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Microgrids system consisting of single or multiple energy resources and storage is used to provide electricity to remote rural areas. Subsequently, they can be worked in both grid-connected and islanded modes. Microgrids can provide stable energy solutions to areas where grid extension is either costly or not feasible. The system's long-term economic stability and sustainability must be considered throughout the microgrid's design. Renewable energy sources have a variety of objectives and possible restrictions. The current plan suggests a rural microgrid with integrated solar, diesel, and battery systems. The proposed microgrid for the rural area of Uttarakhand (India) is given a techno-economic and feasibility analysis. For the hilly region of India, a standalone microgrid is created to handle the home peak load of 13kW. Moth flam optimization (MFO) is utilized to optimize the proposed energy framework, and the results are compared with those of a genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). The optimal hybrid system's net current and energy costs are calculated to be $58372.00, with the cost of energy per unit being $0.14/kWh. Sensitivity analysis and robustness viability have been performed for the configuration. The finding suggested that the energy framework using MFO is 18% and 16% less expensive than GA and PSO, respectively. This research adds new direction to critical sustainable development among developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas emissions and PM2.5 pollution from vehicular exhausts and the consequent negative externalities underline the urgency of investigating low-carbon pathways for the freight sector. This paper undertakes a comprehensive analysis to determine the implications of a modal shift in the freight sector for the environment, energy systems and the economy. Stakeholder consultations are used to develop the qualitative narratives that are further used to set the parameters in energy-economy optimization models for deriving quantitative pathways. Our analysis includes four scenarios: Current Policy (CPS), Road Focused (FROAD), Rail Technology (TRAIL) and Harmonized Multimodal (HMML). The HMML scenario follows a balanced approach harmonizing the twin goals of reducing imported fuels and carbon emissions that can simultaneously assist in achieving development and decarbonization targets. Our results show that the HMML scenario based on the multimodal approach of creating a level playing field for all modes can reduce fossil fuel imports by 87.6% and CO 2 emissions by 96%, relative to CPS in 2050. The HMML scenario also envisages significant macroeconomic benefits – the cost of logistics as a percentage of GDP falls to 11%, and there are cumulative foreign exchange savings of 3.8 trillion USD from 2016 to 2050. However, electrification, the leading technology for the respective decarbonizing modes, will need policies that enhance research and innovation on batteries and infrastructure investments for charging along national and state highways. The main policy insight from our analysis is that multimodal logistics policy needs to be designed in alignment with clean energy-based electrification policy and national rail plans so that uniform rules from the origin govern all modes to the destination of goods transport. • Modelling energy economy to analyse implications of modal shift. • Combining stakeholder consultations with quantitative evaluations. • Multimodal approach achieves development and mitigation goals at the same time. • Over 80% of savings on imports of fossil fuels are possible by 2050 relative to the current policy scenario. • Cumulative foreign exchange savings of 3.8 trillion USD can be achieved from 2016 to 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the dynamics of rural electrification in India and explores the transition to a complementary convergence of decentralised and centralised electricity systems for sustainable rural electricity services. A novel socio-technical framework of analysis for assessment of cases of rural electricity systems is developed and applied in Indian villages to explore the interplays of different elements of rural electricity systems, enabling and hindering factors, and actors and institutions that affect the governance and sustenance of rural electrification. A mixed research method, along with document analysis, was applied to study the socio-technical perspectives, using 21 indicators representing nine different interplays of elements of rural electricity systems. The analysis reveals there is a significant effect of governance on technology performance, which in turn affects customer practices. There is also a significant correlation between customer practices and governance. Policy enablers along with strong institutions and actors - both at the subnational and local level - are key drivers to effective governance. Furthermore, irrespective of centralised or decentralised technology, adequacy and reliability of electricity supply and effective customer service delivery at the local level are important i.e., both supply reliability and quality, and customer service quality are equally important. The findings have clear policy implications for the governance of the electricity sector in India. • A novel sociotechnical framework for assessing village electrification is developed. • Novel framework tests interplays of various elements of the electricity system. • There is a significant correlation between governance & performance of technology. • There is also a significant effect of technology performance on customer practices. • Policy enablers, strong institutions & actors are drivers to effective governance. • A mix of decentralised & centralised electric system will have a better outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The work done in this paper provides the solutions for power access to rural and remote areas in developing nations. • The proposed affordable solution offers many advantages over the traditional central inverters. It provides more output power as compared to traditional central inverters under shading and dusting conditions. The results are validated through experimental investigation with regard to Indian weather conditions. • The proposed solution presents an optimal sizing strategy for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) for the low power rural household application. In literature, this kind of solution is yet not reported which makes this work novel. • This work presents the customized design of solar microinverter based PV System for different power provisioning levels for rural EWS houses. The proposed solution has an added advantage of addition of load in future without change in existing infrastructure. Reliable power supply is the key requirement for developing nations. Most of these nations are trying to modernize the rural lives by electrification in remote areas. Access to electricity is a bare requirement in future ages. This paper discusses the challenges faced by the utility companies in ensuring sustained electricity access to the new consumers followed by the various solutions. The techno – economic aspects of the proposed solution is validated by the experimental study. Based on the results, an optimal low-cost design is proposed in order for everyone to fulfil the minimum power needs. The paper presents an optimal size strategy for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) for the low power rural household application. The solar microinverter based PV System has been designed based on the daily load needs for one of the proposed layout plans of the (Gramin) Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna adopted by Government of India. The proposed designs are also applicable for other developing nations. The proposed micro-inverter has been tested under different operating conditions and experimental validation proves its superiority over other inverter types, particularly for a low power application, as is the case for a typical low-income rural household. Economic considerations such as payback period has also been evaluated in this study. In addition, the proposed microinverter technology has also been tested in terms of power quality parameters under various operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Strong linkages between niche, regime and landscape are observed across four decades in India. • Institutional innovations were critical in facilitating early developments of off-grid solar. • Actors influence and are influenced by the prevailing narratives during each phase. • While initial developments were pushed by governments, more recent efforts are coming from private actors including civil society and policy think tanks. • Reimagination of off-grid solar towards ' beyond lighting ' is taking place in wake of total electrification in India. Decentralized renewables are critical for rural electrification in many countries in the Global South. As a case study of the development of decentralized renewables, we trace the evolution of India's off-grid solar sector from 1980 through 2020. We apply the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) to highlight interactions across three levels of actors, with additional attention to how their actions were shaped by evolving policy narratives. We find that the national government initiated the development of off-grid solar in the early 1980s due to concerns about energy security and rural poverty. The sector was then supported by international agencies focused on sustainable development, and more recently non-state players and private enterprise emerged as the innovators. This case study makes two more general contributions to the MLP literature. Empirically, it shows how regime actors can deliberately create niches. Theoretically, it shows how narrative analysis can be integrated into the MLP to shed light on the dynamics of energy transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Effective utilisation of available renewable resources in rural region of Bihar