Renewable energy mini grids Indian experiences

Transcription

1 Towards Sustainable Energy For All in West Africa ECOWAS Initiative on the contribution of the civil society and private sector to up-scaling rural energy access in the ECOWAS region Renewable energy mini grids Indian experiences Debajit Palit Associate Director and Fellow The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi October 29, 2012, Accra

2 What is TERI A not-for-profit research & development and policy think tank; Established in 1974 in New Delhi; More than 1000 professionals, with centers spread across 5 cities in India; Overseas presence in London, Washington DC, Tokyo, Dubai and Addis Ababa Working Areas Energy& Power Regulatory practices Habitats and transport Environment Addis Ababa * Water and NRM Climate policy Bio technology Social Transformation

3 People lacking access Source: World Energy Outlook 2011 Number of people lacking access to electricity Number of people relying on traditional use of biomass for cooking Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Developing Asia China India Other Asia Latin America Developing Countries* World

4 TERI s Work on Energy Access Basic needs Clean Lighting Lighting a Billion Lives Clean Cooking Improved turbo cookstoves Productive uses Biomass gasifiers & energy efficiency in MSMEs Modern society needs Green buildings, Demand Side Management

5 Lighting a Billion Lives LaBL sets up solar charging stations/dc micro grid in energy poor villages that offer bright, and quality solar lighting solutions to the local people on a fee for service model. A trained local entrepreneur operates and manages the charging station/dc grid and rents the solar lamps every evening for a affordable fee. Technical Resource Centres, an after-sales service network for responsive repair services through local community representatives Till date, impacted around 400,000 lives through setting up of 2000 solar charging stations/dc micro grids

6 Solar Charging Station Solar charging stations are expandable to energy hubs providing : Battery charging Mobile charging Lantern charging Water purification Sale & servicing of solar/ clean energy devices A typical Solar Charging Station Solar DC micro grids are also considered in case of compact habitations - in modules covering 10, 20, 40 HHs

7 Solar Multi Utility Multiple Energy Sources 1. Solar PV 2. Wind Aero Generators 3. Biomass Gasifier 4. Hybrid Systems Multiple Applications Charging lanterns Powering computers, Charging cell phones Water purification Livelihood applications Located near the energy utilization points in a village to provide electricity services as per the need of the community.

8 Mini-Grids in India

9 Mini-Grids in India Pioneer of Mini-Grid system First solar mini grid commissioned in 1996 in Sunderbans Islands State-of-the-art system designs & use of components (converters & inverters), continuing till date Cooperative model of service delivery Involvement of local community from planning stage Policy enablers from time to time Around 5000 villages covered through mini-grids, serving more than 50,000 HHs Multiple technology adopted

10 Why mini grids in India Technically, mini-grids are preferred for remote areas over other options such as solar home systems, as mini-grids provide electricity services for lighting & for powering various appliances, whereas SHSs typically provide only lighting services Can support small productive applications Organisationally, managing mini-grids are easier compared to individual systems due to their centralised operation through a proper institutional arrangement

11 Solar PV Mini-grid

12 Control Room, Battery Bank, Grid

13 Biomass Gasifier Power System Fuel Preparation Biomass Gasifier Cooling cleaning train Engine Alternator Biomass drying Power evacuation Source: TERI

14 Managing Mini Grids: Earlier Model FUNDING AGENCY Grant from Central Government Equity by PIA/NGO or Beneficiaries Consultant (DPR, system design, TA support) System Supplier $ PIA Organize VEC System Engineering. System Owner Installation & Commissioning Power Plant VEC Village Energy Committee (VEC) Model Source: TERI Electricity System custodian O&M LT line Maintenance Revenue: Tariff, billing, collection Consumers

15 Lessons from early Mini grids Decentralized, usually low capacity, covering remote areas Usually domestic loads served Community as stakeholder Tariff based on flat rate, locally decided, depending on fuel cost, O&M cost and WTP (~ US$ 1 per point/month) Non commercial in nature Inability to meet increased demand Low plant load factor Single energy resource catering to fixed load for fixed time Battery Vulnerable, over drawl by most consumers Difficulty in O&M because of remoteness Limited technical knowledge of VEC frequent system shutdown Not linked to any productive enterprise / irrigation pumpsets

16 Source: TERI Hybrid System

17 Managing Mini Grids: Addressing low load Source: TERI

18 Mini Grid Private Sector Equity Investors MNRE Equity investments Subsidy (optional) Technology partner Design, I&C Sells electricity on light point basis Husk power Systems Sign contract with HPS Generates, transmits and distributes electricity Trains local people to operate gasifiers Negotiated tariffs Billing and revenue collection Grievance redressal Consumers Coverage ~ 80 villages, 33 kwe systems, households in a village Tariff: ~ US$ 3/month/HH for 2 lights, 4hrs Synergies created for co-benefits & viability Husk Power System A for-profit entity - identifies suitable villages, builds the electricity supply, and arranges for operations and maintenance, with the help of local partners.

