Saturday, September 3, 2011

First renewable energy-based mini-grid system

On Jluy 1, 2011, a renewable energy-based smart mini-grid system, the first of its kind in the country, was formally commissioned on the campus of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in Gurgaon.

The system, which uses advanced digital and control techniques, has been designed and developed by TERI, with support from the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and others.

A smart mini-grid is an intelligent electricity distribution network, operating at or below 11KV, to provide electricity to a community. The smart mini-grids use advanced sensing, communication and control technologies to generate, manage, distribute and utilise electricity at the local distribution levels more intelligently and effectively. The system intelligently manages and balances multiple loads through inter-connected energy resources, providing rapid responses to network disturbances, minimising outages and preventing black-outs. The electricity is supplied by a diverse range of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and typically include small conventional generators such as diesel gensets, and/or a range of renewable generators such as solar PV, micro-hydro power plants, wind turbines, biomass etc.

These smart mini-grids can be wisely used to strengthen the country’s electricity sector and also enhance the performance of rural electricity supply systems.

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