Decentralisation in Electricity Services with Reference to Renewable Energy in India (original) (raw)

Rural Electrification in India: A Decentralized Approach

Renewable energy technologies have substantial potential to provide reliable and secure energy supply as an alternative to grid extension or as a supplement to grid power and therefore suitable for electrification of rural and especially remote areas which are still lacking access to modern energy sources like electricity; perceived major barrier for rural development. In India, locally available, renewable energy sources such as solar energy, biomass, wind, or hydro energy can go a long way in alleviating the problem of lack of electricity and can play a prominent role in extending access to energy. Though India has embarked upon an ambitious programme of rural electrification which may expand the grid connectivity rapidly to several uncovered areas, the actual supply of electricity through the established grid would still remain unpredictable and limited. This review paper studies existing literature to map out the factors that have led to the successful implementation of Decentralized systems and explores how these systems can lead to social and economical upliftment of the rural community.

Decentralised renewable energy: Scope, relevance and applications in the Indian context

Energy for sustainable …, 2009

Presently used centralised energy planning model ignores energy needs of rural areas and poor and has also led to environmental degradation, whereas decentralised energy planning model is in the interest of efficient utilisation of resources. Energy planning at the village level is the bottom limit of the application of decentralised planning principle. The individual villages are the smallest social units where the energy consumption occurs. Renewable energy is energy derived from sources that are being replaced by nature, such as water, wind, solar or biomass. Renewable sources are essentially non-polluting if applied correctly. The paper presents a review of the important decentralised renewable energy options, related case studies of successful deployment of renewable energy technologies in India and resulting lessons learnt. Case studies discussed in the present work show the feasibility of decentralised energy options for the residential and small scale applications in a village or a cluster of villages. The paper also details the different initiatives taken by the government of India to promote decentralised energy production in India. It is found that the small scale power generation systems based on the renewable energy sources are more efficient and cost effective. Thus the focus should be on the small scale renewable energy technologies that can be implemented locally by communities and small scale producers, but can make a significant overall contribution towards the national energy supply.

IRJET- Rural Electrification in India: A Decentralized Approach

IRJET, 2020

Renewable energy technologies have substantial potential to provide reliable and secure energy supply as an alternative to grid extension or as a supplement to grid power and therefore suitable for electrification of rural and especially remote areas which are still lacking access to modern energy sources like electricity; perceived major barrier for rural development. In India, locally available, renewable energy sources such as solar energy, biomass, wind, or hydro energy can go a long way in alleviating the problem of lack of electricity and can play a prominent role in extending access to energy. Though India has embarked upon an ambitious programme of rural electrification which may expand the grid connectivity rapidly to several uncovered areas, the actual supply of electricity through the established grid would still remain unpredictable and limited. This review paper studies existing literature to map out the factors that have led to the successful implementation of Decentralized systems and explores how these systems can lead to social and economical upliftment of the rural community.

Scope, Relevance and Sustainability of Decentralized Renewable Energy Systems in Developing Economies: Imperatives from Indian Case Studies

2019

Abstract—‘Energy for all’, is a global issue of concern for the past many years. Despite the number of technological advancements and innovations, significant numbers of people are living without access to electricity around the world. India, an emerging economy, tops the list of nations having the maximum number of residents living off the grid, thus raising global attention in past few years to provide clean and sustainable energy access solutions to all of its residents. It is evident from developed economies that centralized planning and electrification alone is not sufficient for meeting energy security. Implementation of off-grid and consumer-driven energy models like Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) systems have played a significant role in meeting the national energy demand in developed nations. Cases of DRE systems have been reported in developing countries like India for the past few years. This paper attempts to profile the status of DRE projects in the Indian context...

Decentralised power generation in rural India

International Journal of Ambient Energy, 1999

A comparison of a few resource-technology combinations suitable for decentralised power generation in rural areas from the view point of the unit cost of electricity produced has been undertaken. The cost of the extension of grid electricity to rural areas has also been compared with the cost of decentralised power generation using renewable sources of energy. In several situations the decentralised power generation using renewables has been found to be cost effective.

