Slums find solar attractive

India’s Ministry of Housing released a “Slum Census” of 2011, the most comprehensive government estimation since 2000. One in six urban Indians, about 64 million people, live in slums — cramped quarters of 20 households or more in “unhygienic conditions.” The report predicted the total Indian slum population would topple 104 million by 2017.

Three states unveiled sizable solar installation plans. Rooftop solar, whose unit cost in India has dipped below diesel and natural gas, can grow quickly, from 1,000 megawatts to 12,500 in four years, according to a recent report from the consultancy KPMG. In Ahmedabad, a company recently started offering water “ATMs”:  stands that dispense drinking water treated with solar power. In Bangalore another startup, is trying to replicate the success of India’s mobile revolution. Seeing the success of the mobile revolution in the payment model, which allows phone owners to pay as they go, the company has sold over 100 solar PV units to households across the state using a similar system.

Another company has found buyers in the slums where electricity comes rarely and then, at a premium.  While most residents own a mobile, charging the same is often the problem. A solar PV unit becomes attractive. The success points to what experts have been saying again and again – to go for decentralised models using renewable, locally available sources. In a scenario where supply just cannopt match demand, where projected capacity additions are far off the reality graph, distributed and decentralised is the way ahead.

Off grid and interactive

Banning coal mining in thick forests is a wise decision for the future but what about today? With no substantial gas reserves or imports, what can India fall back on? The editorial in CSE this week talks about all this, and concludes:

‘We need to understand how to reduce losses in distribution… we also know that there are huge leakages—estimated at 25 per cent by the Central Electricity Authority. This needs to be fixed. For this, we need to look at generating energy locally so that distribution costs are brought down, transmission losses are curtailed and recovery from clients made easier. It is here we need to look at the massive opportunity provided by renewable energy, particularly solar. But before that we must understand that new energy sources like solar will work only if we figure out a new business model for generation and supply—and not look for solar to work within the leaking and non-remunerative grid system.

‘My colleagues at the Centre for Science and Environment have proposed off-grid but interactive systems for rural electrification. In this system, like the German roof-top energy revolution, government would provide feed-in tariff incentives for entrepreneurs to set up local solar energy systems. This energy would be fed through mini grids to users—poor and rich would pay costs. It is important to remember that solar energy costs are decreasing—the latest bids for projects put the price at Rs 7 per unit. This is still more than the price of coal- or gas- based power. But while costs of coal and gas will only go up, solar can and will come down. Energy supply could be decentralised because demand is also decentralised. There could be a revolution in the making. But only if we see the light in the tunnel.’

It makes eminent sense, but like anything revolutionary it requires a quantum shift in the way we do things. What do you think? Write in.

Advantage small

Large still holds sway over most folks. And large plants are part of this obsession. Well, we need large to address the kind of demand there is for power. But when you look at things close, decentralised and small seems the more sensible way.

Take solar. A decentralized solar collection scheme is far more energy efficient than a centralized one. More than 30% of our electricity is lost in transmission in our current system, and a centralized solar plant is no different than the current system in this way. A decentralized system can supply power to where it is needed directly most of the time, only using the grid to offload surplus power.

A decentralized solar system will be far more resilient to natural disasters, as there will be no single points of failure that can bring down the whole grid. A decentralized solar system utilizes unused space on rooftops and in yards to generate power, whereas a centralized system requires the development of new land, destroying habitats while generating no more power. Rooftop systems shade the structure underneath, cutting energy usage in the summer months.

A decentralized solar strategy provides market space for lots of technologies to compete directly, without the generally anti-competitive nature of big monolithic construction contracts crowding out the small players.

The secondary costs of a centralized power system, like beefed up transmission lines, large ugly transformer stations, and so on are rarely calculated into the cost of concentrating lots of megawatts in one place. All this is done away in decentralised.

Of course, there are issues of storage needed, and the associated costs. But going by the above points it would be wise to agree decentralised wins. Right?

India to heat up sooner than later?

A new report forecasts that average temperatures in India could climb 2 degrees C within two decades, with even higher temperatures projected for some coastal regions. According to the Indian network for Climate Change Assessment, a group of more than 100 scientific organizations, the nation could see temperatures jump 1.7 to 2.3 degrees C by the 2030s compared to temperatures in the 1970s.

That temperature shift will likely mean more extreme weather, the study projects, with increasingly intense downpours but fewer days of rain overall, which would likely mean a greater likelihood of flooding and drought.

Meanwhile, another study recently had warned that some of the world’s fastest-growing economies — including India and Bangladesh — are also the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The nations at the most extreme risk are those already dealing with high poverty levels, dense populations, exposure to climate-related events, and a reliance on flood- or drought-prone agricultural lands, according the Climate Change Vulnerability Index.

While India is already one the world’s largest economies, its vulnerability to climate-related events could scare off foreign investment in the coming decades, the report says.

Juxtapose that with the prime minister's acknowledgement that India's rapidly growing economy and automotive industry could lead to a 40 percent increase in demand for hydrocarbon fuels in the next decade, and you have big trouble ahead.

In an era of energy security concerns and climate change immediacy, the wise thing would be to look at ways to conserve energy, especially fossil fuel based energy. Instead developing nations are galloping away with big, impractical solutions that invariably revolve around huge infrastructure projects that eat not only energy but also resources.

Local decentralised and small units would seem the sensible way ahead. Any thoughts?

'Swades' in real life

For members of the Jharkhand Alternative Development Forum, it was Swades come alive!

Under the guidance of Dr. Mithilesh Dangi of Azadi Bachao Andolan, the forum has recently installed and put in operation a micro-thermal power plant in a remote village inside the jungle in Jharkhand, 68 kilometres from Hazaribagh. The plant runs on coal and water and has a steam engine coupled with an alternator. It produces 4 KW power which is enough to light up the village and its streets.

The village, Kekoria Tand in Keradari Block of Hazaribagh district, is an example of community participation. The tribal population is being trained by the forum to run the plant after the trial period when they will jointly own the plant.

The other such well-known example, now gaining even more widespread recognition, is Bunker Roy's Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan. A perfect example of how the community can truly be self-reliant whether it be in energy or water sufficiency or building efficient structures, one cannot find better inspiration. It even exports its home made solar panels to Ladakh! The village now trains people from outside the country.

Decentralised generation has been advocated for remote regions to save the huge losses in transmission as well as costs in taking power across tough terrains and distances. The problem has been that of operation and maintenance. Community ownership like the above instance is one way. Many times it has not been exactly successful.

The other would be to hire people for the job. Creating ‘green jobs’!!

PS: The Jharkhand Alternative Development Forum invites your participation.
By donating Rs. 1,25,000/- (US $2,500/-), you can become the patron of the village whose uplift you take up. You will be invited to inaugurate the plant and a timeless relationship will be established between you and the village. Not to discount the immense satisfaction of having done something worthwhile.
For details, contact the convenor P P Verma at premverma42@yahoo.com