1. ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY STUDY ON REMOTE AREA ELECTRIFICATION IN INDIA USING SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS
R Anbu Kumaran1, Mr. V Thirunavukkarasu2, Dr. M Cheralathan3
1M.Tech. (Solar Energy) student, Dept. of Mechanical Engg., SRM University, Chennai, 2Assistant Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engg., SRM University, Chennai, 3Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engg., SRM University, Chennai.
Introduction
Models proposed
Life Cycle Cost
Energy is the basic need of human life. With the rapid growth of population, there is increasing energy demand in urban as well as rural sectors of the country.
People living in remote/rural areas of India are still deprived of electrical supply, mainly due to difficulty in erection, operation and maintenance of conventional electricity grid in remote and hilly areas.
There are still more than 1 lakh villages (17% of total number of villages) in India are not electrified, leaving around 350 million people (30% of total population) without access to electricity.
Expanding electrification and scaling up electricity services is critical to both the economic and social development of India.
Stand-alone solar photovoltaic (SPV) systems are globally becoming popular for harnessing solar energy to produce electricity and supply directly to residential appliances, providing grid independent electricity especially for remote areas. A case study is presented on economic feasibility for providing SPV to a remote hilly hamlet located in Tamil Nadu state, India.
Economic analysis is carried out by considering four different models based on the number of appliances to be run using solar PV (Photovoltaic) system. DC lights and fans are considered for the study to avoid inverters
Life cycle cost is estimated assuming an inflation rate of 3%, discount rate of 10%, maintenance cost as 2% of system, life time of 5 years for battery and 20 years for all other items
Model
Life Cycle Cost (in INR)
Model-1
31000
Model-2
58000
Model-3
83000
Model-4
60000
Table 1 - Electrical appliances and total Watt-hours requirement of four different proposed models per family
Sl. No.
Model
Electrical Appliances
No. of lights
Wattage required per light
Operating hours of lights
No. of fans
Wattage required per fan
Operating hours of fans
Total Watt-hours required (EL) 1
Model-1
3.6W LED Lighting 4
4.5 6 -
108 2
Model-2
3.6W LED Lighting + 14W Table Fan 15 7
159 3
Model-3
9W LED Lighting 10
240
Model-4
9W LED Lighting + 14W Table Fan
225
Symbols used
Symbol
Description
Unit EL
Total electrical load required
Watt-hours
PSI
Peak Solar Insolation
W/m2
Gav
Average solar energy input/day
kWh/m2/day
EffPV
Photovoltaic panel efficiency -
TCF
Temperature Correction Factor
EffB
Battery efficiency F
Reserve Factor ND
Number of storage days
Days VB
Rated battery voltage
Volts
Dmax
Maximum allowable depth of discharge - 
Solar Photovoltaic panels
For all the proposed models 12 Volts DC bus has been chosen. PV peak power is calculated by,
PVPeak power = PVArea x PSI x EffPV (in Watts-peak), PVArea = (EL) / {(Gav) x (EffPV) x (TCF) x (EffB)} (in m2)
If the cell temperature is assumed to reach 60°C in the field, then TCF will be 0.8.
Assuming PSI = 1000 W/m2, Gav = 5.1 kWh/m2/day(For Dharmpuri Dist.,), EffPV = 15%, EffB =80%,
Table 2 - PV peak power and No. of PV panels required for each model per family
Sl. No.
Model
Watt-hours required
PV Area (in m2)
PV peak power (in Watts-peak)
Standard PV rating (in Watts-peak)
No. of PV panels
Total PV Panels cost (in INR) 1
Model-1
108
0.22 33 40
4000 2
Model-2
159
0.32 49 60
6000 3
Model-3
240
0.49 74
8000 4
Model-4
225
0.46 69
Results and Discussion
Using SPV system, for electrification of 70 families living in Karappadi, the estimated cost is Rs.11 lakhs to Rs. 26 lakhs for four models.
Thus for providing basic lighting with four 3.6W LED lights for 70 families the cost is Rs. 11 lakhs which is feasible to be implemented for any such remote areas.
