IEEE Electrification Magazine - June 2017 - 54

This is the right
time for investors
to become more
engaged and for
companies to
contribute their
resources,
manpower, and
expertise in the
renewable energy
business.

primary focus in the state. The microhydro projects are maintained and
fully owned by the local community.
The ownership and maintenance is
conferred upon the village electricity
committee, which is usually formed
before the design and installation of
the project, upon project completion.
SREDA only provides technical support when required. The early systems
included a 10-kW Karek microhydro
project in south Sikkim, which had a
hydraulic head of about 9 m and a discharge of 0.20 m3/s. The plant uses a
single-unit turbine to generate 10 kW
of power at a three-phase, 415-V,
50-Hz supply. The plant powers the
lighting needs of a shrine, approximately 92 households, and a local primary school. Other microhydro plants,
such as a 20-kW capacity Ghor microhydro project in
North Sikkim, a 7-kW capacity Banjhakri microhydro
project, and a 25-kW capacity Biri Khola microhydro project in West Sikkim have also been commissioned. The
funding for the project has been through MNRE, and the
projects are owned by the state agency.

A Solar-Smart Microgrid Project
A solar-powered smart microgrid in Khareda Lakshmipura, Rajasthan, was set up in March 2012 to supply rural
households. This village has about 26 homes with electricity requirements for lighting, fans, and charging
mobile phones. There are also buttermilk-churning
machines. A 40-kW microgrid is installed using solar PV
as the main energy source, with battery backup for supply during the night. Electricity is supplied at 75-100 a

HIL Simulator
Non-Real-Time
Simulation Model

Communication Hardware
......
Interface
Hardware

Interface
Hardware

Interface
Hardware
......

Controller 1

Controller 2

Figure 3. The HIL testing of distributed controllers.

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

Controller N

month for a household with two light
bulbs and a cell phone. The electricity
consumption in the village can be
monitored and managed wirelessly.
This microgrid can be integrated to
the main grid when a grid extension happens.

The Biomass Energy for
a Rural India Project

A 500-kW biomass power plant has
been established near Kabbigere village in Thovinakere gram panchayat
in the state of Karnataka. This is one
of the many projects implemented to
provide energy for rural India using
decentralized bioenergy technology.
This project is meant to supply power
to five neighboring villages. It should
cater to domestic and commercial irrigation loads and public lighting. There are small industrial
sites like flour mills in these villages. The nearest grid is
available at the Thovinakere 66/11-kV grid substation.
Locally available biomass is used to generate power at an
affordable price. The pilot project has been found to
improve the agricultural industries and to generate
employment, thus improving the livelihood of the people. Using local material, clean and reliable power generation can be made available to rural households, a
solution that could be replicated throughout the country
in a sustainable way.

Research needs
Microgrids in India are characterized by the fact that they
are typically in nonurban, often remote areas. This makes
it difficult to carry out monitoring, repair, and maintenance work in case of failures. The situation would be mitigated by research in three important areas:
xx
understanding the causes for degradation of PV
modules
xx
power-electronic interfaces with well-defined and
gradual failure modes
xx
mechanisms to remotely monitor and test interfaces
and their controllers.
As the government favors solar PV-based off-grid/
microgrid power sources, it is important to study and
understand the degradation of PV modules. The energy
yield from solar PV sources depends on the irradiation
and the local temperature, while the performance ratio
depends on the site and technology adopted. These conditions vary widely throughout the country, which is classified as having five different climatic zones. This leads to
variation in the performance of the modules, depending
on where they are installed. Therefore, causes for the degradation require in-depth analysis to provide solutions for
its minimization.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Electrification Magazine - June 2017