IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2020 - 80

10 connections or as many as 200. The success of the
program in Uttar Pradesh makes a good case study. SMGs
were installed in three village market places in Jagdishpur
Block (Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj Nagar District) and
Shivgarh Block (District Rae Bareli). The system provides
uninterrupted power to 200 commercial establishments,
which also have fitted LED lights to improve efficiency.
Previous to the installation, the areas experienced regular
power cuts during evening hours (from 5 pm to 9 pm) and
unreliable supply during other times of the day. All in all,
the 34 micro-grids are currently being installed in rural
Uttar Pradesh to provide power to 750 shops, households,
poultry units, and village-level processing units. The success of this program has seen the Uttar Pradesh New and
Renewable Energy Development Agency adopt the model
for lighting unelectrified and poorly electrified villages in
Uttar Pradesh [5].

"Scale Up Access to Clean Energy"
MNRE is implementing a project called "Scale Up of
Access to Clean Energy (ACE) for Rural Productive
Uses," an initiative to enhance the use of reliable and
affordable renewable energy for rural productive uses/
livelihoods in unserved and underserved areas in
3 states; Assam, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha. Under
this scheme, 15% of the total number of Renewable
Energy Technology Packages for Rural Livelihoods (RETPRLs) supported in each state will be reserved for beneficiaries from scheduled castes and 7.5% of the total
number of RETPRLs supported in each state will be
reserved for beneficiaries from Scheduled Tribes. The
RETs include solar PV lighting, solar dryers, biogas
plants, and stand-alone micro-grids for rural industry
development, etc. Livelihood sectors include poultry,
diary, horticulture, fisheries, and cottage industries [7].

Biomass: Grid-Connected Biomass Power
and Cogeneration
Four sets of programs are being implemented with the
aim to generate competitively priced bio-power and/or
heat from agricultural, agro-industrial, and plantation residues, and urban and industrial waste. These are: i) biomass power/bagasse cogeneration; ii) non-bagasse
cogeneration; iii) biomass gasifier; and iv) urban and
industrial waste. Biomass has always been an important
energy source for India. According to the MNRE figures,
approximately 32% of the total primary energy use in the
country is still derived from biomass and more than 70%
of the country's population depends upon it for its energy
needs. MNRE has initiated some programs for promotion
of efficient technologies in various sectors of the economy to ensure derivation of maximum benefits. Biomass
power generation in India is an industry that attracts
investments of over 6 billion (U.S.$85 million) every

80

year, generating more than 5 billion kWh electricity and
yearly employment of more than 10 million person-days in
the rural areas. Biomass materials used for power generation include bagasse, rice husk, straw, cotton stalk, coconut shells, soya husk, de-oiled cakes, coffee waste, jute
wastes, groundnut shells, and sawdust. The estimated
availability of biomass is 500 million metric tons annually.
Studies sponsored by MNRE estimate surplus biomass
availability at 120-150 million metric tons, covering agricultural and forestry residues corresponding to a potential
of about 18 000 MW. Furthermore, approximately 7000 MW
of additional power could be generated through bagassebased cogeneration in the country's sugar mills if these
sugar mills were to adopt technically and economically
optimal levels of cogeneration for extracting power from
the bagasse they produce. The installed capacity is 9800
MW (cumulative up to October2019).
MNRE is currently implementing the following two
programs: Promotion of Grid-Interactive Biomass Power
and Bagasse Cogeneration in Sugar Mills and nonbagasse cogeneration under the Program on Energy
from Urban, Industrial, and Agricultural Wastes or Residues. Achievements are well below set targets (11% for
the 2018-2019 financial year). MNRE assesses that the
slow progress is due to the following "major barriers":
■

■
■
■
■

lack of reliable information on biomass availability
and problems in the management of biomass supply
chain - the industry lacks a reliable and sustainable
biomass supply chain at a reasonable price due to
lack of efficient market mechanism in biomass collection, processing, transportation, and safe storage;
inadequate feed-in tariff in some of the states to promote the sector;
lack of single window clearance for project approvals
in many states;
high cost of capital; and
inadequate funding support from financial institutions.

Financial incentives are part of the MNRE's promotion
of biomass and bagasse cogeneration. Land availability
and skilled human resources are still lacking to run the
power plant at optimal rated capacity.

Biogas: National Biogas Program
MNRE promotes the establishment of biogas plants
under the Central Sector Scheme, National Biogas and
Manure Management Program (NBMMP). The program
aims to set up household biogas plants for cooking energy and lighting needs of mainly rural and semi-urban
households. A household type biogas plant generates
biogas from organic substances such as cattle-dung,
and other bio-degradable materials such as biomass
from farms, gardens, kitchens, and night soil wastes etc.

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

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MARCH 2020



IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2020

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