For 88 million families (average 4 persons / family) which are unelectrified in India, for providing basic lighting, the cost estimation is around Rs.14,000 crores which is not a feasible option. Thus for India as a whole, cluster type PV installations or grid-tied PV systems can prove to be economically feasible, which is to be studied further.
Batteries and Charge Controllers
For all the proposed models 12Volts DC bus has been chosen. Battery capacity is calculated by,
Battery capacity = {(F) x (EL) x (ND)} / {(VB) x (Dmax) x (EffB)} (in Amp-hours)
Assuming F = 1.2, ND = 4 days, VB = 12 Volts, Dmax = 0.8, EffB =80%,
Table 3 – Battery capacity and No. of batteries required for each model per family
Sl. No.
Model
Watt-hours required
Capacity of battery (in Amp-hours)
Standard Battery rating (in Amp-hours)
No. of Batteries (Parallel connection)
Total Battery cost (in INR) 1
Model-1
108 68 75
8000 2
Model-2
159 99
16000 3
Model-3
240
150
24000 4
Model-4
225
141
Charge controllers capable of carrying short circuit current of PV arrays (2.37A for 40Watts-peak PV panel, 3.55A for 60Watts-peak PV panel) are used to maintain proper charging and discharging of batteries and improve life of battery.
Solar charge controllers used for all the proposed models of 12V/10A capacity costs around Rs.2000/-.
Fig.1 A model Stand-alone SPV powered household
Case study location - Background
Action initiated
An online petition was submitted to the Chief Minister’s special cell vide petition no. 2013/741884/FD dated , seeking the government’s intervention in providing electricity connection to the families of Karappadi through SOLAR ENERGY POLICY 2012 of Tamil Nadu.
In reply to the petition, the suggestion was noted and a proposal has been asked to submit to the Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency for providing electrification using solar energy.
Project proposal preparation is under progress with valuable support from M/s Green Pearl Electronics, Chennai.
Though official statistics show that all the villages in Tamil Nadu are electrified, there are tiny hamlets which had been ignored.
An article published by The Indian Express dt. Dec 11, 2011 exposed the non availability of electricity connection to a hamlet located in Tamil Nadu.
KARAPPADI under Harur Taluk of Dharmapuri district is a village located in mountain where around 70 families are dwelling. People living in that village does not have access to electricity for years together.
In January 2013, Socio Research and Reform Foundation had published a blog stressing that Karappadi villagers are still living in the dark.
A case study on economic feasibility analysis for providing electricity connection through Stand-alone SPV system for Karappadi village is carried out and to be proposed to the Tamil Nadu government agency for implementation.
Cost of the total PV system
Total cost of the PV system is estimated by adding cost of the PV panels, batteries and charge controllers. Installation cost is considered as 10% of the PV system cost.
Table 4 – Total cost for each model (All cost values in INR)
Sl. No.
Model
PV Panels cost
Battery cost
Cost of Battery charge controller
Total PV system cost
Installation cost
Total cost for single family
Total cost for 70 families(in lakhs)* 1
Model-1
4000
8000
2000
14000
1400
15400 11 2
Model-2
6000
16000
24000
2400
26400 18 3
Model-3
34000
3400
37400 26 4
Model-4
26000
2600
28600 20
Acknowledgement
We are grateful to Mr. G Shubramaniyan, Chief Operating Officer – M/s Green Pearl Electronics, Chennai for the help provided in economical analysis of the case study.
Fig.2 PV panel capacity required for each model
Fig.3 Battery capacity required for each model
References
Abd El-Shafy, A. Nafeh. Design and economic analysis of a stand-alone PV system to electrify a remote area household in Egypt. The Open Renewable Energy Journal, 2009; 2: 33-37
Sheeraz Kirmani et al.Techno Economic feasibility analysis of a stand-alone PV system to electrify a rural area household in India. International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology 2010; Vol. 2(10):
S..N.Singh, A. K. Singh. Optimal design of a cost effective solar home power system – An alternative solution to DG grid deprived rural India. International Journal of Research and Reviews in Applied Sciences 2010; ISSN: X, EISSN:
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Fig.4 Total cost for 70 families for each model
* Note: Cost is subject to change as per latest market price