Debajit Palit

Participatory Business Models for Off-Grid Electrification

Bringing modern electricity services to more than 450 million South Asians without access to grid electricity calls for a variety of innovative mechanisms. Since off-grid electricity implementation is ipso facto decentralized, many have been able to experiment with different business models for implementation. This chapter examines various business models in rural electrification with a focus on off-grid models using clean sources of energy. The chapter also aims to understand how different organizations have modeled their off-grid and rural electrification programmes and what have been successful and challenging about each model. Given the vastness of the literature available on various electrification models adopted across the world, the review will necessarily be a partial one, however an attempt has been made to capture the models prevalent in the South Asian region and their essential features.

Energising Rural India Using Distributed Generation: The Case of Solar Mini-Grids in Chhattisgarh State, India

Conventional grid extension has been the predominant mode of electrification in India. However, solar photovoltaic technology has also been used for providing electricity access in remote, forested habitations and islands. Under the Remote Village Electrification Programme by the Government of India, around 12,000 villages and hamlets have been electrified using renewable energy. The state of Chhattisgarh in Central India has alone been able to electrify around 1,400 remote and forested villages through solar mini-grids. This chapter attempts to examine the development and operation of the solar mini-grid model for enhancing electricity access in India, with special focus on the state of Chhattisgarh. The work, based on extensive literature review, interview with key stakeholders and field visits to selected remote forested villages in the state of Chhattisgarh, shares the experiences and lessons of the solar mini-grid programme for rural electrification in the state by comprehensively analysing multiple dimensions of the programme such as coverage and trend, technical designs, institutional arrangements, financial mechanism and operation and maintenance aspects, which were key to the success of the solar mini-grids. We observe that robust institutional arrangement, strong policy support and an effective maintenance and an oversight mechanism have been the key contributing factors for the success of this initiative.

Off-Grid Rural Electrification Experiences from South Asia

South Asia accounts for around 31 % of the global population without access to electricity. While there is no denying the fact that the electrification rate is increasing, such a situation continues to exist despite several initiatives and policies to support electrification efforts by the respective country governments. The challenges to enhance electricity access are manifold including technical, financial, institutional and governance barriers. Based on an extensive literature review, this chapter attempts to highlight the rural electrification situation at the regional and country level in South Asia. It also performs a comparative analysis to exploit cross learning potential and suggest specific boosters that could serve as input for policy and technology review and assist future electrification efforts in the region. Here we have focused on renewable energy based mini-grids and stand-alone systems and also covered conventional grid extension. We also raise some pertinent issues and attempt to find their solutions. The household connection needs to be improved considerably through a targeted approach and innovative micro-lending model. At the same time the electricity supply also needs to be enhanced, such as through distributed power projects utilizing locally available renewable resources, to ensure that electricity supply to connected households in sustainable and supply constraints do not inhibit extending electrification to virgin areas or intensification of existing villages. Developing a regulatory mechanism to extend the tariff fixation for mini-grid projects and providing cross-subsidies to ensure long term sustainability of such projects is also highlighted. Finally, economic linkages, access to credit and institutional arrangements also need to be organised appropriately, especially for off-grid rural electrification to facilitate successful outcomes.

Economics and Management of Off-Grid Solar PV System

Decentralized electricity systems, especially solar PV mini-grids and off-grid systems have the potential to significantly enhance the standard of living of communities in off-grid areas. Communities living in remote and off-grid locations are often characterized by low access to resources and infrastructure facilities in general, besides the lack of access to electricity. Therefore, it is also observed that quite often, such communities have limited paying capacities and lower energy demand at the outset compared to communities where the grid has been extended. It is therefore important to think carefully about the ways in which end-users of off-grid solar PV pay for the services they are procuring from these systems. In some cases end-users may purchase electricity in kilo-Watt-hours (kWh), and in others, services, in the form of a certain number of hours of light on a daily basis, for example. While standard practices for estimating how much a user should pay for electricity involve the calculation of a Cost of Generation (CoG) and then the tariff, a large number of off-grid projects use different metrics that are not based on the kWhs sold, but rather based on the type and duration of services being provided. Practically, such a system has advantages owing to simpler and lower cost of transactions and the fact that in many cases the transaction mimics those that rural consumers are already familiar with. This chapter aims to provide some insights into the estimation of CoG, and compares this standard methodology of fixing tariffs with an alternative service-based approach. Through the chapter readers will be introduced to basic concepts in the financial analysis of off-grid PV systems, a step-by-step procedure for estimating the CoG and finally a set of case studies to illustrate the value of service-based tariff setting.

Suite of Off-Grid Options in South Asia

This chapter provides a review of alternative off-grid electrification options in South Asia. It covers four elements: the technical dimension, business models, regulatory governance and sustainability dimension of off-grid solutions. It concludes that in order to go beyond lighting applications, more careful consideration and investigation is required for electricity supply using local distribution networks (or mini-grids), particularly using hybrid technological options.

Approach for Designing Solar Photovoltaic-Based Mini-Grid Projects: A Case Study from India

Having the largest rural population in the world, India confronts a huge challenge for rural electrification, especially for electrifying remote, forested and tribal habitations. Solar Photovoltaic-based mini-grids have emerged as a viable option for the provision of electricity in such remote rural locations, where grid extension is either not techno-economically feasible or electricity supply is intermittent. Very often such projects are purely technology-driven and several attempts at delivering electricity services to such remote locations have not succeeded, owing to the lack of adequate attention given to important socio-economic factors such as promotion of livelihoods or the creation of strong local institutions that can own, operate and manage the project over its lifetime. This chapter aims to present an interdisciplinary framework for the development of mini-grid projects in remote rural locations, developed from field experience of actual implementation of projects by TERI. Using this framework as a guide, TERI has commissioned solar photovoltaic-based mini-grids in a cluster of five villages in the state of Odisha. The detailed design methodology, including modifications to standardised practices in order to customise and improve the performance of these solar mini-grids is presented in this chapter as a case study. It is expected that the process followed and the resulting design will serve as a useful guide for renewable energy practitioners and researchers working in remote rural locations for provisioning of electricity services.

Renewable energy programs for rural electrification: Experience and lessons from India

Grid electrification has been the predominant mode for electrification covering almost 94.5% of the inhabited area in India. However, renewable energy based off-grid technologies have also been disseminated extensively in the country. This paper attempts to capture the development of off-grid rural electrification through renewable energy in India and analyses the experiences and lessons, which can contribute for the better program designing and policy making.