Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50 (2015) 256269

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Development of renewable energy based microgrid project

implementations for residential consumers in India: Scope,
challenges and possibilities
S.R. Sivarasu a,n, E. Chandira Sekaran a, P. Karthik b
a
Department of EEE, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore 641014, Tamil Nadu, India
b
Major Research Project, UGC, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore 641014, Tamil Nadu, India

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper describes the scope and challenges for the development of residential microgrid (MG),
Received 23 August 2014 formation of its architecture, load sharing possibilities between residential consumers, load sharing
Received in revised form between MG and utility grid during excess power generation and also decit demand conditions. This
30 March 2015
paper also describes how best the regional renewable resources can effectively be utilized for powering
Accepted 24 April 2015
the MG to supply xed and deferrable loads. Communication between residential consumers during
Available online 27 May 2015
energy transfer through MG and communication between MG to utility grid is also emphasized. A case
Keywords: study is presented to show the demand and load patterns of selective residential consumers. The
Microgrid outcome of the study shows that the considered site has abundant wind and solar resource and it also
Solar PV
has additional resources to increase the capacity addition of the MG. The study also recommends
Wind
potential opportunities to develop solar photovoltaic (SPV), wind, hybrid models and their suitability to
Distributed Generation
JNNSM power the residential consumers in India which helps the nation to reduce the dependency on fossil fuel
NAPCC based power generation. The results of the study emphasize the key constraints and their possible
solutions in the design, development and implementation of MG projects in India.
& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
2. Microgrid Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
3. Scope for residential microgrid in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
4. Challenges for residential microgrid in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
4.1. Strategic planning of design topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
4.2. Technical challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
4.3. Socio-economic challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
5. Generic formation of microgrid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
5.1. Topological structures for residential MG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
5.2. Comparison of ACLV, DCLV and hybrid MG systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
6. Field study and data collection description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
7. Problem description in the design of microgrid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
7.1. Consumer load prole and electricity demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
7.1.1. Consumer load prole of corporation (urban) limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
7.1.2. Consumer prole of non-corporation (sub-urban) limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
7.1.3. Electrical equipments in residential household . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
7.1.4. Preliminary informations I: geographical location of residential buildings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
7.1.5. Preliminary informations II: electrical related issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
7.2. Assessment of renewable energy potentials of the area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

n
Corresponding author. Tel.: 91 99420 29372.
E-mail addresses: sivarasu@cit.edu.in, srseeecit@gmail.com (S.R. Sivarasu).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.04.118
1364-0321/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 S.R. Sivarasu et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50 (2015) 256269 257

7.2.1. Weather data on eld study location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

7.2.2. Solar irradiance potential in eld study location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
7.2.3. Variation of ambient temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
7.2.4. Possibility of additional sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
7.2.5. Climatic variations in Coimbatore region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
8. Inferences of the study and future forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
9. Study Outcome mapping with Government Policy Initiatives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
10. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Acknowledgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

