20/05/11
Towards Rural Electrification
Prof. Timothy A Gonsalves
Director
IIT Mandi, Himachal
director@iitmandi.ac.in
20th May 2011
Indias Progress
At Independence, a poor country, with pride and
hope
Today, a prosperous country with many poor, with
aspirations and hope
- robust political, social and business systems
- strong manufacturing base for domestic consumption
- vibrant service sector for expert and domestic
India as a service centre for the world
But ownership of the fruits of the service is
largely outside India
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Services vs Intellectual Property
Manufacturing and services: earnings
proportional to effort
linear growth (e.g. Infosys, TCS, Maruti)
IP: one time effort for design + earnings
thereafter with minimal effort
exponential growth possible (e.g. Google,
Microsoft)
Service vs IP
IT services @Rs.10 lakhs/person-year:
2 lakh programmers/operators = Rs.20,000 crores/year
IP on 2G cellphones @3% royalty:
200m cellphones/year = Rs.1,800 crores/year
IP created by
IP on 4G cellphones @15%: a few 100
engineers
200m cellphones/year = Rs.24,000 crores/year
Prosperity for all Indians in a short time requires
exponential growth
need ownership of IP
need engineers who can make India the Design House for
the world
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On Rural Electrification
Electricity has obvious benefits for education, farming,
health, entertainment, etc.
The urban approach
- extend the grid to every house/farm
- Affordable in dense urban areas because of sharing of
distribution network
- In rural areas, each farm requires substantial investment in
distribution.
- Renewable energy sources are expensive compared to fossil
fuels
- Subsidy approach is not scalable with Indias 70% rural
population in 6,00,000 villages
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Bridging Rural-Urban Divide
One solution: urbanise Rural India
- Was done in the West, eg. U.S is only 5% rural now
- Per capita resource consumption
US:India = 20:1
Urban India:Rural India = 20:1
Will be environmental disaster
Need rural solutions at an affordable cost
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Cost of Electricity
Cost of supplying power to a farm:
Infrastructure cost
install distribution line Interest on loan
maintain it annual cost ~ 30%
replace it depreciation cost
+ generation and supply cost per kWh
Cost of Electricity
Eg. 2 kW pump operated 2 hours/day = 1,400 kWh
Tariff = Rs.5,600/year @ Rs. 4/unit
Cost of power line = Rs.3 lakhs (for 1-1 km 3-phase)
Annual cost of infrastructure = Rs.3 x 0.3 lakhs
= Rs.90,000/year big subsidy
If cost of power line = Rs.20,000/-
Annual cost = Rs.6,000/ year break even
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Farm Electrification in Brazil
Fbio Rosa Municipal Agricultural Secretary,
Palmeras
22 year-old BE(Agronomic Engg.)
How to stem migration of poor rice farmers?
Need: irrigation
Existing: 3-phase pump sets with 3-phase power
supply
Existing Farm Electrification
Pump
Steel
Bore
well ~ $7,000 infrastructure cost/farm
= 5-10 years income
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Farm Electrification in Brazil
Proposal from a nearby engineering professor:
1-phase transmission
Reduce to 1 wire and ground return
Fewer poles (3/km vs. 12/km)
Wooden vs. steel poles
Aluminum vs. copper cables
Labour provided by the farmers
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Pump
Steel
~ $7,000 infrastructure cost/farm
= 5-10 years income
Bore Well Pump
B
Wood
or
e
W
el
l
~$400 cost/farm < 1 year Income
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Monophase Power
$400 cost/farm < 1 year income
Needed: 1-phase pump
Initially, opposition from state electricity board (not as per
standards) and vendors
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Solar Energy in Rural Brazil
In 1992, Fbio Rosa took up solar energy for farms
Cost of solar photovoltaics was too high
Innovation:
Farmers used expensive fences for protection
against wild animals
Combine SPV with light-weight, inexpensive
electric fences
Combined cost is affordable
Over 700 systems installed in 10 years
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20/05/11
Intelizon Solar Lights for India
Patented technology developed with IIT-Madras Rural
Technology Business Incubator (RTBI)
Multi-purpose solar lights with lithium ion battery
Torch light/indoor light/flood light
Street light (solar + grid option)
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ZONKISAN
World s
longest
range
(250m)
Solar
LED
torchlight
Rs549
Unique features
Solar
torch
with
LED
technology
In-built
solar
panel
2.5
hours
continuous
lighting
Two
light
settings
Rugged
ABS
body
Lithium
ion
battery
Long
life,
low
maintenance
Microcontroller
technology
for
light
*
Design
patented
controls
1
year
warranty
Applications
Security,
Camping,
Cycling
etc.
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ZONSTREET
World s
most
cost
eec>ve
solar
LED
streetlight
with
integrated
Li-Ion
baDery
Rs14999
Unique features
90%
lower
power
consumption
compared
to
bulbs
and
tubelights
23lux
(min)
over
25sqft
from
10ft
height
comparable
to
40W
tubelight
consumes
1
unit
per
month
with
minimum
10
hours/day
of
operation
8hr
solar
charging
of
integrated
no
maintenance
lithium
ion
battery
Sensor-
Optimized
to
turn
o
automatically
at
dawn
and
turn
on
at
dusk
>85%
eciency
Applications:
Ideal
for
street
lighting,
garden
light,
path
light
and
perimeter
lighting
Suitable
for
farms,
village
pathways,
community
schools,
religious
centres
and
hospitals
Rural Finance
Vortex Engg founded by an IIT-
Madras BTech (Mech) graduate
Designs Grammateller rural ATM
Rs. 50k (1/15th prevailing cost)
Biometric authentication
Handles soiled/used notes
Solar-powered
Used for NREGA and by several
major banks
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Conclusions
Affordability in rural areas is less than in urban
areas
Infrastructure costs inherently higher in rural
For sustainable development, rural areas must be
as attractive as urban without subsidy
Requires innovative holistic approach to solutions
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Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabio_Rosa
Bornstein, D. How to Change the World: Social
Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas. Oxford
University Press, 2007
www.intelizon.com -- solar lighting for rural India
www.rtbi.in -- several new technologies and businesses for
rural areas from IIT Madras
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