for sustainable rural electrification. • Design of optimal model of on-grid as well as off-grid hybrid configuration of active distribution network (ADN) on integration of PV/biomass resources. • A comparative assessment for effective performance and management of produced energy of both on-grid as well as off-grid active distribution network has been done. • A proper investigation and assessment of proposed active distribution network on several techno-economic attributes has been performed. • Analysis of feasibility and pertinency of active distribution network for selected rural region on environmental concerns has been also done. • Impact of various dependent variable assessment on cost of energy and total net present cost for the practicality of proposed active distribution network has been done. Majority of rural areas in India have already been electrified, yet the disparity between demand and supply is considerably higher and broadened due to which nation's rapid financial growth as well as rising standards of living in both the urban as well as rural areas. Hence, the utilisation of renewable resources is rising steadily for the mitigation of such energy crisis. It has become necessity to use a hybrid sustainable energy system by exploiting the strengths of each source in combination with one another to minimise the dependence on the congested power grid. For the efficient use of readily available renewable energy and sustainable rural electrification, this study proposes an effective Active Distribution Network (ADN). A comprehensive techno-economic analysis has been performed on the design of an ADN system that includes the exploitation of solar and biomass energy as sources of power for sustainable rural electrification. In the proposed work, performance assessment elements such as output responses, component costs, feasibility and sensitivity of the project, emissions, inflation rate, and changing the pricing of integrant have been taken into consideration and analysed. Results shows the improvement in rural electrical system while lowering system energy costs along with consideration of environmental impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Techno-economic analysis of hybrid solar-wind-biomass-battery system is proposed. • Numerical modelling and varied operational scenarios for the system are formulated. • Evaluating system feasibility across various power loss probabilities is conducted. • Giza Pyramids construction outperformed by $177 saving and 8% less simulation time. The economical electrification of rural settlements extensively utilizes renewable energy sources. In recent years, the deployment of solar photovoltaic, wind turbine, and biomass gasifier-based power generation technologies for electricity accessibility in remote regions has received greater prominence. This paper presents an optimal component design of a hybrid solar PV-wind and battery system along with a biomass gasifier to provide continuous electricity for rural communities of Uttarakhand, India. In this study, a recently developed population-based giza pyramids construction (GPC) methodology is applied to determine the optimal component sizing. The findings of the GPC method are contrasted with the particle swarm optimization (PSO) methodology to assess the effectiveness of the proposed method. The annualized system cost and levelized cost of energy of the hybrid renewable energy system have been minimized subject to technical reliability indicators such as loss of power supply probability and renewable fraction. Moreover, a systematic exploration of the system has been conducted to assess its optimal feasibility across different values of power loss probability ranging from (0% to 4%). The simulation indicates that the proposed method adeptly identifies globally optimal values, leading to a $177 decrease in annual cost and 8% reduction in average simulation time compared to PSO. The research reveals that the balanced point (relative attainment), where system reliability and cost-effectiveness intersect optimally, is achieved at a 3% power loss level, resulting in the most significant cost reduction of $199 compared to other probability levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of electricity in formation and performance of rural non-farm entrepreneurial ventures is widely debated. This study aims to understand how, in India, access to household electricity impacts rural households' decisions to take up entrepreneurial activities, operated within household premises. A panel dataset of nearly twenty thousand rural households carried out in the years 2004–05 and 2011–12 has been used to explore the impact of access to electricity on participation in rural non-farm enterprises using panel fixed-effects logit models. Further, the role of electricity access on earnings of non-farm enterprises is studied using Heckman two-stage selection models. It is concluded that electricity has a positive effect on the households' decision to establish non-farm enterprises operating within home premises. It is also found that, in the presence of the household electricity access, the income from business increases by 35.2% on an average. Upon extending the analysis to different groups of states, similar outcomes are observed for relatively rich states, states with relatively higher levels of rural electrification and states with relatively lower rates of rural electrification. In case of relatively poorer states, access to electricity enables a household to participate in the non-farm business sector but does not seem to have a statistically significant impact on their business income. • Access to electricity enables participation in home-based non-farm businesses in rural India. • Access to electricity increases earnings from such businesses, enhancing rural livelihood opportunities. • These results are robust across states with different electrification rates and relatively richer states. • In poorer states, electricity access enables participation in non-farm business, but has insignificant effect on earnings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the factors affecting access to clean cooking fuel among rural Indian households during the COVID-19 outbreak, based on World Bank's rural impact survey, covering 2731 rural households. Our analysis shows a significant decline in access to clean fuel among rural households from 35% in 2018 i.e. before COVID-19 to 19.7% during the COVID-19 pandemic. This implies that in order to meet their cooking needs, many rural households have switched from conventional fuels, which have numerous health and environmental concerns. The association between states and socio-demographic profiles of rural households with access to sources of cooking fuel shows a significant difference. The analysis results further indicate that socio-demographic characteristics and asset holdings of the rural households are the key factors that determine access to clean cooking fuel during COVID-19. Among the socio-demographic variables, age, gender, family size, social category, and income level are estimated to be significant factors that affect the access to clean fuel for cooking. Similarly, ownership of assets such as exclusive kitchen room, refrigerator, pressure cooker, television, and furniture are significant factors affecting access to clean cooking fuel among Indian rural households. Additionally, this study provides policy insights on developing mechanisms to ensure that rural households have an access to clean cooking fuel during crisis situations such as COVID-19. [Display omitted] • COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the access to clean cooking fuel among the rural households. • Only 19.7% of rural households have reported access to clean cooking fuels, which declined during COVID-19 lockdown • The majority of rural households use conventional sources of cooking fuels, which further increased during COVID-19 outbreak • Socio-demographic characteristics and asset holdings are determining factors on access to clean cooking fuel • A targeted strategy for promoting clean cooking fuel in rural India is essential [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From solar lanterns to home systems and minigrids, distributed renewable energy (DRE) has become increasingly competitive as an alternative to grid extension in household electrification across many parts of the emerging world. We explore how DRE use in Indian households has evolved against the backdrop of massive public investment in grid extension. Using two rounds of the 2015–2018 ACCESS household data from six Indian states, we estimate the impact of household electrification via grid extension on DRE ownership and use. We find that demand for solar microgrids and minigrids has all but disappeared, whereas demand for solar home systems and lanterns as backup solutions to intermittent grid electricity supply continues to grow. Most notably, while grid electrification has increased from 66% to 85%, solar lantern ownership has grown from 1.2% to 5%. The use of DRE as a backup solution to government electrification schemes seems driven by changes in quality of electricity supply. These analyses confirm that intermittent grid electricity supply is key to understanding the solar lantern's continued popularity. The results show that where population density, household income, and government commitment all favor grid extension, the most affordable DRE technologies can still play an important role. These lessons offer insights into the development of solar-based lighting markets in other regions, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, where grid extension continues but grid electricity remains intermittent in supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How beneficial is basic energy access – typically lighting and mobile charging – for rural households? Despite research on the economic impacts of basic energy access, few studies have investigated how it changes household behavior. Here we report results from a randomized controlled trial in rural Uttar Pradesh, India, which