1. Introduction
Worldwide the demand for electricity is growing at much faster
rate and it will be projected around 2.7% growth per annum [1]. The
biggest challenge of any utility company is to provide clean and
adequate power with convenient form to the consumer, as it has a
direct bearing on the living standards as well as alleviating poverty
and ensure energy security. Indian power sector is fully dominated by
fossil fuel based generation, as the coal based power generation
contributes nearly two-third of total power generation [2,3]. Devel-
oped countries are reducing their dependency on fossil fuel and are
now heavily investing in alternate fuels to protect the ecological
system for sustainable development [4]. The contribution for the
power generation using various renewable energy sources especially
from wind, Solar PV and bio fuels are ever increasing through constant
efforts laid by the Indian government [5,6]. The Indian power system
conventionally designed with centralized in structure where the
generation system is too far from the load. The total installed capacity
is about 258701.45 MW as on 30-01-2015 including 12% contribution
from renewable energy sources (RES) [7]. However the gap between
the supply and demand is around 7.8% on average load, but 13% on
peak load [8]. Most of the states1 in India are reeling under heavy
power shortages, since because the targeted capacity addition of every
ve year plan2 has not been achieved due to various constraints [9].
The grid penetration in India is about 6570% which is a low gure
when compared to other developed countries [10].
Even with grid availability, the consumers suffer a lot because of
poor quality of power which often includes uctuations of voltage
and frequency. Distributed Generation (DG) is being more commonly
sought after in the decentralized power system as it eliminates the
investment for transmission and distribution infrastructure [11],
reduces transmission and distribution losses, prevents power theft
and provides energy security [12], best suited for remote and rural
applications. This paper describes the scope for the development of
DG in residential areas in India using regional renewable sources and
challenges towards the formation of their own grid often known as
MG. Possibility for energy sharing between individual houses, energy
sharing between MG to utility grid and utility grid to MG are also
emphasized by considering various demand and generation condi-
tions. A case study has been conducted in Coimbatore an industrial
city in India to exactly predict the demand of the residential
consumers. Generally the power utility companies classify the elec-
tricity consumers into three classications, namely domestic, com-
mercial and industrial. However in India, there is no sub-classication
in domestic electricity consumers. Hence from the eld study, the
residential consumers has been classied in three distinct category
based on their connected loads and are given by (A) low energy
1
India is a democratic country built by many states which are separated by the
language regionally.
2
Five year plans are centralized and integrated national economic program,
developed, executed and monitored by Planning Commission, Government of India.
consumers (connected load less than 0.75 kW), (B) medium energy
consumers (connected load between 0.75 to 2.0 kW) and (C) high
energy consumers (connected load of greater than 2.0 kW). The study
has been conducted by including all the classied consumers in the
specied location. Similarly the consumer loads are classied into four
major categories like (a) Kitchen loads, (b) Lighting loads, (c) Motor
loads and (d) General loads. The paper also focuses on selection of
various sources to power either entire or partial load condition.
2. Microgrid Introduction
The denition and explanation for MG generally varies and
viewed in different perspectives while implementing Distributed
Generation. The general form of denition is being the microgrid a
self-contained energy systems mostly of renewables with the ability
to operate independently as stand-alone systems of grid tied [13]. It
is a miniature power system located at the distribution end incor-
porating power sources, energy storage elements and user loads.
Simply they will be recognized as Local Energy Networks [14].
Mostly MGs are supplied by region specic renewable energy sources
along with conventional sources of energy [15]. The concept of MG is
more viable for remote rural electrication/community based resi-
dential power network, in addition to that, this concept is now
getting popular in commercial, industry, institution and military
based power networks [16,17]. Conceptually the microgrids can be
congured to operate in two different modes. In rst mode of
operation, the systems will always being connected with consumer
loads and no longer connected to utility grid often known as isolated
mode. In stand-alone mode, the system dynamics are dictated by
microsources themselves, their power regulation control and, to an
unusual degree, by the network itself [18]. On the other hand, in
second mode of operation, the MG should be connected with larger
grid to export/import the power based on the generation [19]. In grid
connected mode, most of the system-level dynamics are dictated by
the main grid due to the relatively small size of microsources.
3. Scope for residential microgrid in India
The human settlement in India can deliberately be grouped as
clustered settlements and hemleted settlement throughout the
entire topography [20,21]. As the population and the connected
load of the residential consumer increases, their demand for
electricity also increases. The suitable system for providing unin-
terrupted and quality power is also a bigger challenge for any utility
company. The Indian electricity grid now faces signicant chal-
lenges towards the supply of adequate power in terms of reliability
and cost effectiveness. In this context, one of the best possible ways
for providing the energy is to install microgrids. The population in
any resident may vary from two persons to a maximum of six and
their load demands are not unique with the neighboring house
258 S.R. Sivarasu et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50 (2015) 256269

Table 1
Parametric scope for the development of MG in India.

