Socio-technical assessment of solar photovoltaic systems, implemented for rural electrification in selected villages of Sundarbans region of West Bengal
Student name: Ms Rashmi Murali
Guide: Mr Amit Kumar
Year of completion: 2015
Host Organisation: The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), New Delhi
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Mr Debajit Palit
Abstract: It is a proven fact that energy access plays a direct role in the overall development of any region. Therefore, it is understood that both urban as well as rural areas require equal access to quality power, which will inevitably lead to the progress of the nation. However, the power situation in rural India remains poor, with around 43% of the Indian rural population, being deprived of electricity access. To bridge this gap, the Government launched schemes like Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) which aimed at transforming the rural electricity infrastructure through promotion of Decentralized Distributed Generation (DDG) Systems and those villages and hamlets which were not covered under this programme were taken up under the Remote Village Electrification scheme.
The objective of this study was to conduct an impact assessment of the solar AC pico-grids installed under the Off-grid Access Systems (OASYS) for South Asia project, in the selected villages of the Sundarbans, West Bengal. The technical, economic, social and institutional aspects along with their respective impacts were assessed and a comparison was done with the Solar Home Systems (SHS) and solar mini grid. It was found that post the adoption of solar PV systems, the kerosene consumption by the villagers to meet their basic lighting demands has significantly reduced. The consumers also find the brightness of solar light much better than that of kerosene lamps and that working under it is far more convenient. The use of these lights instead of kerosene lamps by women in their kitchens has not only reduced the efforts required for cooking, it has mitigated a lot of kerosene induced health problems and the risks of accidents. But the impacts of solar lights could not be fully realised in some cases, like students going to tuition centres instead of studying at home, the case of certain markets where the market union rules prevent shopkeepers from taking pico-grid connection, and not all women using light for cooking purposes. However, these obstacles can be overcome using appropriate strategies and recommendations have been made in this regard.
Keywords: Impact Assessment, Solar AC Pico Grids, Solar Home Systems, Solar Mini Grid