identifies the behavioral impacts of providing solar lanterns to households that normally rely on kerosene as their primary source of lighting. Eighty-nine of the 184 households participating in the study were given a free, high-quality solar lantern. Comparing changes in responses from the baseline questionnaire and an endline questionnaires administered six months later, we find that the lanterns reduced energy expenditures, improved lighting, improved satisfaction with lighting, more use of lighting for domestic activities (e.g., reading), and improved satisfaction with lighting for domestic activities. Overall, our results show that basic energy access can offer substantial benefits within the households, even if broader rural economic transformation is not plausible. • Measure effect of basic lighting on rural Indian households' behavior and satisfaction • Solar lanterns reduced energy expenditures while increasing lighting. • Basic lighting improved satisfaction with lighting and perceptions of solar. • Time spent on domestic activities requiring lighting (e.g., reading) also increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the costs of solar PV continuously decrease and pollution legislation imposes less burning of agricultural residues, decentralized renewable energy is increasingly affordable for providing electricity to one billion people lacking access to a power grid. This paper presents a techno-economic feasibility case study of biomass gasification in off-grid and grid-connected mini-grids for community-scale energy application in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. Energy demand data was collected through surveys in a village with irrigation and agro-processing loads and off-grid households and used to construct a seasonal load profile based on statistical methods. This was used to simulate single-source and hybrid mini-grids based on solar PV, biomass gasification and diesel generation using HOMER Pro. Hybrid PV-biomass or PV-diesel systems were found to offer the highest reliability for off-grid power at the lowest cost. Single-source PV was cheaper than biomass gasification, though the cost of electricity is highly sensitive to biomass supply and gasifier maintenance. Both renewable options were around half the cost of diesel generation. The findings held across grid-connected systems with weak, moderate and strong reliability of grid supply. This suggests that biomass gasification-based mini-grids are not cost-competitive with PV unless the two generation sources are combined in a hybrid system, though they require operational testing prior to implementation. Image 1 • Hybrid PV–biomass or PV–diesel systems offer higher reliability at lower cost. • PV is cheaper than biomass gasification mini-grids for productive energy provision. • Grid-connected PV offers lowest LCOE over 20 years for strong and weak grid supply. • LCOE of biomass systems is highly sensitive to biomass requirement and maintenance. • PV–biomass systems appear resilient to operating parameters but lack field testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mini grids are increasingly filling the supply gap between government supplied electricity and the requirements of households and enterprises. We present a descriptive analysis of enterprise development within a large mini grid based rural electrification initiative launched in India in 2015. Using data from two surveys conducted with 229 enterprise operators, we explore the change in aspirations among enterprise owners and the impacts of longer duration of reliable electricity on key business outcomes. We find that improved quality of electricity from mini grids leads to a shift towards using mini grids as the primary source of electricity; transition from lighting to productive uses of electricity; and increased aspirational demand for electricity among enterprise operators. Further, we find a positive relationship between increased hours of reliable electricity supply and extended hours of operation and customer footfall, but not with revenue generation. Our findings suggest that mini grids offer an important opportunity for enhancing local aspirations for business development and should be an integral part of policies focused on rural enterprise development. • We surveyed 229 enterprises connected to solar mini-grids in September 2016 and June 2018. • Enterprises shift towards using mini grid electricity as their primary source. • Enterprises adopt more productive loads over time and reveal an increase in aspirational demand for electricity. • Longer duration of reliable power is correlated with increased operational hours and customer footfall, but not revenue. • Mini grids can benefit enterprise development by increasing aspirations and allowing experimentation with business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural electrification has advanced rapidly in many developing countries. Under conditions of poverty and weak infrastructure, however, households face a risk of backsliding. We use two rounds from the ACCESS survey of rural households in six northern Indian states to explore factors that drive losses in household electricity access. About 7% of households with electricity in 2015 lost it by 2018. We identify household wealth and off-grid access as major drivers of lost energy access. A standard deviation's increase in a household's wealth index reduces the likelihood of disconnection by 1.5 percentage points. Off-grid households are 8 percentage points more likely to lose access than grid-connected households. These findings underscore the importance of defending realized gains in countries where household electrification is driven by policy while rural poverty remains prevalent. • This study analyzes the predictors of loss of access to electricity. • We rely on a representative survey panel data of more than 8000 households in India. • We find that households with lower income and formal education levels are more likely to lose access to electricity. • Infrastructure and geographic factors do not predict loss of access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, more than a billion rural dwellers live without electricity. Billions more endure awfully intermittent service even when connected to the grid. Most of these access challenged communities are in the Global South and may benefit from surging spread of distributed energy resources. However, associated investment necessity is large and so is the time required to address infrastructural bottlenecks. Recognising criticality of universal access to affordable, eco-friendly and reliable electricity in inclusive human development, the United Nations adopted 'affordable and clean energy' as one of the Sustainable Development Goals. To treasure electricity access, measurement of the same is important. The evolution of electricity access measurement has given rise to multi-tier, multi-parameter matrix. This improved measurement framework has facilitated researchers and policymakers in capturing various electricity access parameters in order to script focused energy strategy for the common man. This paper studies electricity availability, consumer aspiration and prevailing consumption in an impoverished, isolated, high-altitude valley, nestled in the Himalayas in India. It outlines evolving technology-aided, access measurement supported innovative access tier advancement opportunities in the valley. The result underscores the importance of consumer-focused approach for improving infrastructure utilisation. Consumer collaboration may result in fast, economical access advancement. Supply reliability may transform from abrupt complete disruption to gradual, cognisant decay. Such transition may encourage consumers to avoid costly, individual backup and instead use available resources sensibly. Embedding aspiration-supporting nudge in electricity regulation may promote co-operation, helping empowered consumers in scaling access tier affordably. • Electricity metering has advanced since comprehensive consumption reporting. • Metering advances can at present support inexpensive consumer Collaboration. • Collaborative consumption may help consumers scale access tier inexpensively. • Improved resource use may favourably impact affordability and consumer utility. • Participative consumption may promote equity, inclusivity and empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Optimum design and economic analysis of HRES for rural electrification in Korkadu. • RES are solar PV, wind turbine and bio-diesel generators. • Estimates the load forecasting for selected district in the Pre- HOMER analysis. • Desired HRES has to meet forecasted load demand for reliable electrification. This paper validates the optimal design and techno-economic feasibility of hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) for rural area electrifying applications. Plan to a design of improved performance electrification system through village owned renewable resources, such as solar irradiations, wind speed and bio mass etc. The selected HRE system has to meet out electrical needs in optimum performance manner. Hear conducted a case study on remote village Korkadu is located in Union Territory of Pondicherry, India. The expected village demand of 179.32 Kwh/day and peak of 19.56 Kw was met with proposed HRE structure, which is consists of solar PV array, wind turbine, Bio mass power generator and Battery backup system in effectively. Load growth of the village was predicted through artificial neural network (ANN-BP) feed-back propagation and Levenberg-Marguardt (LM) data training optimum technique. Encounter the optimum performance of different HRE configuration was evaluated over by HOMER software. System's economic dispatch was analysed through various dispatch strategy and come across the proposing companied dispatch strategy has more economical and performance benefits as total NPC of system as INR 1.21 million, one unit energy generation cost as INR 13.71 and annual battery throughput as 36.648 KWh/yr. This study also expresses the comparison analysis between