Source (based on MNRE Solar Mostly all the states will receive clear solar irradiation of almost 250300 days in an year
Report)a photovoltaic
Wind energy Dominated in limited states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Rajasthan
Small Hydro Rainfall dominated areas like north-eastern and west coastal regions. Other states will also receive moderate rain fall but
needs good water management and storage allows for continuous electricity generation throughout the year.
Bio energy Limited in states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Punjab
MG architecture AC microgrid, DC microgrid
Hybrid AC/DC microgrid [22]
Power transfer Between home to home connected in the same MG
From home to main grid (export)
From home to home and also to main grid (transfer-export)
From main grid to home (import)
Modes of operation Always grid connected (for largely populated areas)
Islanded mode but connected to grid during export/import

a
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is the nodal Ministry of the Government of India for all matters relating to new and renewable energy.

Table 2
Design considerations for the development of MG.

Preliminary Mission Planning Need for the microgrid projects

Possible energy saving options and energy surety
Identication of project location
Geographical area and population
Educate the people about MG
Load estimation Estimate the present and anticipated future loads
Analyze the load prole for specic period of time
Observe the peak demand and their tentative duration
Classify critical and non-critical loads
Optimize the loads
Check the possibility for demand side management
Generation assessment Identify the available renewable energy source (mostly hybrid)
Estimate their potential for power generation
Identify backup power source [26] (optional)
Need for battery bank [27,28]
Conguration planning MG topology (AC/DC)
Common AC bus or DC bus or hybrid
Power rating of sources with individual voltage levels
Load voltage and current ratings
Wiring, control panels, fuses and switches
Operation planning Modes of operation
Priority load operation during low power generation
Import/export power transfer
Islanded modes of operation during fault condition
Auto reconnection to grid after fault clearing
Cost Cost of the source
Cost of power conditioning units
Cost per watt and cost per unit generation
Annual Life Cycle Cost (ALCC)
Simple payback and Return on Investment (RoI)

Table 3
List of Technical challenges in MG Projects in India.

S. Technical challenges Root cause Operational impact

No

1. Islanding (during Unintentional islanding may occur during fault and sudden reduction of Dangerous to utility workers, who may not be aware that a
energy export/import energy generation from renewable sources due to highly uctuating climatic circuit within the islanding operation still has power
mode) condition Islanding may prevent automatic reconnection of devices
into the grid
2. Voltage and current Integrating more than one sources leads to control the active and reactive Deviation of system voltage (bus voltage) and frequency
control power ow from its set point value
3. Study of system Variability of the climatic condition causes instability (if MG supplied by Loads are withdrawn from the systems suddenly or Sources
stability renewable energy sources) are bypassed to utility grid
4. Fast fault clearing MG is designed for energy export/import. Hence all the protective devices Failure of protective devices may also lead to damage the
system should be designed for bi-directional power ow with adequate factor of sources
safety
5. Unbalanced If the MG is designed with three phase conguration, all the phase must be During unbalance (large single phase loads are connected
condition (For 3-ph balanced loaded in any one phase) heavy neutral current can damage the
system) system
6. Human Resource Untrained man power deployment and lack of knowledge Failure of system, poor maintenance and high Mean Time
(Institutional Barrier) Between Failure (MTBF)
 S.R. Sivarasu et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50 (2015) 256269
located in the same community. Residential communities in India
have tremendous potential for formation of MG, since their loads
are varying in the range of few kilowatts. Table 1 summarizes
various parametric scopes for the development of MG in India.
4. Challenges for residential microgrid in India
Realization of renewable energy based microgrids in India
involves many challenges in each steps of implementation process.
In general the overall implementation practices may lead to three
important challenges like, (i) Strategic planning of design topology,
(ii) Technical challenges and (iii) Economical and Social challenges.
4.1. Strategic planning of design topology
From the literature it is evident that duo importance has to be
given to diverse set of factor that affects the technical design and
performance of the microgrid [23]. A best design practice, not only
considering the all possible technical aspects, but also to adopt
socio-economic considerations. Settlement as any form of human
habitation in India can broadly be grouped under four categories
like (i) compact/clustered/nucleated settlement, (ii) semi-com-
pact/semi-clustered/fragmented settlement, (iii) hemleted settle-
ment and (iv) dispersed settlement [24]. Each settlement category
has different pattern refers to a regular form or order in which a
Mode II
Source/Load Feeder I
Mode I
Home I
Fig. 1. Generational formation of MG for residential applications.
Table 4
Modes of operation in the typical MG architecture.
Mode Description
I Energy transfer between homes
II Energy export
III Energy import
259
series of things occur. The diversied natures of the settlements
enable freedom to the designer to design well suited, site specic,
optimal and economic model of the microgrid projects. The
persons living in each home is varying while considering nearby
houses, since it may lead to different connected loads in the same
community. Residential microgrids are mainly designed to gen-
erate power from the locally available sources, mostly of renew-
ables [25] and can be shared among the houses. Table 2 shows the
key requirements to be considered while designing any microgrid
projects.
4.2. Technical challenges
There are many Technical challenges involved at each phase of
project deployment and operation. For example the operation of
any microgrid system is designed to connect with utility grid
during energy export/import or operate as autonomous mode. In
both the modes of operation, MG can develop several technical
problems and these problems may not be unique and are site
specic in nature. Also they differ based on the topological
structure, operating voltage/current/power levels [29] of the MG.
Table 3 shows possible Technical challenges in design, develop-
ment, implementation and operation of MG under various operat-
ing conditions. It also provides the root cause of the challenges and
their operational impact of the MG.
Utility Grid
Mode III
Net
Metering
Auto Recloser
/Isolator
MG LV Main Feeder
Source/Load Feeder II Source/Load Feeder N
Home II Home N
Condition
Home with excess power generation to home with short fall
Reduction of transmission losses can be achieved by connecting nearest home
Slave unit of the net metering system records this process and also communicate with Master unit
Surplus generated energy transferred to the utility grid through auto-recloser
Master metering unit records the total energy exported during specied time
Slave metering unit records the energy exported by individual home during specied time
energy transferred from the utility grid through auto-recloser during short fall of energy
Master metering unit records the total energy imported during specied time
Slave metering unit records the energy imported by individual home during specied time
260 S.R. Sivarasu et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50 (2015) 256269

