Cloud powered rooftop solar PV power estimation tool from TERI...

 

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has announced that it is presently developing cloud computing based open-source Web-GIS Tool for estimating Rooftop Solar PV power generation potential particularly for Chandigarh area.

There is significant scope for installing solar rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems in many Indian cities. This tool is getting designed to help people to investigate their locations of interest and perform pre-processed analysis.

Tool provides visual reference – a map of the entire city showing the buildings those have solar PV installation potential. This tool was demonstrated during the workshop entitled “Promoting Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Systems in India” organized by TERI.

Mr. Amit Kumar, Director, Energy Environment Technology Development said “TERI started working on development of this tool realizing the felt need for the same, especially given the ambitious programmes on solar rooftop systems under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission as well as under States’ policies. While similar tools were available in countries like Germany and USA, nothing of sort was available in India. Going further, TERI aimed at a tool that can be used by anyone rather than only those having access to proprietary software”

.This tool designed to estimate the rooftop solar power potential of selected area or, buildings for a particular location w.r.t. various SPV technologies such as, crystalline, thin-film etc.

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TERI speaks about the need of long-term policies in the renewable energy sector...

 

Shirish Garud, Senior Fellow, Energy Environment Technology Applications, TERI, speaks about the work his organization is doing in the renewable energy space and what currently ails India's power sector

Q: TERI  has been working in the renewable energy and solar thermal power plants sector for a while now. Tell us a bit about how your projects in this space will benefit people and is the common man actually aware of the benefits of alternative energy?

A: TERI is working in renewable energy sector for couple of decades now. Further, it has established village level solar minigrids and biomass gasifier and solar PV technology based power plants in villages. These projects not only provide basic lighting but also power internet enabled computers and printers used for knowledge gain, provide power for  running small business or income generation activities such as bamboo splitting, turmeric grinding and so on. These projects provide the beneficiaries with the opportunities for economic activities and avenues for income generation. Our experience is that the common man is getting aware of the benefits of these activities and renewable energy power plants.

Q: With pressure on coal and natural gas increasing, will renewable's be able to meet India's energy needs?

A: Our demand for energy, both for power generation and for other applications such as industrial processes, heating and cooling, agriculture etc., is very high compared to the potential of renewable energy resources except solar energy, which has huge potential provided we can have access to the land for solar installations. However, in practice, the renewable energy applications will be limited and currently I don't foresee renewables will be able to meet India's all energy needs. However, in future we have potential to achieve about 15-30 % of India's energy needs in power sector through renewables.     

Q:What according to you is the single biggest factor ailing India's power sector today? A: I think inefficient distribution network, infrastructure and uneconomical and inefficient operations of the distribution companies are the biggest factors ailing India's power sector. Q: Most of our power is thermally generated. Why do we still lag when it comes to harnessing renewable energy sources?

A: We need huge investments in renewable sector and more progressive policies for integration with conventional grid network for renewable sector to grow rapidly. The policy environment is reasonably positive, however, long term policies are needed which can help to take it forward. 

Q: What are the challenges the renewable energy sector in India faces?

A: Renewable energy sector is rapidly evolving and major challenges faced by the sector can be summarized as under

• Lack of stable long term policies for promotion.
• Difficulties in getting latest technologies and efficient process knowhow
• Inadequate support for research and development and commercialization of home grown technologies
• Resistance from conventional power sector players to adopt and integrate the renewables.
• For higher percentage of RE integration we need to have latest technologies in energy storage and control to improve dispatchability of the renewable power plants. I think this area will be of great interest in coming years.
• Hurdles in land acquisition and spiraling land costs

Having said this, I must mention that in recent years both the central and state governments have been promoting large scale integration of renewables especially for power generation and National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) and National Solar Mission, one of the eight missions identified under NAPCC, along with Electricity Act 2003 are major drivers for renewable power sector. Progressive regulatory measures such as Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO), Renewable Energy certificate (REC) scheme, tax incentives, preferential tariffs are also providing required impetus to the sector.

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Cold Storage powered by Biomass based Projects launched in UP...

 

Union minister of new & renewable energy Farooq Abdullah assured all possible financial help to villages of Uttar Pradesh to help them develop alternative sources of electrification while inaugurating the 'Biomass energy based village electrification' and 'cold storage' project in a village of Sitapur on Thursday.

The project is first of its kind in UP where biomass is being used to supply power to a cold storage in a village to preserve fruits and vegetables of farmers. UP farmers have always been grappling with poor grid supply in villages which has been affecting their irrigating practices, children's studies and household chores. Even companies are reluctant to set up industries in villages which have insufficient power supply. This results in poor job avenues for locals, who then migrate to cities for livelihood.