proposed HRES structure performance with basic utility grid extension. The consequence of the proposed work shows the HRES in remote location can be a cost effective solution for sustainable development of rural regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First time the solar-wind-biogas-VRFB integrated micrgrid is modeled and validated. • The capacity optimization and energy management with lowest LCOE is done by HOMER. • Peak load shaving with optimal sources and grid is shown by PSCAD using real data. • Optimal schedule of renewable sources and VRFB ensures zero LPSP at consumer end. • Financial study of hybrid microgrid demonstrates project viability and up scaling. Uninterrupted access to electric power has become the basic need of today's world. Rural parts of many countries still do not have access to electricity or have electric power access to weak distribution grids with inadequate transmission and distribution system infrastructure. However, the countries where there is an abundance of solar radiation, a good potential of bio-degradable waste and average availability of wind source, access to electricity for those remote areas can be managed by distributed power generation. Considering the fact that the renewable energy sources (Solar, Wind etc.) are intermittent in nature, battery energy storage systems (BESS) and other reservoirs like biogas energy sources are the potential candidates to be integrated with the renewable sources to ensure continuous access to electricity and energy security. In this paper, a unique combination of Solar PV, Wind, Biomass and Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) storage integrated hybrid Microgrid has been modeled and implemented practically for the first time. The capacity selection of different renewable sources for satisfying daily energy demand and their techno-commercial optimization has been performed through HOMER simulation. Further, the peak load shaving that is a limitation of HOMER model, has been established through PSCAD simulation by providing the real life data of different renewable sources, VRFB storage and the load profile as input to the model. The simulation model performances have been validated by a practical 10 kW P solar PV, 1 kW wind and 15 kVA Biogas generator integrated with 1 kW 6 h VRFB storage based Microgrid installed at India Institute of Engineering Science and Technology campus, India. In addition to these, zero loss of power supply probability (LPSP) has been ensured by implementing smart scheduling and controller considering the intermittency of the renewable sources. As a part of the financial analysis, project Investment on Return (IRR) and pay back has been calculated considering initial investment, operation and maintenance cost and revenue of generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an economic and enhanced technological solution for rural electrification of a village Jalalabad, in Ghaziabad District, Uttar Pradesh state, India. The considered system concentrates on optimal sizing of an integrated renewable energy system (IRES) with grid provide a more continuous power supply with respect to the existing system. The different available sources Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV), Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), and a time constrained grid are considered in designing of the system. The system size optimization, sensitivity analysis and techno-economic viability has been done by using a standard software tool HOMER to fulfil the demand of the study area under consideration. A demand response strategy has been applied for the different load profiles. The configuration with the lowest Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) and Total Net Present Cost (TNPC) with maximum value of renewable fraction (RF) has been considered as optimum. This ensures the minimization of the Carbon dioxide (CO 2) emission. A comparative analysis has been presented showing the impact of the demand response on the LCOE and NPC as well as the system size. The economic analysis has been done according to four different cases obtained by varying the fraction (β NELS) of non-essential load shifting. It has been observed that the value of LCOE with the strategy of demand response and optimal resource management under which β NELS = 0.25 is reduced Rs. 11.23/kWh and Rs. 8.36/kWh with the grid tariff Rs.10/kWh and Rs.6/kWh respectively while the value of TNPC Rs. 1.99 × 107 and Rs. 1.48 × 107 respectively with the maximum renewable fraction of 31.06. An exhaustive performance analysis has been done and the obtained results show the effectiveness of proposed resource and demand management to provide 24 × 7 supply with limited, time constrained grid availability. • An economic, enhanced solution for PV & BESS with grid is determined in this study. • Demand response and resource optimization is used to achieve 24 × 7 power supply. • Optimal sizing, sensitivity analysis and energy cost with grid price is analyzed. • Demand response strategy has been used to reduce LCOE & TNPC. • It is found that LCOE & TNPC decrease with fractional non-essential load shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with an economic aspect of distributed generation systems which rural energy cooperatives may mainly support, since they can effectively coordinate the different stakeholders within an energy access initiative. Members of a rural energy cooperative would share the costs of deploying a distributed generation system, so that each of them can benefit from it. To minimise the overall investment cost, such a cooperative must consider both technical sizing and cost allocation among its members. For the latter, an important issue to take into account is the so-called willingness-to-pay. For obtaining the design of the distributed generation system we propose to use facility location covering (FALCO) models. The solution of the FALCO model provides both the structure of the distributed generation system and the investment cost to be covered by the members of the cooperative. We take advantage of the structure of the primal and dual optimal solutions of the FALCO model to endogenously determine the minimum and maximum willingness-to-pay of the cooperative members and then to apply rationing techniques to obtain the final allocation of costs to each member. Thus, our approach optimises the generator locations and minimises the total system cost, while assigning to each member at least her minimum willingness-to-pay. From our point of view, this method may help the beneficiaries to accept the investment cost allocation. Finally, a case study based on real data from a rural village in Maharashtra, where a group of farmers wanting to buy and share an energy system to pump water for irrigating their fields, is used to illustrate the working of the proposed cost allocation methodology. • Fair cost allocation methods and game theory can support distributed generation planning. • Each user minimum willingness-to-pay serves as reference for defining fair shares. • Technical and topographical conditions are critical for both system sizing and cost allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Decentralised Solar Home Systems (SHSs) are established as an effective strategy to connect the 'last mile' without electricity access and leapfrog communities to clean energy solutions. According to the World Bank, the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) model has emerged as one of the effective commercially viable solutions to provide decentralised energy access to rural and remote communities in developing nations. The paying ability of households is a critical challenge for energy enterprises, and PAYG, with its easy payment schemes makes solar units affordable and allows households to gradually own these systems. The model also offers user training, ongoing maintenance, and service blocking functionality that minimises investment risk. The PAYG model has demonstrated huge success in Sub-Saharan Africa where Kenya pioneered the model as a cost competitive modern alternative for kerosene. One in five people in India lack access to electricity, and grid-connected rural communities often face frequent blackouts. With the advancement in distributed solar technologies and growing penetration of the mobile telecommunications network in India, PAYG could advance into a successful model to electrify communities living off the grid. Our analysis involves a two-dimensional approach where a systematic review of PAYG literature including case studies from Kenya and India was performed, followed by three expert interviews to further augment learnings and opportunities to deploy PAYG SHSs in India. This analysis finds that India's socio-political context seems suited for increased PAYG penetration, including utilising the opportunity provided by the country's Unified Payments Interface. This paper offers insights for practitioners and policymakers to consider the PAYG model to deploy clean electricity to households and rural micro-enterprises. Highlights • Lessons for successful implementation of PAYG energy model in India • Superior products and maintenance mechanisms are integrated into PAYG. • PAYG financing appropriate for energy budgets of poor households. • India's Unified Payments Interface presents a unique opportunity for PAYG model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-country study estimates the effect of household electrification on labor market outcomes for rural individuals in India and South Africa, two developing countries that have implemented large-scale rural electrification schemes in recent decades. Two identification strategies are used: propensity score matching and panel fixed effects estimation. We focus on three indicators of labor market success: employment, earnings and hours worked. We find that electrification raises the annual incomes earned by those who work in paid employment, for both men and women in both countries. For India, both genders work fewer hours, suggesting that electricity raises productivity. For South