Rural Electrification in India: Economic and Institutional aspects of Renewables

2007

The paper assesses the demand for rural electricity services and contrasts it with the technology options available for rural electrification. Decentralised Distributed Generation can be economically viable as reflected by case studies reported in literature and analysed in our field study. Project success is driven by economically viable technology choice; however it is largely contingent on organisational leadership and appropriate institutional structures. While individual leadership can compensate for deployment barriers, we argue that a large scale roll out of rural electrification requires an alignment of economic incentives and institutional structures to implement, operate and maintain the scheme. This is demonstrated with the help of seven case studies of projects across north India.

Providing electricity access to remote areas in India: An approach towards identifying potential areas for decentralized electricity supply

This study presents the results of a preliminary attempt towards identifying potential areas in India where provision of electricity through renewable energy-based decentralized generation options can be financially more attractive as compared to extending the grid. The cost of generation of electricity from coal, hydro and nuclear power plants and also cost of transmission and distribution of electricity in the country have been estimated. The delivered cost of electricity (generated in a coal thermal power plant) in remote areas, located in the distance range of 5-25 km is found to vary in a wide range varying from Rs. 1 3.18 to 231.14/kWh depending on peak electrical load and load factor. The study indicates that renewable energy-based decentralized electricity supply options (such as micro hydro, dual fuel biomass gasifier systems, small wind electric generators and photovoltaics) could be financially attractive as compared to grid extension for providing access to electricity in small remote villages. r

Energising Rural India Using Distributed Generation: The Case of Solar Mini-Grids in Chhattisgarh State, India

Mini-Grids for Rural Electrification of Developing Countries, Green Energy and Technology, 2014

Conventional grid extension has been the predominant mode of electrification in India. However, solar photovoltaic technology has also been used for providing electricity access in remote, forested habitations and islands. Under the Remote Village Electrification Programme by the Government of India, around 12,000 villages and hamlets have been electrified using renewable energy. The state of Chhattisgarh in Central India has alone been able to electrify around 1,400 remote and forested villages through solar mini-grids. This chapter attempts to examine the development and operation of the solar mini-grid model for enhancing electricity access in India, with special focus on the state of Chhattisgarh. The work, based on extensive literature review, interview with key stakeholders and field visits to selected remote forested villages in the state of Chhattisgarh, shares the experiences and lessons of the solar mini-grid programme for rural electrification in the state by comprehensively analysing multiple dimensions of the programme such as coverage and trend, technical designs, institutional arrangements, financial mechanism and operation and maintenance aspects, which were key to the success of the solar mini-grids. We observe that robust institutional arrangement, strong policy support and an effective maintenance and an oversight mechanism have been the key contributing factors for the success of this initiative.

Decentralized renewable energy interventions in India as eco-innovations: forms and drivers

Decarbonizing the electricity sector has received heightened attention worldwide amidst growing concerns of climate change. Towards reaching this end, numerous clean energy innovations have been attempted across countries that increasingly emphasized on various renewable energy technologies. Of late decentralised renewable energy interventions have caught the attention of policy makers and private sector players in significant ways due to multiple benefits associated with these systems, importantly as a form of eco-innovation. In this backdrop, the paper lays thrust on mapping and analyzing key driving forces for the promotion of decentralsied energy systems as eco-innovation and how these systems have led further innovations in the form of eco-behavioural changes in India The analytical contours of the paper draws from secondary data sources as well as from case study analysis.

Decentralised Renewable Energy and Rural Development: Lessons from Odisha’s First Solar Village

Journal of Land and Rural Studies, 2020

Energy plays an indispensable role in providing basic services for our daily lives. The perils of climate change and its impact on our environment have made accessibility of energy difficult. The burden of energy poverty falls particularly on the poor households in rural areas. Decentralised renewable energy options can be used to meet the energy requirement especially for the rural and tribal communities, which are scatteredly located. The study aims to find out the effectiveness of a renewable energy project at village level by studying the experiences of the Ho tribal community residing in Barapita village of Odisha, India. Barapita village is the first 100 per cent solar powered village of Odisha. Participatory rural appraisal method comprising tools such as transect walking, interview schedule, focus group discussion and key informant interviews has been used to find out the energy use pattern and challenges faced by the community. Although the solar project was initially a suc...