IEEE Electrification Magazine - June 2017 - 48

While work on
the grid-extension
aspect is proceeding
ahead of schedule
(with more than
51% of villages
already connected),
progress on the
off-grid target has
been very slow so
far (only about 20%).

demand-supply gap. A large percentage of the Indian population (a staggering 237 million people) has either
no access to electricity or unreliable
access to power. In fact, most households in rural areas have no electricity
despite being connected to the grid
due to the shortage of power. India's
US$11-billion rural electrification program, called Deen Dayal Upadhyaya
Gram Jyoti Yojna, includes an objective to deliver power to 18,452 unelectrified villages by 2018. Of these, 14,204
can be served by grid extensions, and
the remaining 3,449 villages require
off-grid power. While work on the
grid-extension aspect is proceeding
ahead of schedule (with more than
51% of villages already connected),
progress on the off-grid target has
been very slow so far (only roughly 20%). The last decade
has seen substantial activity in the deployment of ac
microgrids, which are small, isolated power systems using
local energy resources. The thrust has been twofold: for
household consumption and for enhancement of economic activity. The country has also seen the emergence of
industrial microgrids that use solar PV, phasing out the use
of fossil fuels. The Indian government has been working on
policies to address the standardization of practices that
would enable wider microgrid deployment and the eventual integration of microgrids with the main grid. Because
most microgrids in existence or being planned are small,
isolated systems, off-grid systems, and isolated microgrids
are synonymous in the Indian context.

Boost to Solar PV Off-Grid Systems
As part of the National Solar Mission, India's Ministry of
New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued a draft policy

TaBle 1. The financial outlay by the

government for the financial year 2015-2016.
Subscheme/Program

Schemewise Outlay
(in Crores)

Off-grid program
* Solar applications

3,400

* Grid interactive rooftop
and small systems

600

* Solar thermal systems

600

Total

4,600

Rural energy applications

* Solar cookers

130

Total

4,730 (~US$70 million)

I E E E E l e c t r i f i c ati o n M agaz ine / j un e 2017

for mini- and microgrids for the country in June 2016 (MNRE Report). This
policy aims to increase microgrid
capacity to 500 MW in the next five
years in the private sector. This
includes the deployment of roughly
10,000 renewable energy-based miniand microscale projects averaging
50 kW across the country. Some highlights of the policy include:
xx
regulated price determination for
minigrid projects (with tariff
determination flexibility provided
to operators)
xx
the provision of single-window
clearances for seeking right of
way and regulatory approvals,
and the availability of information
on taxes
xx
local village committee creation
x to ensure payment collection, customer adoption, and
easier dispute resolution
xx
grid connection provision to enable the sale of power
to utilities
xx
a renewable purchase obligation multiplier to make
interconnections enabling attractive options for
distribution companies
xx
the specification of standards, performance, and
quality.
Various projects are in the planning stage to set up an
aggregated 300 MW of solar PV projects (both off-grid and
grid-connected) by defense establishments in the country to
promote sustainable growth and a boost to indigenously
manufactured equipment. A major component of power in
rural India is used to pump water to agricultural fields, and
this power is heavily subsidized. To promote solar energy
use in the agriculture sector and subsequently reduce the
load on the grid and eliminate subsidy, several programs for
solar pumps for irrigation and drinking water are being promoted by the government. From 2014 to 2015, a total of
28,778-kWp capacity solar pump projects were sanctioned
and implemented by various state agencies. All of the government projects in the country are monitored by state-designated agencies [e.g., West Bengal Renewable Energy
Development Agency (WBREDA) for the state of West Bengal]. The operating guidelines for the implementation, minimum requirements/standards, and regular updates with
information on products of empaneled component manufacturers on various programs is made available to the public on the MNRE website. The financial outlay for various
subschemes by the government under the 12th plan (2012-
2017) is shown in Table 1.
The microgrid sector has attracted entrepreneurs to
work in rural parts of the country and set up isolated power
systems (microgrids). To attract such energy-saving companies to set up microgrids in build, own, operate, and

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