In a move that will ensure uninterrupted power supply and ensure adequate lighting at tribal hamlets, the National Institute of Engineering (NIE) has proposed to install microgrids powered by solar and other forms of renewable energy.
This will not only be an eco-friendly initiative, but will also give a boost to tapping solar energy and other forms of renewable energy such as wind.
A pilot project in this regard has already been started at Hemmige tribal haadi in Hunsur taluk by the Centre for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies (CREST) at the NIE.
S. Shamasundar, head and chief coordinator of NIE-CREST, told The Hindu that the microgrid at Hemmige was a pilot project. The microgrid was of 1 kW capacity and was powered by solar photovoltaic, wind turbine, and biodiesel, making it a hybrid unit, and the trials which are on have shown encouraging results.
He said eight houses in the hamlet have been energised using renewable energy sources, and this could prove to be a template to power remotely located tribal hamlets and rural areas where power supply is at best intermittent, if not totally absent.
This is a first-of-its-kind renewable energy microgrid installed by NIE-CREST in this region, and is the way forward to the path of sustainable development based on renewable energy which is also decentralised.
Students and staff of the mechanical engineering department, electrical, electronics and communication, industrial production and civil engineering departments, alumni of NIE, and tribal youth participated in the endeavour, according to Dr. Shamasundar.
Cost of endeavour
There are 30 more hamlets in the region, including haadis around the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, and NIE-CREST has prepared a proposal and will submit it to the government to cover these hamlets as well through renewable energy-powered microgrids. The installation cost of the microgrids is expected to be around ₹5 lakh per hamlet, covering all the households.
S. Sreekanth of Development Through Education (DEED), an NGO working on tribal issues, coordinated with NIE-CREST on the pilot project. He said the concept was encouraging and had come as a ray of light for locals. “Nearly 4,000 tribal households in the region live without power in Hunsur and surrounding areas. Hence, we perceive the installation of renewable energy-based microgrids as a permanent solution as the power is free and decentralised, which means the local youngsters can be trained to maintain it,” Mr. Sreekanth.
This initiative will not only ensure free and uninterrupted power supply to the tribal hamlets, but is also eco-friendly with low carbon footprint, which is in tune with the tribal culture and way of life, Dr. Shamasundar added.