4.3. Socio-economic challenges 5. Generic formation of microgrid

The Government of India provides subsidies worth of around
Rupees 500 million for projects aimed at promoting the use of
solar energy in rural areas [30]. Perhaps the implementation of MG
projects energized by renewable energy sources involves higher
initial cost. However in the recent years the prices of the renew-
able energy sources and other accessories have come down and
hence the economic challenges for MG will become cost compe-
titive than compared to traditional power system. Similarly the
business model for MG has enormous barrier for implementation
on a specied site in India. This economic challenges need to be
solved by establishing a common nancing forum comprises of
utility, government agencies, state designated agencies and local
community.
In India, the implementation of MG projects in rural and urban
area faces the following social challenging; (i) proper education for
the selected community, (ii) train the community to operate and
maintain the system, (iii) advise them to utilize the sources
completely and (iv) interact with utility people at regular interval
of time.
It is indeed difcult to express the generic formation of MG,
since it varies site to site and case to case. Typical formation of MG
for residential application is shown in Fig. 1. This simple arrange-
ment shows the MG architecture to add N number of houses in the
system. However during the initial design of the system, it must be
properly specied how many homes are to be connected and their
power handling capacity along with its future possible expansion.
It is always recommended to design multiple dispersed sources
in each home in order to maintain the reliability since the whole
system will be down if it is supplied by one power source. Fig. 1 is a
simple MG architecture best suited for Indian residential applica-
tions, accommodating localized renewable sources. The modes of
operation and energy transfer possibilities are shown in Table 4.
5.1. Topological structures for residential MG
In general, the residential MGs are supplied by either common
source (single or hybrid in nature) or sources are tted with each
residential home. In both case, it is possible to develop different

SPV WEG SHG FC SPV FC WEG SHG

G G

DC/AC

DC/AC
AC LV MG Feeder

AC LV MG Feeder

Bi-directional PCU Bi-directional PCU

Storage Storage

Battery Battery

Fig. 2. AC LV MG topology with decentralized and centralized power converters.