Africa, where the labor market has less absorptive capacity, there is no employment benefit of electrification. But women who work benefit the most from the productivity gains of electrification: they have greater increases in earnings than men. Our findings suggest that the benefits of electrification do not accrue universally, but rather depend on gender roles, supporting policies and the labor absorptive capacity of the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural electrification has progressed unevenly across the world since 1945, with some rural communities gaining access to power decades earlier than others. We examine the association between early electrification and the quality of electricity service to households, testing the hypothesis that aging infrastructure compromises the quality of electricity service. Using the 2014–2015 ACCESS survey from rural India, we find that early electrification is associated with improvements in the quality of electricity service, even controlling for village size and distance to nearest town. A possible explanation for the finding is that early electrification generates economic gains that allow the rural community to invest in maintenance and upgrades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to model a hybrid energy system for rural India. In this analysis a hybrid renewable system consists of solar-wind-hydrokinetic-bioenergy is proposed. Overall analysis including Optimization and sensitive analysis are evaluated by HOMER software. Optimized results are evaluated considering total net present cost, cost of energy, annual electric generation, renewable fraction and CO 2 emission. The analysis is done in order to increase efficiency of the system with comparatively less cost. From this exercise it is found that, combinations of more varieties of different renewable energy system are better to fulfill futuristic demand. Futuristic demand is calculated by logistic growth model. The value of COEs ($) and total generations (kWh/yr) are 0.3563 and 133045; 0.247 and 170948; 0.242 and 179018; 0.241 and 179303 for the year (2012–2021), (2022–2031), (2032–2041) and (2042–2051) respectively. However some other combinations may produce more power, although in such cases, in order to storage excess power COE will increase. As compared to the year (2012–2021) to (2042–2051) the optimized COE of electricity is minimized, keeping Annual cost nearly constant and amount of electric generation is increased without much effect on environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the determinants of distributed solar technology adoption at the village and household level in India. Using spatial data on insolation, census records, and original surveys, we show that remote and poor but large villages with abundant sunshine have led the wave of solar technology adoption as an alternative to grid electricity. At the household level, however, wealth and financial access are positively associated with solar technology adoption, a result that holds for both solar lanterns and home systems. Moreover, remote villages are more likely to see solar technology adoption when households have access to finance through banks. We also find that the use of household solar technology is strongly associated with a household's subjective satisfaction with domestic lighting. These results demonstrate that understanding solar technology adoption requires considering both community and household characteristics. They also underscore the importance of financial access as a precondition for using distributed solar power as an alternative to grid connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses consumer valuation of different attributes of electricity supply to elucidate the conflict between solar microgrids and the centralized utility grid in India, as well as to provide insight into supporting government policies and structures. The study contributes significantly to the understanding of the role of microgrids in complementing a centralized system and its value as a sustainable energy solution for development. Electricity reliability, power, price, and hours availability are studied through a choice experiment, a method uniquely able to disaggregate the willingness to pay for each attribute. Household surveys were carried out in 22 villages across 4 districts in the state and covering a total of 216 households. Results indicate that consumers value (in order of strength of preference) electricity power, reliability, and price. Further, despite 9.4 h of electricity supply per day from the main grid, as compared to an average of only 7.2 h from microgrids, the respondents exposed to both systems were almost twice as satisfied with the microgrid's reliability. Based on these findings, the study provides four policy recommendations for strengthening the rural electricity supply sector and enhancing electricity access in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Rural electrification rates in India lag behind government goals, in part due to the inability of distribution companies (discoms) to fund central grid expansion. In the absence of central grid electrification, mini-grids offer significant potential for an immediate pathway toward rural electrification and the attendant gains in economic growth and productivity. Yet private investment in mini-grids has been virtually absent in India. Using a comprehensive life-cycle cost analysis, we find that mini-grids based on solar PV power and storage are more economical than incumbent energy services available to households without central grid connection. Under current law, a prospective entrepreneur in India does not require a license or certification in order to build a mini-grid and subsequently provide electricity services in the area covered by said installation. Conversely, there is no legal or regulatory framework that specifies what is to happen if the central grid were to be extended to an area that is already covered by a mini-grid. We report detailed survey evidence from interviews with entrepreneurs, analysts and policymakers whose assessments converge on the same point: mini-grid investments would be jeopardized in the event of central grid extension, precisely because discoms would, by regulatory order, provide electricity services at highly subsidized rates, well below their full economic cost. Our fieldwork suggests that the threat of central grid extension is a gateway barrier preventing mini-grid development in India. The issues associated with the gateway barrier have common elements with the so-called holdup problem as identified in the economics of organizations. There have been two recent federal policy guidelines and one actual state-level policy addressing the regulatory status of mini-grids. We examine the effectiveness of these policies/proposals in terms of an entrepreneur’s willingness to develop mini-grids in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lack of access to electricity in rural areas hinders productive activities, which in turn affects sustainable rural development. Off-grid electrification options can offer an alternative but in order to develop productive uses of electricity in off-grid area, a detailed study of livelihoods and potential areas for improvement in the value chain is required. This paper reports such a study where a livelihood baseline survey was undertaken in a cluster of five remote off-grid villages in Dhenkanal district of Odisha (India) and through a series of interviews, focused group meetings and stakeholder interactions, the study finds that value-added services can be developed through an off-grid electrification intervention. Electrification can support productive activities, thereby offering an opportunity for improved income generation and a better quality of life and a transition to cleaner energy sources. The study provides a novel value chain framework for linking off-grid projects with local livelihoods replicable across multiple geographies ensuring sustainability of these projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the years, renewable energy based power generation has proven to be a cost-effective solution in stand-alone applications in the regions where grid extension is difficult. The present study focused on the development of models for optimal sizing of integrated renewable energy (IRE) system to satisfy the energy needs in different load sectors of four different zones considered in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka state in India. The objective of the study is to minimize the total cost of generation and cost of energy using genetic algorithm (GA) based approach. Considering optimization power factor (OPF) and expected energy not supplied (EENS), optimum system feasibility has been investigated. Based on the study, it has been found that IRES is able to provide a feasible solution between 1.0 and 0.8 OPF values. However, power deficit occurs at OPF values less than 0.8 and the proposed model becomes infeasible under such conditions. Customer interruption cost (CIC) and deficit energy (DE) for all zones were also computed to quantify the reliability of the systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The state of Bihar in India has approximately 75 million people with no access to electricity. The government of India has pursued a policy of rural electrification through the provision of centralised coal-fired power which has been unable to resolve the low levels of electrification. Coal supply woes in India have led Indian companies to pursue new coal mines in Australia's Galilee Basin. The costs of these mining ventures will be high due to the mining infrastructure required and long transport distances to rural India. A high level analysis of mining, transport and power station investment to meet rural demand in Bihar shows that the absolute investment requirement using coal, especially coal sourced from Australia, as an expensive option. Pursuing electrification through village level, renewable energy micro-systems provides more flexibility. Pollution costs associated