Cover Story Typical Functioning of Microgrid
ii Foster innovation in mini grid models to cater to rural needs Battery
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ii Optimize access to central financial assistance and other incentives
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India is a huge county and a large portion of the Indian population still lives in darkness. The situation is even worse in villages, where people have to go to nearby towns for charging their mobile phone batteries. Thanks to solar lights and chargers, the condition has improved these days. The Indian rural market therefore offers a large potential for micro and minigrid projects which will help people meet at least their basic household needs.
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maintenance of the solar system. The prices can be as low as INR 25 per week for seven hours of electricity per night. According to MNRE’s draft policy for microgrids, tariff may be set as follows: (i) Where no subsidy or grid connectivity is provided- As per market (ii) Where subsidy is provided – With concurrence of defined State government authority (iii) Where grid is connected - State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) The consumer is expected to regularly pay electricity charges
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M i c r o g r i d Advantages
based upon the mutually agreed tariff or the tariff as approved under the State’ policy, as may be applicable, and also adopt energy efficient measures to reduce the overall electricity consumption. The underlying principles of the policy are listed below: ii Mainstream RE mini/ micro grids for enhancing access to affordable energy services, and improving local economy ii Streamline project development procedures for ESCOs ii Provide operational frameworks to operate along with the Distribution Company (DISCOM) grid
Mini and micro grids will help in reducing dependency on fossil fuels, providing clean power to rural households, and meeting their aspirational needs. It not only reduces the cost of energy but also provides the stability and flexibility which gives user a variety of energy options to choose from. Microgrids help in a balanced usage of generation capacity of the grid basis the cost and energy structure. It also helps in grid resilience as it ensures that demand is met by timely supply from at least one of the resources if the other one is facing low generation or an outage. A microgrid is also digitally interactive and compatible with other grids and power networks. It is capable of interacting with nearby grids or the main grid where it can sell or buy power as and when required. Given its flexible nature, microgrids can easily be expandable and scalable. Hence, multiple generation and demand centers can be added to a microgrid. The villages can install solar pumps, solar lamps and fans, solar www.supersmartenergy.com