain biases can get reinforced due to the social norms and traditions of the society. The study thus recommends that energy interventions need to be designed keeping in touch with local values and realities, thus, helping policies to be more effective.

Solar Equipment Based Micro Grid in Hilly Terrains of Rural India - A Broad Perspective

Rural electrification is an essential requirement for improving the lives of people residing in rural areas and improving their image among the international community. To install Photo Voltaic (PV) panels in isolated regions as per government plans and regulations, solar-based micro grids are needed for Efficiency in the Energy Sector. There are many components required for installing and operating a micro grid. In addition, the location of the micro grid also plays a vital role in the installation. To analyze the difficulties and challenges, especially in hilly terrains, a detailed review of the factors involved in installation of solar-based micro grid is carried out. The general challenges involving the technical difficulties such as the stability, reliability, power imbalance, control and operation are presented in this paper. Stand-alone models of micro grids are described along with its advantages. The government initiatives like subsidies and funding for rural electrification is discussed. As a case study, two micro grids in India, one at Ladakh and one at west Bengal are presented. These case studies bring out the problems and issues faced during the rural electrification and recommendations were given for the future scope.

Electricity-Centered Clientelism and the Contradictions of Private Solar Microgrids in India

Most discussions about solar microgrids focus on sustainable energy and development goals and the technical aspects of electricity generation, storage, transmission, and distribution. Very few explicitly examine the ways in which their introduction upsets and reshapes entrenched practices of electoral politics and citizen claim-making around electricity access and development. In India, as in many parts of the world, electricity represents the most visible symbol of economic development and social well-being. Democratic politics in many developing countries are linked to demands for access to electricity. The meshing of electricity, development, and democratic politics in postindependence India has produced a politics of clientelism in which parties have sought to gain voter support with promises of cheap or free electricity. Although this electricity-centered clientelism has expanded supply, it has simultaneously contributed to skewed spatial access, unreliable supply, and high debt burdens for state-owned electricity distribution companies. This article examines histories of clientelism and the contradictions emerging from the introduction of private solar microgrids in rural areas of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It shows that although solar microgrids avoid electricity-centered clientelism, significant numbers of poor rural households in their supply areas are both excluded by their user-pays approach and unable to demand fair access through political representatives. The study calls for alternative governance and support programs at local levels that ensure that private solar microgrids can deliver reliable electricity to poor households. Key Words: clientelism, electricity, India, populism, solar microgrids.

Beyond technical smartness: Rethinking the development and implementation of sociotechnical smart grids in India

How smart grids are understood and defined will influence the kinds of smart grids users will encounter in the future and their potential impacts. Practitioners and policymakers largely perceive smart grids as technological interventions. However, a number of social, financial and governmental interventions can also make grids smart, i.e., more efficient, more responsive, more inclusive and more robust. Drawing on qualitative research done using elite interviews, site visits and document analysis of eight micro-grids in India, this paper provides concrete examples of what could be understood as social, financial and governmental smartness, and in doing so, broadens the knowledge on smart grids beyond the technical understanding.This paper argues that social, financial and governmental interventions are central to ‘smartness’, and that multifaceted and relational sociotechnical approaches will build cheaper, just, more democratic and sustainable smart grids. The paper observes that smart grids are not conceived as smart grids but rather develop incrementally. An incremental approach, rather than pushing a premeditated set of ideas and technologies, reduces adoption of non-contextual interventions as well as unnecessary investments in new technologies. The paper recommends that policymakers and practitioners should understand and develop smart grids as sociotechnical and incremental grids.

Microgrids in India: Possibilities and Challenges

A microgrid is defined as a controllable system consisting of distributed sources (typically renewable energy sources), loads, and energy storage systems that together can operate either in grid-connected or isolated modes. Conventional microgrids in India have been microhydroelectric (hydel) power sources, with the oldest traced back to Sidrapong Hydel Power Station, a microhydel power plant located at an altitude of about 3,600 ft at the base of Arya Tea Estate, around 12 km from Darjeeling town). Commissioned in 1897, this plant consisted of two 65-kW singlephase alternators (2,300 V, 83.3 Hz). The plant was later upgraded to 1,000 kW to cater to the needs of the residents in the town and neighboring tea gardens. Apart from hydel, biomass and wind have been in use, although, recently, a major focus has been on solar photovoltaic (PV) plants. An underlying commonality in all these plants has been that these systems have been isolated power sources supplying local loads where the grid has not penetrated or is not reliable due to inadequacy or inaccessibility. Recently, a 2,500-year-old monastery in the Ladhak region in the Himalayas was illuminated using solar PV by the Global Himalayan expedition team to cater to the needs of roughly 150 monks who live there. They had never before seen electric power lighting at night in that monastery.

Decentralized demand–supply matching using community microgrids and consumer demand response: A scenario analysis

Developing countries constantly face the challenge of reliably matching electricity supply to increasing consumer demand. The traditional policy decisions of increasing supply and reducing demand centrally, by building new power plants and/or load shedding, have been insufficient. Locally installed microgrids along with consumer demand response can be suitable decentralized options to augment the centralized grid based systems and plug the demand–supply gap. The objectives of this paper are to: (1) develop a framework to identify the appropriate decentralized energy options for demand–supply matching within a community, and, (2) determine which of these options can suitably plug the existing demand–supply gap at varying levels of grid unavailability.A scenario analysis framework is developed to identify and assess the impact of different decentralized energy options at a community level and demonstrated for a typical urban residential community – Vijayanagar, Bangalore in India. A combination of LPG based CHP microgrid and proactive demand response by the community is the appropriate option that enables the Vijayanagar community to meet its energy needs 24/7 in a reliable, cost-effective manner. The paper concludes with an enumeration of the barriers and feasible strategies for the implementation of community microgrids in India based on stakeholder inputs.