with coal-fired generation, employment benefits associated with many village implementations and a rural load unsupported by industry load, show a benefit associated with decentralised, renewable energy electrification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy deficiency is one of the key enigmas impacting the livelihood of millions of poverty stricken people throughout the world. It is quite evident that electrification of rural areas can improve the standard of education, health conditions, living and empowering the youth of the nearby population. Uttarakhand state of India is mainly encompassing southern periphery of Himalayas. Census of India reveals that about 123 numbers of villages and 1966 numbers of village hamlets are still unelectrified in the state. Electrification of these villages/hamlets of remote hills using renewable energy resources in off-grid mode is a feasible option compared to uneconomical grid extension. State has identified small hydro power potential of 1500 MW, mean annual daily solar radiation of 4.5–5.5 kWh/m 2 with 300 sunny days in a year, enormous forest foliage, crop residue, animal waste and mean annual wind speed of 5–5.5 m/s in some places of the state. The present study comprises the utilization of single technology based system such as small hydro, biomass, biogas, solar and small wind turbines etc. and also aggregated technology, depending on the availability of the resources in the present locality. A methodological framework has been established to avail the demand and resources assessment of the area. Various barriers and issues are finally discussed, which leads to a greater obstacle, in the path of system implementation. In order to address these barriers and issues, suitable solutions are recommended in the present context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roughly 400 million people in India had no access to electricity in 2011. With concerted efforts by the government, the electrification progressed fast to achieve near universal electrification in 2019. Despite the commendable progress, multiple challenges continue to afflict the sector. If policies and actions to sustain electrification and encourage development are to be successful, understanding the nature of drivers and barriers is essential. However, there has not been any systematic attempt to comprehensively identify and analyze the drivers and barriers to rural electrification. This study tried to identify and systematically prioritize the drivers and barriers, based on their strengths, for centralized grid and renewable energy (RE)-based mini-grids using a common analytical framework. The drivers and barriers were first identified through an exhaustive study of literature and consultations with electricity sector experts. Thereafter, their strengths were analyzed based on a perception survey with sector actors. The research provides lessons that despite achieving near-universal electrification, there are barriers to the advancement and sustenance of central grid and mini-grids. The results specify that driver and barrier elements with higher scores are across the political, economic, and financial categories. In contrast, institutional and social categories are ranked lower. The overall ranking indicates that enabling policies and government support to be the most significant driver for grid expansion. For RE-based mini-grids, convergence with livelihood programs and electricity for irrigation are perceived as strong drivers. The high cost of electricity and customers' inability to pay are perceived as barriers for both central grid and mini-grids. • India has achieved near-universal electrification in the year 2019. • No systematic study was done to analyze drivers & barriers to electrification. • The study made a novel attempt to identify & prioritize the drivers & barriers. • Despite near-universal access, there are still barriers to electricity supply. • Study provides lessons for access-deficit countries to expand electrification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work describes the design optimisation and techno-economic analysis of an off-grid Integrated Renewable Energy System (IRES) designed to meet the electrical demand of a rural village location in West Bengal – India with an overall electrical requirement equivalent to 22 MWh year −1 . The investigation involved the modelling of seven scenarios, each containing a different combination of electricity generation (anaerobic digestion with biogas combined heat and power (CHP) and photovoltaics) and storage elements (Vanadium redox batteries, water electrolyser and hydrogen storage with fuel cell). Micro-grid modelling software HOMER, was combined with additional modelling of anaerobic digestion, to scale each component in each scenario considering the systems' ability to give a good quality electricity supply to a rural community. The integrated system which contained all of the possible elements – except hydrogen production and storage presented the lowest capital ($US 71 k) and energy cost ($US 0.289 kWh −1 ) compared to the scenarios with a single energy source. The biogas CHP was able to meet the electrical load peaks and variations and produced 61% of the total electricity in the optimised system, while the photovoltaics met the daytime load and allowed the charging of the battery which was subsequently used to meet base load at night. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While solar home systems hold considerable promise for improving access to electricity in developing countries in tropical regions, scholars and practitioners argue that the lack of awareness, interest, and ability to pay for the technology undermines the growth of the market. We describe and explain patterns of awareness and interest in solar home systems (SHS) in a survey of 760 respondents in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. We conducted the surveys in collaboration with a local solar enterprise, Boond, and chose villages that are prime locations for the installation of solar home systems. We found that high household income and education levels, as well as young age, predict awareness of SHS products. In addition to wealthy and educated households, willingness to pay is higher in households that have electricity. The findings can help policymakers identify and target households with low levels of awareness and solar entrepreneurs identify suitable customers for their products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the returns to household income due to improved access to electricity in rural India. We examine the effect of connecting a household to the grid and of the quality of electricity, defined as hours of daily supply. The analysis is based on two rounds of a representative panel of more than 10,000 households. We use the district-level density of transmission cables as instrument for the electrification status of the household. We find that a grid connection increases non-agricultural incomes of rural households by about 9% during the study period (1994–2005). However, a grid connection and a higher quality of electricity (in terms of fewer outages and more hours per day) increases non-agricultural incomes by about 28.6% in the same period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether adequate opportunities exist for full decarbonisation of the Indian energy sector and highlights where enough choices for full decarbonisation by 2050 do not exist. The study suggests transformative levels of electrification, energy efficiency improvements, and a switch towards decarbonised fuels (largely green hydrogen, decarbonised electricity, and bioenergy) as the three mainstays of India's decarbonisation strategy that could plausibly shift the energy sector towards a net-zero emissions future. The study also indicates that the heavy freight and industrial sectors face challenges in achieving full decarbonisation because of a lack of adequate technological solutions. Accordingly, residual emissions of about 1.3 gigatonnes in the system would require carbon sequestration options, including both technological and nature-based solutions, to achieve net-zero emissions. This study is expected to encourage further deliberations and deep dives into energy sub-sectors, which would benefit planners and policymakers in delineating India's sustainable energy transition strategy. • Analysis of decarbonisation potential of Indian energy sector. • Transformative electrification, EE improvements & decarbonised fuels would be needed. • Bio-energy, Green hydrogen, and decarbonised electricity as key decarbonising fuels. • Despite pushing technological limits, around 1.3 Gt of CO 2 e emissions remain. • Sequestration options needed to enable energy sector's NZE transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a case study for powering energy poor remote rural communities of Eastern India with locally available solar, biomass, diesel energy resources using Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables tool to identify the optimized system architecture. The selection of the energy resources has been based on the performance assessment of the resources. The software tool brings four different categorized optimized hybrid configurations using different architectures of resources mentioned above with battery bank. The study exposed that cost of electricity, and net present cost of the most suitable low cost optimized hybrid configuration (600 kW solar photo-voltaic/10 kW biomass generator/50 kW diesel generator/1000 kWh battery/200 kW bidirectional converter) is $0.222/kWh and $0.922 M. The system benefits in terms of reduced emissions and improved system economics. The use of solar energy resource in optimal system modelling provides 45.5% return of investment, 49.4% internal rate of return, payback period of 2.04 years, and discounted payback of 2.25 years from the system without solar photo-voltaic component. Additionally, variation of cost of electricity is analyzed by interpreting sensitivity variables affecting load, system economics, and power production of