19 Solar DC micro grid New Development Solar Power : 50 households connected from 400 Wp of solar panels. Panels are installed on the rooftop of a village house at a central place in the village. Battery Bank: 24 V 100 Ah of storage capacity. Batteries are stored in a cabinet inside the same house or distributed battery storage at HHs Power Distribution: DC distribution lines run along the rooftops from the battery bank to households within the village. Power is distributed for 5-6 hours each night at 24 volts. LED: Each household having 2 or 4 LED lamps

20 Mini Grids in Chhattisgarh - A case study Providing access to population earning much less than 1$/day Remote, tribal communities without cash disposable income Subsidy vs. financing affordability? Subsidy for capital infrastructure ensuing operational sustainability improved quality of life CREDA has reportedly electrified around 35,000 households through renewable energy based mini-grid

21 Solar mini-grid model of CREDA

22 Financing Capital cost ~ INR (500$) per household Capital subsidy - 18,400 INR (368$) per HH by MNRE - Balance by state government Tariff per connection = 30 INR/0.6$ (2x11 W CFL) Tariff subsidy (by state government) - 25 INR (0.5 $) per HH connection

23 3 tier Maintenance System Comprehensive Annual Maintenance Contracts (CAMC) Three tier system of maintenance - Project level operator - Cluster level cluster technician - For multiple clusters Cluster supervisor Parallel supervision by CREDA staffs Partners (Group) Skills (Organize) Allocate (Load) Service (Delivery) > Install > Operate > Maintain

24 Cluster Based Service Delivery Village Cluster -15 Villages - 50 Customers / Village H : Service Hub ( Base station ) -Technician / Helper - Spares / Consumables Source: CREDA V : Villages in the Cluster

25 Financials CLUSTER based Service delivery Total Number of villages covered 150 Revenue / month Expenses / Month / cluster No. of Villages / cluster 15 Nos Rate Rate No. of Customers / Village 50 Technician Total No. of Customers / cluster 750 Helper Collection per Customer 35 Conveyance Through CREDA 25 Others Direct 10 operators Total collection / cluster / month Expenses / month / cluster Total AMC collection / cluster Expenses / year No of clusters 10 Total collection under CBSD Expenses / year Source: CREDA

26 Key factors for success Top-down approach /Organized delivery model Driven and implemented by CREDA with support from state government & MNRE Commitment and enthusiasm across all levels of CREDA Opposed to popular approaches let the community handle - Each entity sticks to what it does best Effective maintenance (PPP model) Fruitful partnership between CREDA and System Integrators Structured communication channel between CREDA and contractors Strong govt. support and political will Maintenance subsidy of Rs 25/household (benchmarked to household s expenditure on kerosene & Single Light Scheme) Strong political leadership 26

27 Key factors for success contd Creating an eco-system for solar electrification Solar shops Support to local manufacturing and development Modular training and capacity building Different for different stakeholders depending on need and requirements Learning from doing Transition from ACMC to long-term CMC Introduction of fully commercial model in select locations

28 Key Lessons Service delivery models to be structured considering the uniqueness of the region within which the plant is to be installed -Today off-grid, grid-connected tomorrow Contrary to prescribed models of off-grid electrification, top-down approach/organized structure seems to be working better than community model Designing variable tariff structures considering both ability to pay as well as operational expenses Access to electricity is merit good Need to build local capacity and adopt clustering for effective maintenance & viability of operation Strong regulatory & policy regime supports development of projects Viability gap funding/results based aid

29 Framework for Mini Grid Could develop into Mini-grids coupled the main grid Ideal for cluster of villages Creates the market for minigrids Village-scale mini-grids Ideal for larger or more developed villages Facilitate Small scale RETs Ideal for isolated and vulnerable communities Facilitate Level 1- Basic needs Lighting Communication Cooking Heating Facilitate Level 2 - Productive uses Agriculture (water pumping, mechanized tilling etc.) Public health centres Education (Schools, tuition centres etc.) Street lighting Sewing, cottage industries Grain grinding Level 3- Modern society needs Modern domestic gadgets and appliances for space cooling, heating etc. All productive applications for 24/7 usage Transport

30 In conclusion Sustainability condition Enabling Policy Appropriate Technology Ecosystem (AAQS) Local Skills Innovative Financing Not how can we make community use the mini-grid technology, but how can more & more people get access to and sustainably benefit from this technology

31 2012: International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Let us together make a change