By: Dr S.

M ALI SREEPTA MOHANTY KIIT University , BBSR

Electrification of remote villages

Besides food, shelter, clothing, and employment,

the next priority in villages is affordable energy for cooking and lighting. to build a network for cooking with LPG (liquified petroleum gas) to do away with the drudgery and unhealthy practice of cooking.

The first important task, a gigantic task, will be

The second important one will be to provide

electricity to improve the living conditions to act as an essential catalyst in alleviating poverty.

 Moreover, 20 000 villages have been identified as unapproachable from the grid line and will have to

depend on alternative sources of power. These alternative sources could be solar or wind energy, biomass, biogas, or micro- hydel energy, which may be locally available to be harnessed in a useful manner. Incidentally, only these sources have been found to be technologically and commercially viable until now, especially in villages that are situated beyond a certain distance from the grid line.

Application of solar power

A solar power plant of the size 10100 kW (kilowatt),

depending on the load demand, is preferable particularly with a liberal subsidy and low-interest soft loan from financial institutions, to raise the quality of life of the people subjected to poverty in these areas.
Centralized

power generation and distribution, individual DLS (domestic lighting systems) are also common in many rural un electrified houses.

 The plants in Sagar Island(West Bengal) started with the unique feature of training people to

operate and maintain the plants, besides generating an awareness through interaction with prospective consumers who at a later stage could take up the management on a cooperative basis. Biomass-based power plants have also been set up in that area.

 The four important components in a solar power system are solar modules, battery, inverter, and charge controller, besides other BOS (balance of

system)/components. These four components incur more than two-thirds of the total cost. In fact, 50% of the project cost is invested on the solar modules. In October 1998, regular electrification of villages through off-grid solar plant started. So far, 11 such plants have been set up, covering electrification of more than 25 villages in Sagar Island. (Detailed analysis are given in Table 1).

Table 1: Cost of module and percentage of total cost

Name Month and year Installation capacity (KWp) 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 110 110 Module (RS. in 1000) 4617 5141 4317 4317 4317 3375 3375 3375 8175 17111 16112 Per Watt cost Total (RS. in 1000) 7345 9218 7968 7968 7968 7098 7098 7098 15379 29842 31373 Percentage total

Kamalpur Mrityunjay Khasmahal Gayenbazar Mahendra Natendrapur Haradhanpur Mandirtala Mousuni-I Mausuni-II ParthPratim

Feb 1996 Oct 1988 May 1999 May 1999 Aug 1999 Aug 2000 Nov 2000 Dec 2000 March 2001 April 2003 March 2004

174.25 185.24 173 173 173 135.5 135.5 135.5 153.8 156 146.46

63 56 54 54 54 48 48 48 53 57 55

Analysis of Cost and output in India and Germany

In India, the price of battery varies between Rs.27 per watt and Rs.41 per watt. The cost of an inverter has increased considerably by almost 33% from Rs.42 to Rs.55 contrary to the price of electronic items which are generally decreasing . Charge controllers are on a declining trend. From Tables 2 and 3(given in the next slide), it appears that the cost of the SPV stand-alone power plants with an additional battery to store energy for supply in the evening hours to meet the villagers need is 285 000 rupees (6264 dollars) / kWp.

 In Germany, the cost of a roof-top or other type grid-connected units, exclusive of a battery in the range of 50120 kWp of capacity, of a solar plant

is 289 760 rupees (6368 dollars). The cost of a module in Germany is above 70% of the total cost as against 50%55% in India. The cost of an inverter is around 12% of the total cost in Germany, whereas it is nearly 19% in India. The SPV (solar photovoltaic) mode of electrification started in 1998 after a system on a trial basis was commissioned in Kamalpur village in 1996.

Table 2: Cost of battery, inverter, and charge controller

Name
Kamalpur Mrityunjay Khasmahal Gayenbazar Mahendra Natendrapur Haradhanpur Mandirtala

Total project
294 369 319 319 319 284 284 284

Inverter
35 42 63 63 63 58 58 58

Charge controller
10 13 3 3 3 12 12 12

Batter y
34 39 41 41 41 27 27 27

Mousuni-I Mausuni-II
ParthPratim

280 284
285

34 71
55

Not quoted 71
16

37 41
40

Table 3 : Cost of solar power in Germany and its Annual Generation

Region of Germany No. of installations Total capacity (KWp) Annual generation (KWh/KWp)

North-West South Capacity Range

453 895 Module cost

1215 2250 Inverter cost

732 860 Cost in Euro per KWp

50-120 KWp

74.3%

11.8%

5307

Comparative analysis between Conventional and Non-conventional sources of power

Overall cost per watt has reduced by nearly 23% as seen in

the competitive bidding in West Bengal in India. Capital cost of thermal generation is as low as 40 000 rupees per kW. Compared to this, decentralized solar power generation is 285 000 rupees per kW or 3.5 times higher.

Cost has reduced by 50% over two decades and should

descend further by 50% so that conversion of solar power to electricity is commercially viable for general application.

 There is an additional element of fuel charge in the

tariff connected with thermal power due to dangerous repercussion from pollution and health hazards. Instead, solar power happens to satisfactorily addresses this serious issue free from recurring cost on fuel to provide clean energy. Ironically, though the SPV system is utilized to help poor people in remote areas in third world countries. The same technology works for well-to-do people in urban areas in the developed countries. In both the cases, states finance the schemes through incentives or some form of a grant.

 Therefore, it is little wonder that Japan, Germany, and

the US, have several SPV installations with hundreds of megawatts in capacity as against only a few installations with tens of megawatt capacity in India and Africa, though they both have enough sunshine.

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