energy sources using one-dimensional and distinguished multi-dimensional approaches. Eventually, the proposed configuration suitability is justified by comparing with the esteemed works from existing literature. • Performance analysis of local renewable energy sources for the remote Eastern India. • Optimal sizing of off-grid solar photo-voltaic/biomass/diesel/battery hybrid system. • Exclusive self-sustained power supply modeling approach. • Impact assessment of hybrid system after inclusion of solar photo-voltaic resource. • Sensitivity analysis of hybrid system using an unique three-dimensional approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to bridge the gaps to produce sustainable energy cost-effectively and technically efficient. The paper explores the techno-economic-environmental viability of photovoltaic (PV)/biomass energy potential for a rural village, Sidhwanbet, Punjab, India. The data investigation was performed by HOMER Pro v3.14 software. A hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) was designed, simulated and modelled to ensure the continuous energy supply for 770 households. The proposed optimal HRES consists of a PV module, biomass generator, converter and battery with the static specification and further improved by optimization. The optimal HRES out of the best five configurations was elected with Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) based on net present cost (NPC), cost of energy generation (COE), operating cost (ƠƇ), initial capital cost (ƗƇƇ), energy generation (ĖƓ), and a renewable fraction (Ȓϯ). The selected optimal HRES has been analyzed for economic, renewable energy and environmental aspects. The sensitivity study had performed while considering the discount and inflation rate. A simulation was performed for a 10-kW biomass generator, 1.1 kW solar array, five lithium-ion batteries, and a 3.96 kW converter. Results revealed that the PV's payback period (PBP) was 1.58 years, less than the useful life of optimal HRES. The cost of constructing an HRES for 25 years was equivalent to $21087, including initial cost, operating, replacement, and project costs. Thus, 35.6% of the necessary electricity is generated with PV and 64.4% biomass under optimal conditions for a 100% renewable energy integration. The CO 2 /year emission performance of optimal HRES is much better than Grid-only and PV-diesel generators. This technique may be used in rural regions in every other developing nation. [Display omitted] • Study of hybrid PV/Biomass/Battery energy for India rural area. • Design and optimization for off-grid electricity generation system using HOMER. • Technically and financially viable optimal configuration costs 0.0362 $/kWh. • System performance economically and environmentally analyzed by sensitivity analysis. • HRES reduced GHG compared to conventional grid and PV-biogas generator only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In many developing countries, the national electricity grid fails to provide rural communities with a reliable supply of electricity. Given the high socio-economic cost of this policy failure, both scholars and policymakers have recently become interested in off-grid electrification programs. However, the relationship between national grid expansion and off-grid electrification remains unclear. Are these two approaches independent of each other, or perhaps even competitors? This article develops a taxonomy that allows grid expansion and off-grid electrification to complement each other. Explicit policy integration is necessary to encourage investment in off-grid electrification and avoid duplication of effort. Otherwise, there is a danger that the poorest and geographically most remote segments of the rural population could be left outside electrification efforts. As an illustration, the article offers a case study of India. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A record for an abysmally high number of lightning discharges in a single day occurred on 16 April 2019, where almost 58,066 flashes (cloud to ground + inter cloud) with a maximum of 179 flashes/min were observed over India. Researchers have hypothesized that an intense Western Disturbance (WD) caused these high numbers of lightning flashes, which prevailed in the northwestern part of India and spread over much of the country. Instead, in this paper, it is suggested and shown through multiple datasets that a dust intrusion into the storm altered cloud characteristics at the microphysical level, most likely favouring charge separation in cloud particles. The back trajectory calculation indicated that there was a south-westerly transport of dust/ aerosol which converged within the secondary flow associated with the WD and lofted into the higher levels. It is hypothesized that the entrainment of dust acting as cloud condensation nuclei as well as ice nuclei induced a favourable condition for charge separation. Also a dust-boosting feedback loop was set up due to the prevailing intense WD which further accelerated the electrification process and led to the catastrophic lightning. • Intense lightning activity accelerated due to dust entrainment into WD. • Aerosol indirect effect as observed from multiple satellite observations. • Evidence indicate dust boosting feedback loop led to catastrophic lightning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There are many advantages of solar photovoltaic technology in providing lighting for rural homes—scalability, minimal maintenance and well developed business models. This study seeks to study the impact of the transition from Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) to Light Emitting Diodes based lights (LED) on the solar home lighting system market. Changing the lighting fixtures from CFL to LED would lead to the requirement of smaller panels and batteries and consequently, a reduction in prices. Would this reduction significantly increase the adoption of these systems? Would the requirement for financing or government support change? To understand this changing landscape of the rural solar lighting industry, this study analyses the current products, distribution network, and operations of seven diverse solar firms operating in different parts of India. Four of these firms exclusively make LED based products – lanterns and small home lighting systems – and the rest have some LED based systems in their portfolio. There are several factors to be considered, product configuration, luminosity, price effects and service and maintenance. While the price reduction is found to be significant (about 20%), affordability may still remain an issue for poorer households. LED lighting allows for the introduction of plug and play systems, and reduces institutional requirements for installation and maintenance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite the considerable efforts spent on village electrification schemes in India, there is a general lack of evaluation of impacts, successes and of failures. A case study in Chhattisgarh state in India has been carried out to assess what effect village electrification through solar power has had for the beneficiaries and whether technical and maintenance factors provide for the desired results set by Indian rural electrification policy. Consequences for the beneficiaries have been investigated through a field survey conducted in eleven villages with 158 respondents, maintenance factors have been investigated through interviews with engineers and operators, and technical factors through analysis of electricity output from micro-grids. In villages where the systems had been installed in the past two years, children studied on average 41min more in the evenings, more than twice as much as before electrification. Dinner cooking commenced on average 36min later, a sign of higher flexibility of time use and thus of women''s empowerment. Furthermore, the median household monthly kerosene use decreased by 2l, or 67%, but commercial productive activities were found to be limited. 75% of the 69 micro-grid power plants evaluated were found to have too little output to supply for the stated 6h of daily light per household, and the capacity installed per household decreased with village size. Plant capacity factors were found to vary greatly, most likely an effect of poor installation and/or inferior components. A tendency to replace energy-saving lights with incandescent lights requiring more power per lumen was found, leading to a decrease in obtainable light output. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper has analyzed the case of Moushuni Island at Sundarban of 24 Parganas South of West Bengal, India. The proposition is to find out the possibility of grid-connectivity of Isolated Remote Island which is under rural electrification scheme by hybrid renewable energies under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission of India. In these rural electrification program, grid extension can be the best option if the grid is reliable, the rural community rather big and in proximity to the grid. In many circumstances, a strong case for mini-grids based on hybrid systems can be made. Scattered communities and isolated houses are well served by solar and small hydro (where available) or small wind energy systems. By feeding renewable electricity to the utility grid through the grid-connected hybrid renewable energy system, during time of peak demand, sufficient electrical loads can be shed to prevent turning on a coal or natural gas-fired plant and therefore save CO2 emissions and potentially energy import costs, replacing fossil fuels. The Social, Economic, and Environmental Benefits can be achieved through this proposition. Also, the Grid Interactive Operation of SPV System at Moushuni Island is tested. Malda district of West Bengal, India is a vision towards smart-grid city towards sustainable future, where rural consumers can upgrade their quality of life through solar energy resource. