Energetica India Magazine December 2020

51 energetica INDIA- December_2020 ENERGY STORAGE skills that have survived down the ages. The Smart Village concept helps people access basic life services and amenities like water and electricity and with advances in technology, a gradual transition to sustainable and renewable energy resources has begun to power the smart village concept. Solar panels on rooftops are increasingly common in many villages. Solar plus energy storage is perhaps the most viable option for standalone ham- lets or villages where there is no grid connectivity, and the electricity is cur- rently generated using diesel generator sets. With increased focus on climate change globally, there has been a shift towards renewable energy. India too is seeing a steady transition from fossil fu- els towards renewable energy sources. With an ambitious target of achieving 40 per cent of installed capacity based on renewable sources by 2030, energy storage appears to be the key to unlock the true potential of renewable energy and realize this target. In the example of a theoretical small vil- lage community on Sagardeep Island in the Sunderbans district of West Bengal region of rural India, a population of 400- 450 people would require a photovoltaic system of ~26KW. This PV system would then be fed into a 2MWh battery. This battery would be able to provide 125KW of power for up to 16 hours before run- ning out. In a more realistic scenario (estimated), the loads from the commu- nity would more likely be only 20KW for 4hours in the evening, 4-6 KW during the night when residents are sleeping, and then 4-6KW for a few hours in the morning before the sun rises and begins a new daily charge cycle from the pho- tovoltaic panels. The world is moving away from fossil fuel power generation, and the people in rural areas are set to reap the biggest rewards. Today, the cost of installed solar is a fraction of the cost of even 5 years ago. Power electronics have got- ten smaller and more reliable while their cost has also fallen. Entire systems that were not feasible just a few years ago are now not only feasible, but also pro- vide their owners with significant return on investment. The social implications are staggering. Rather than leave their homes and villages looking for oppor- tunity (and often finding nothing but despair in the big cities), workers and students could opt to stay with their fam- ilies, working during the day, children in school, and taking care of elderly par- ents afterward. But the biggest advantage of having an energy storage in rural India is mechani- zation of rural economic activities lead- ing to innovations and job creations. For example, in the states of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha, solar-powered electric reeling machines have allowed women working in silk weaving cooperatives to increase their incomes and reduce drudgery. These machines, developed by a private com- pany, use just 10 percent of the power of standard machines,yet they increase productivity and market competitive- ness. Children become educated using a combination of in-class teachers for younger students, high school curricu- lum for teens, and maybe a post-sec- ondary college education at the nearest town a few miles away. As they grow to adulthood, these same children are now able to apply their knowledge in their local community as educators, admin- istrators, technical trade workers and community leaders. Who better to revi- talize a community than those who know it from birth? Ultimately, a hybrid solar/battery power plant provides the community a path forward to educate the young, provide meaningful employment for working age people, to revitalize rural India and to keep families together. Reliable, clean electricity provides the social power to transform rural India and the economic power to maintain this great country’s growth now and into the next century. 2MWh of energy storage provides reliable electricity for a village. Image courtesy Sterling PlanB. The next generation of leaders and technical workers may come from rural India. Image courtesy Sourav Mohanty 67 via Twenty20.