Also, due to lack of proper storage and transit facilities, about 22% of agricultural produce, especially fruits and vegetables is spoiled. The wastage in fruits and vegetables is estimated to be worth about Rs 330 billion in India. To end this vicious circle, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) launched the concept of using indigenously available biomass resources for operating small and decentralised cold storage at village level.

In addition, they also wanted to supply off-grid (alternative energy) power to electrify households of villages. TERI installed its first project in Bilariya village of Sitapur with support of two Australian agencies, AusAid (managing Australia's overseas aid program) and CSIRO (Australian premier research organization). TERI said apart from electrification of households, the project will benefit in many other ways like creating job opportunities, developing alternative power source and recharging electronic lamps, mobile phones, etc.

The project is supplying electricity to over 140 households in nearby villages and a cold storage facility in Bilariya. A prepaid metering system is installed in households to ensure that villagers are paying only for the number of units they are consuming. The biggest advantage is that the cold storage (15 metric tonnes capacity) can easily preserve agrarian produce at 0 degree Celsius.

R K Pachauri, director-general of TERI, said, "We aim to install more such projects in villages of UP. We have met several times with the officials and the CM but there seems a lack of initiative from the state government to support such projects." Alternative energy projects are solution to the current power shortage in country. "States should help such projects financially as villagers cannot afford to run it on their own", he added.

The biomass electrification project has a capacity of 50 kilowatt but due to paucity of financial resources and lack of raw material to run the plant, the project is currently running at a capacity of 15 KW. A village community has been formed to maintain and operate the facility and look after villagers' requirements. TERI would assist the project for 2 years, after which it would be transferred to the community.

Villagers were apprehensive about sustainability of the model as they were facing challenges in sourcing funds from the government. The minister assured that he would extend financial help to the villages to develop more such alternative energy projects.

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floating solar project on patiala ki Rao at chandigarh...

 

On the lines of Solar Project on the Narmada River in Gujarat, it seems that Punjab is considering to build a solar park on Patiala Ki Rao at Chandigarh which is having seasonal water flows during two to months only. The project is called as UT Solar Park.

Earlier an Israeli based company, MST, has been consulted to check the viability of putting up solar project at this location. The team has visited sites of Patiala Ki Rao and Sukhna Choe for the proposed project.

However, after that the Punjab Energy Development Agency, the state nodal agency responsible for the development of renewable energy in state, was approached. PEDA has consulted The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) which has recently recommended to set up a 25 MW Project at this site.

According to sources, PEDA will soon invite Expression of Interests (EoI) for the said project.

 

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Additional Reading...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Narmada-plant-model-to-light-up-UT-solar-park/articleshow/21440888.cms

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As per “Integrated Renewable Energy Resource” report of TERI, Gujarat has 750 GW of renewable energy potential…

Power India found that The Energy Research Institute (TERI) has estimated Gujarat’s overall integrated renewable energy potential to be around 750 GW. This includes all the major renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro etc.

 

Source wise breakup as estimated by TERI is:

• Hydro Power: 345 GW
• Solar PV & Wind Hybrid : 240 GW
• Solar Thermal : 21 GW
• Wind : 139 GW
• Biomass 1.9 GW

 

Leena Shrivastava, Vice Chancellor, TERI said:

"The overall renewable energy potential in Gujarat is very high, considering if all the identified suitable lands can be made available. For this there is a need to focus on developing guidelines and policy for prioritisation of the land utilization, which enables easy and early clearance of lands for the renewable energy projects development,"

The report called as “Integrated Renewable Energy Resource Atlas for Gujarat” prepared by TERI and Sustainable Energy Foundations has been unveiled by former Union Ministers for Power Mr. Suresh Prabhu.

 

Besides Shrivastava and Prabhu, Guajrat's energy and petrochemicals secretary DJ Pandian, Moser Baer ED Ratal Puri and Hitachi Hi-Rel Electronics MD Piyush Shah addressed participants at two day Indian Solar Investment & Technology Summit in Gandhinagar.

 

As said by Alok Kumar Jindal, TERI’s associate fellow and area convenor:

"Based on the adaptability of this atlas, the same type of atlases can be developed for all the states having good renewable energy resources. The report is an interactive tool to help the planners and policy makers for promotion and development of renewable energy projects at large scale,"

The methodology for the study includes data collection on the previous estimates of renewable energy potential in the state, analysing those data, finding the shortcoming and need for its improvements and additionally the impact of technology development in to the actual potential. TERI contacted various government agencies and other relevant institutions data collection. The land use and land cover data of Gujarat were collected for the present year and analysed through the Geographic Information System.

The Energy-Environment Technology Development division of TERI focuses on development and propagation of products and services based on renewable energy technologies and resource-efficiency through multidisciplinary approach and close interaction with the user - community and industry. Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation works in the area of future of clean energy by supporting the design and implementation of policies.

 

 

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