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Attractive economic performance of energy systems is important for their long term sustainability. In this paper, a cost benefit analysis (CBA), standard thermoeconomic analysis, and a new method that combines the two was applied to seven modelled candidate decentralised energy systems for small Indian rural villages. By including elements of CBA in standard thermoeconomics, economic inefficiencies at the component level and revenue adjusted costs of exergy for each stream were ascertained. The analysed systems all produced household and irrigation electricity as well as a secondary product or service, which in some cases utilised waste heat from the electricity generation process. The system that produced distilled water as a secondary product was the most economically sustainable out of those modelled. While the standard thermoeconomic electricity cost remained around 0.5 USD/kWh for all analysed systems, the benefit to cost ratios varied from 0.29 to 0.97, demonstrating differing appeal to outside investment. By incorporating CBA into standard thermoeconomics the accounted revenue produced a larger spread in exergetic costs than standard thermoeconomics (for example, an electricity cost range of 0.217–0.507 USD/kWh), thus providing a better comparison of systems with different energy end uses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Rural area electrification in developing countries helps to improve the quality of life of the people. It increases productivity and supports education. It also discourages people from migrating towards urban areas. In India about 70% of the population lives in rural area, hence it is necessary to electrify these villages to achieve inclusive economic growth. Transmission and distribution of power to this less densely populated areas which are located far away from the power generating stations is the major reason for not able to achieve 100% electrification in the country. Hence it is necessary to find out an energy source which can be decentralized to supply power to these hamlets. As India is blessed with solar energy which is omnipresent in almost all parts of the country, micro grid system which uses solar photo voltaic panels seems as the finest option. The solar photo voltaic system converts light energy into direct current power using photovoltaic effect. Battery is used to store the extra power generated during the day and used during nights. Inverters and power conditioning devices are used to convert direct current power generated by solar photo voltaic systems to alternative current, which is supplied to the load using power distribution network which adds to system cost. At present the capital cost and the land requirement for this system is higher than all other renewable energy power generation system. But it has very less operation and maintenance cost which makes it superior to other system. Moreover additional modules can be added to it when the power demand increases. This paper says about how rural area electrification can be achieved in India by solar photo voltaic system micro grid system and the challenges which has to be over come during implementation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The provision of electricity is a key component in the development of a country’s health care facilities. This study was performed to estimate the cost of powering a rural primary health centre, in India with a decentralised renewable energy system. The costs were also compared between a decentralised renewable energy system and providing electricity from a grid source. The critical or break-even distance that makes electricity from a decentralised renewable energy system cost effective over that from a grid source was determined. The decentralised renewable energy system considered was a hydrogen-based fuel cell for the generation of electricity with hydrogen extracted from biogas obtained from biomass. The software program HOMER was used for the simulation analysis. The cost of a decentralised renewable energy system was found to be between seven times and less than half that of conventional energy, and the break-even distance was between 43.8 km to a negative distance for varying ranges of input component costs. The results of this study indicated that the use of a decentralised renewable energy system to power a rural primary health centre is both feasible and cost effective, and may even be cheaper than using electricity from a grid source. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An Integrated Renewable Energy Optimization Model (IREOM) model has been developed for sizing and optimization of renewable energy systems based on seasonal variation in the load profiles of the study area. An attempt has been made to develop correlations between renewable energy system sizes and their capital cost for the user specified system sizes. The developed correlations were used for the analysis of IREOM model using user specified system sizes and compared with manufacturer specified system sizes. The cluster of seven unelectrified villages having micro-hydro power, biomass, wind and solar energy resources in the state of Uttarakhand, India has been considered for the implementation of IREOM model. Based on the results obtained from the proposed model, suitable sizes of renewable energy systems have been suggested. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Most developing countries include rural electrification programs in their efforts to improve social conditions. There are, however, several obstacles to the evaluation of such programs and therefore of their social, economic, environmental and energy impacts on the target population, particularly on impoverished communities located in remote areas. Evaluation of the efficacy of public policies aimed at rural electrification in South Africa, China, India and Brazil enables such actions to be quantified and re-considered so as to bolster the sustainability of their planning and implementation and also so as to enable comprehension of the significance of access to electricity in relation to other aspects of the drive to improve living standards. The provision of electric energy amounts to more than access to a public service and should be considered an essential right, in a context of social equity and justice, which permits social integration and the access to other equally essential services. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Rural electrification is an integral component of poverty alleviation and rural growth of a nation. In India, electricity has not played effective role in the socio-economic growth of village. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is increasing with 8% where as contribution of agriculture sector is 1.9%. Government of India has ambitious target of providing electricity to all villages by 2008 and all rural households by 2012. Steps are already initiated with Rural Electric Corporation, Rural Electricity Supply Technology mission, State Electricity Boards, Reforms in Power sector. An attempt has been made in this paper to assess the features of rural electrification in India and the feasibility of Photovoltaic Solar Home Systems (PV SHS). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The off grid electrification by utilizing Integrated Renewable Energy System (IRES) is proposed to satisfy the electrical and cooking needs of the seven-uneletrified villages in the Almora district of Uttarakhand state, India. Four different scenarios are considered during modeling and optimization of IRES to ensure reliability parameters such as energy index ratio (EIR) and expected energy not supplied (EENS). The optimum system reliability, total system cost and cost of energy (COE) have also been worked out by introducing the customer interruption cost (CIC). The four different renewable energy scenarios have been compared for the considered study area using the LINGO software version 10. The fourth renewable energy scenario accounting 44.99% micro hydropower (MHP), 30.07% biomass, 5.19% biogas and 4.16% solar energy along with the additional resources of wind (1.27%) and energy plantation (12.33%) has been found to be the best among the different options considered. Furthermore, the optimal reliability for the fourth IRES system has been found to be 0.95 EIR at the optimized cost of Rs 19.44 lacs with estimated COE of Rs 3.36per kWh. The COE obtained using LINGO software and HOMER software has also been compared and briefly discussed for all the four scenarios. In order to verify feasibility and cost of system for different biomass fuel prices, a sensitivity analysis has also been carried out and it has been found that the fourth scenario is more sustainable than the other considered options. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A decentralized power generation plant fuelled by straight jatropha oil was implemented in 2006 in Ranidhera, Chhattisgarh, India. The goal of this study was to assess the environmental sustainability of that electrification project in order to provide a scientific basis for policy decisions on electrifying remote villages. A full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted on jatropha-based rural electrification and then compared with other electrification approaches such as photovoltaic (PV), grid connection and a diesel-fuelled power generator. In summary, the jatropha-based electrification in Ranidhera reduces greenhouse gas emissions over the full life cycle by a factor of 7 compared to a diesel generator or grid connection. The environmental performance is only slightly improved, mainly due to the high air pollution from pre-heating the jatropha seeds. With additional measures oil extraction and overall efficiency could be further improved. However, environmental benefits can only be achieved if jatropha is cultivated on marginal land and land use competition can be excluded. Under these conditions, jatropha-based electricity generation might be a useful alternative to other renewable electrification options, as the technology is very sturdy and can be maintained even in remote and highly under-developed regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]