SPV WEG SHG FC SPV FC WEG SHG

G
G

DC/DC DC/AC
DC/DC AC/DC DC/DC

DC LV MG Feeder DC LV MG Feeder

Bi-directional PCU Bi-directional PCU

Storage Storage

Battery Battery

Fig. 3. DC LV MG topology with decentralized and centralized power converter.

 S.R. Sivarasu et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50 (2015) 256269 261

SPV FC SPV FC

DC/DC

DC/DC

DC LV MG Feeder DC LV MG Feeder

Storage Storage
Bi-directional PCU Bi-directional PCU

AC LV MG Feeder AC LV MG Feeder

G
G

WEG SHG SHG

WEG
Fig. 4. Hybrid LV MG topology with decentralized and centralized power converter.

Table 5
Comparison between AC, DC and hybrid MG system.

S. Description AC MG DC MG Hybrid MG
No

1. Possibilities of DG- Wind generators Solar PV Combination of AC and DC DG sources

RES Small Hydro Fuel Cell
Bio-fuels Batteries
2. Storage Needs conversion Easily stored in battery/ultracapacitors Available in the architecture
3. Utility application Needs conversion for AC loads Needs conversion for AC loads AC and DC loads are connected separately
4. Power converters Less no. of converters (requires ACDC if Less no. of converters (Requires DCDC if it is Needs always bidirectional converter
storage is required) connected to grid) between AC and DC feeder
5. Control of Power Complicated in converter topology and Less complicated in topology and also in Needs dedicated control schemes
Converters control schemes control
6. Power Quality Issues Highly inuenced and mitigation is essential Less inuenced Moderately inuenced; mitigation is
essential

Table 6 Generator (WEG) system and Small Hydro Generator (SHG) systems
Geographical and climatic charactertics of Coimbatore city. into the AC MG through proper power electronic converter units. The
DC power sources like solar photovoltaic (SPV) and Fuel Cell (FC) are
Latitude 11.01831N
Longitude 76.97251E
connected to decentralized (or Independent) power converters to
Elevation 411.48 m from Mean Sea Level (approximately) convert the DC input to AC at suitable level of voltage and frequency.
Soil type Predominantly Black with Red Loamy Soil Fig. 3 shows the DCLV MG feeder with decentralized and centra-
Average wind velocity 4.85.2 m/s (Annually) lized power converter unit. Similarly Fig. 4 shows a LV MG feeder with
Average solar irradiance 8001180 W/m2 on clear sunny days
decentralized and centralized power converter unit which contains
Average sun hour 4.85.6 kW h/m2
Average rainfall 53.00 mm (annually) both ACLV and DCLV feeders. The above mentioned topologies have
Average temperature 34.7 1C Mean on Summer; 21.4 1C Mean on Winter optional storage back up power using battery system [31,32]. The
capacity of the battery is not designed to power all the loads connected
in the MG during shortfall of power. Instead it will be sized for an
topologies like common Alternating Current Low Voltage (ACLV) MG, optimal capacity if power requirement of any home is very minimal.
Direct Current Low Voltage (DCLV) MG and hybrid topology which Presence of battery storage will avoid the transition of MG connected
includes both ACLV and DCLV MG feeder with centralized or to main grid under this condition which enhances the overall system
decentralized inverter conguration. Fig. 2 represents ACLV MG reliability. However the sizing of the battery power and its back up
feeder connecting various renewable sources like Wind Energy time is absolutely depends on the designer of the MG systems.
262 S.R. Sivarasu et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50 (2015) 256269

Table 7
Details of the survey site in Coimbatore district.

Survey location Country India

State Tamil Nadu
District Coimbatore
Number of survey sites 12
Survey limit 6 in corporation4 (urban) limit 6 in non-corporation (sub-urban) limit
Number of house per site 05

Survey site I Survey site II Survey site III

5000 5000 10000

KWh/Year

KWh/Year
KWh/Year

2013 2013 2013

2012 2012 2012

0 2011 0 2011 0 2011

H I H H H H H I H H H H H H H H H
II III IV V II III IV V I II III IV V

Survey site IV Survey site V Survey site VI

5000 5000 5000
KWh/Year

KWh/Year

KWh/Year
2013 2013 2013

2012 2012 2012

0 2011 0 2011 0 2011

H I H H H H H I H H H H H I H H H H
II III IV V II III IV V II III IV V
Fig. 5. Cumulative energy prole of residential area in urban limit.

