[ad_1]
Manoj Gupta has spent the last two years walking along dirt roads in rural India, looking at solar panels.
The 107-year-old veteran of Tata Power, one of India’s oldest and largest electricity distributors, has been tasked with perfecting a solar power installation called a microgrid. Although microgrids are generally used in philanthropic projects, as chief executive of the newly formed Tata Power Microgrid (TPMG) subsidiary, Gupta’s mandate is to create a commercial enterprise.
“A lot of people will feel that this may be the only corporate social responsibility project,” Gupta said. He added that his boss, Tata Power managing director Praveer Sinha, had “stuck his neck out”.
As India rushes to meet its ambitious energy transition goals, including generating 500GW of renewable energy by 2030, business empires Adani Group and Reliance Industries are investing billions in large-scale renewable projects – from green hydrogen plants to massive solar farms.
There is a long way to go. India relies on coal for 70 percent of its energy production, and disruptions in coal supply caused fires in parts of India during a recent heat wave, highlighting the need for renewable energy to supplement India’s electricity supply.
Tata Power also has industrial-scale solar projects, but its bet on microgrids sets it apart from its rivals. It plans to expand from 200 to 10,000 microgrid. Gupta said the two microgrids seen by the FT cost Rs5mn ($65,000) to build, but Tata Power said costs were variable and declined to give specific figures on the total investment.
Abhishek Jain, a member of the New Delhi-based Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) said Tata is “definitely on a larger scale” than previous initiatives and breaking new ground by focusing “more on the use of products in rural areas”. More than a household. However, “this is not the most profitable investment you can make”.
“The intention is to have this not as a profit motive but as a sustainable organization,” Gupta said. “So we need the money to run itself, not to raise a lot of money.”
While most of India’s homes are connected to the grid, not all receive consistent power – a study by CEEW found that rural households receive 19.9 hours on average per day, but this varies widely between states. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where TPMG has built microgrids so far, are among the worst.
Access to electricity “should be our basic right, like food, water and other basic things,” said Neetu Awasthi, a 30-year-old resident of Uttar Pradesh. “Energy is such a big concern for us that if we have electricity here, we feel it’s the most generous act of anyone.”
Tata Power sees this underserved rural market as an opportunity, Gupta said. “And with that in mind, we’ve moved on to this new microgrid concept. We believe there’s a huge opportunity to serve those customers because there’s a shortage of energy.”
TPMG is undergoing a three-year trial period before a major launch. “We learn from failure,” Gupta said. The worst damage occurred when the floods in Bihar almost drowned five villages. Section – Gupta ordered a ship to rescue the precious batteries. A raised platform was incorporated into the design later.
The microgrid is an installation of nearly 100 solar panels in a field near the village they provide, with a diesel generator room and a shed containing battery storage and an automated remote monitoring and control system. These smart monitors manage the supply that flows from panels, batteries and generators, to households and businesses.
Customers can pay bills through the app, and Tata has local staff to take care of the equipment and make sales. Gupta and his team have installed CCTV to make the microgrids more theft-proof, and if customers want to register, TPMG can add panels to boost supply.
Thanks to batteries and diesel generators, which Gupta wants to replace with biomass options, Tata’s microgrids can provide electricity 24/7. The challenge is to convince villagers to spend Rs100-750 (£1-£7.50) a month.
In Uttar Pradesh, many potential customers say they are happy to stick with power supplied by the errant state because it is a fraction of Tata’s price. Prabhunath Gupta, 22, described the government’s provision of 10-12 hours of power as “very good”.
“It’s a mindset that needs to change. India’s per capita electricity consumption is about 1/3 of the global average, and Mr. Gupta noted that while city dwellers tend to use 300-500 units per month, people living in rural areas tend to use basic lights and 10-30 fans.
Small business owners, like Baker Shahban Ali, are Tata’s target market. The walls of his bakery are black from the diesel generator he uses to run when there is no reliable power. Not only are polluting generators expensive to fuel, “people used to get sick. a lot”. He now pays Rs 15,000-18,000 for Tata Power 24/7, and he says his profits have doubled.
For his next microgrids, Gupta says he is looking for locations with significant economic activity. But TPMG is also trying to steer small businesses toward using electric appliances, such as food mixers, which it can offer on payment plans. The more these businesses earn, the more willing they will be to buy electricity, Gupta reasoned. As income levels rise, so does the desire for electronic items such as television.
Awasthi’s family, who repaired their own small solar panels, decided to pay Tata’s energy costs. They use it less because of the cost, but now the children of Awasthi can study in the evening.
“Maybe most of the rich countries are born [global warming]but if there is a better energy now, our country should choose it, “Awasthi said. “I hope things will improve, change for the better.”
Capital weather
Where climate change meets business, markets and politics. Find the FT’s coverage here.
Are you curious about FT’s environmental sustainability commitment? Find out more about our scientific goals here
[ad_2]
Source link
