India needs to build a modern intelligent grid to maintain the agressive growth path, Union New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah said on Tuesday.
Along with augmentation of power through new technologies (solar, wind and nuclear) India needs to upgrade its grids too and there are huge opportunities for building a “smart grid,” he said.
Smart Grid is a system that enables two-way communication between consumers and electric power companies. In a smart grid system, consumer’s information is received by electric power companies in order to provide efficient electric network operations.
“For India to continue on its path of aggressive economic growth, it needs to build a modern intelligent grid,” he said while inaugurating a one-day seminar on smart grids organised by the Consortium of Electronic Industries of Karnataka (CLIK) here.
“Another driver behind the need for a smart grid in India, are trends towards energy efficiency and increased use of renewable energy sources. While blanket energy efficiency is important, India would greatly benefit from intelligent energy efficiency in the form of demand response and grid-responsive appliances”, he said.
Renewable energy sources, when integrated into the grids, will help consumers determine operating costs, improve energy efficiency and prevent depletion of existing fossil and water resources, he said.