5.2. Comparison of ACLV, DCLV and hybrid MG systems
Each MG system has its own advantages and limitations.
However the application of any one of the system needs detailed
survey on the availability of distributed sources and pattern of
consumer loads. Table 5 shows a comparison between ACLV, DCLV
and hybrid MG system.
for 11.84 lakhs. The decadal growth rate for Coimbatore district is
about 18.56% and 27.34% for the city [34]. In order to collect the
data, a survey has been conducted to identify the energy demand
of the different consumers in Coimbatore district covering one set
of survey in corporation4 limit (urban area population) and
another one in non-corporation limit (sub-urban area population).
Table 7 shows the details of the survey carried out.

6. Field study and data collection description 7. Problem description in the design of microgrid

The outcome of the study about the Strategic planning, technical
and socio-economic challenges during implementation of MG projects
in India shows that Indian topographical structure is best suitable for
MG projects especially in rural areas where these projects provides
reliable, environmental friendly and affordable energy. In order to
visualize the potential possibilities for MG projects in India, it is
proposed to conduct a regional survey. As it is not possible to conduct
survey in all major areas, a target site of Coimbatore (author's residing
area), one of the major city located in the state of Tamil Nadu has been
selected. Coimbatore known as The Manchester of South India is the
district headquarters of Coimbatore district. It is the third largest city
in Tamil Nadu and houses numerous textile mills and small/medium
scale engineering units manufacturing electric motors, pumps and
domestic wet grinders. The Coimbatore city corporation has a vision-
ary to achieve improved service levels and better quality of life for the
citizens of Coimbatore [33]. Table 6 shows the geographical and
climatic characteristics of survey site location.
The population of entire Coimbatore district3 is 34.58 lakhs as
per the 2011 census in which the Coimbatore city alone accounted
3
A district is a type of local administrative division generally forms the tier of
local government immediately below that of India's sub-national states and
territories.
The residential area in the Coimbatore study eld is almost of
clustered type settlement (both urban and sub-urban) characterized
by compact block of community often having denite layout in a
specied pattern. The design of each MG is unique, since they have
to be designed for specic settlements and for specic pattern of
layout. Similarly the renewable resources are also not unique and
often some sources may not be available in a specied site. Hence it
is important to size each distributed energy source that can meet
the consumer demand throughout the year, the following input
parameters should be estimated. (i) consumer load prole and their
electricity demand, (ii) assessment of renewable energy potentials
of the area (iii) the present ambient temperature and (iv) possibility
of adding additional sources in the existing system.
7.1. Consumer load prole and electricity demand
The rst base data to design any type of MG is the power
consumer load prole along with their connected load demand.
The outcome of this tool is used to design the power capacity,
4
Municipal Corporations in India is urban local government that works for the
development of a city which has a population of more than one million.
 S.R. Sivarasu et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50 (2015) 256269 263

Survey site I Survey site II Survey site III

5000 5000 5000
KWh/Year

KWh/Year

KWh/Year
2013 2013 2013

2012 2012 2012

0 2011 0 2011 0 2011

H I H H H H H I H H H H H I H H H H
II III IV V II III IV V II III IV V

Survey site IV Survey site V Survey site VI

5000 5000 5000
KWh/Year

KWh/Year

KWh/Year
2013 2013 2013

2012 2012 2012

0 2011 0 2011 0 2011

H I H H H H H I H H H H H I H H H H
II III IV V II III IV V II III IV V
Fig. 6. Cumulative energy prole of residential area in sub-urban limit.

Table 8
Possible kind of loads in residential household.

Equipments Urban Limit Sub-urban Limit

A B C A B C

Kitchen
Mixer/grinder
Refrigerator
Electric cooker
Exhaust fan
Electric chimney
Induction stove
Microwave oven
Lighting
Incandescent
Fluorescent
Fig. 7. Energy demand projected for the proposed survey site. CFL
LED
Decorative lamps
Night lamps
generation capacity of individual sources, voltage/current levels, Motor loads
conductor size, sizing of protection devices, and capacity of Ceiling fan
insulation. This section presents the consumer load prole and Table/Pedestal fan
electricity demand for urban and sub-urban limit. Pumping motor
Optional/Additional loads
Iron box
7.1.1. Consumer load prole of corporation (urban) limit Washing machine
Chargers
The cumulative energy prole for six different selected sites
TV& Video players
within the corporation limit is shown in Fig. 5. Three years Laptop, PC & Printer
cumulative energy prole has been estimated and analyzed. Vacuum cleaner
However, in 2012 the annual energy consumption had been Hair dryer
reduced due to heavy load shedding that was imposed by Electronic saver
Water heater
TANGEDCO (Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Air conditioner
Limited Public sector unit, Government of Tamil Nadu) and is a
Electric bike /car
also partially continued in the year 2013.
a
Mostly bike only.

7.1.2. Consumer prole of non-corporation (sub-urban) limit

Fig. 6 shows the three years cumulative energy prole of six
selected survey sites located in non-corporation limit. While
comparing the energy prole of corporation resident to non-
corporation resident, the non-corporation residents consume less
energy per year, since they have lower connected load (in kW) and
lesser usage time. Fig. 7 shows the trend of the energy demand
projected for 20112013. However the this gure does not include
the trend of energy supply since the consumers experienced
reduction in power supply as mentioned earlier due to the heavy
shortfall in the generation.
7.1.3. Electrical equipments in residential household
A questionnaire has been prepared by the team members of the
project in which all the electrical loads in a resident has been
divided into four categories like (i) Kitchen, (ii) Lights, (iii) Motor
loads and (iv) General loads. Possible kind of loads in each
category for the three classied energy consumers located in
urban and sub-urban limit is shown in Table 8. After collecting
the data, it is evident that, connected load in each home is
different and is purely based on their level of income and number
of family members.
264 S.R. Sivarasu et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50 (2015) 256269

Table 9
Preliminary informations I: geographical location of residential buildings.

Description Urban Limit Sub-urban Limit

Number of oors 1020% ground and rst 510% ground and rst
oor oor
8090% ground oor only 9095% ground oor
only
Number of family members 35 members per family 46 members per family
Mean vacant area in total land area 500850 Sq. ft 400750 Sq. ft
Nature of building roof Reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete
Mean roof area 6001200 Sq. ft 450700 Sq. ft
Mean distance between buildings 1020 ft 1530 ft
Shading possibility in vacant land (Tree/ 2030% 510%
building)
Shading possibility in roof area (Tree/ 1020% 25%
building)

Table 10
Preliminary Informations II: Electrical related issues.

Description Urban Limit Sub-urban Limit

Number of electrical connection 12 (One for owner and second for tenant) 1
Type of connection 3040% Three phase 510% Three phase
6070% Single phase 9095% Single phase
Average load shedding per day 810 h in 20112012 10-14 h in 20112012
24 h in 20132014 24 h in 20132014
Backup power if any 90% having inverter-battery system 4050% having inverter-battery system
Nominal inverter capacity 8501500 VA 500850 VA
Any RES based system installed 2030% Solar water heater 510% solar water heater
25% Solar PV o1% Solar PV
Awareness on energy efcient products 8090% aware of BEE certied products 6070% aware of BEE certied products
Willingness to RES 100% 100%
Willingness to install MG 100% 100%
Expectations from State/Central Government Easy administrative rules and regulations
Speedy approval for the projects
Subsidy
Tax Benets
Expectations from utility companies Speedy implementation
Proper system maintenance
Power Quality
Training programs

Pyranometer
Wind Anemometer Similarly, the information about the mean distance between the
surrounding buildings is useful to estimate the coverage area of the
SPV Panel Temperature & MG and their cable length. Further this will also useful in future about
Humidity Sensor
the extendibility of the MG. The table also provides the shading
possibilities over the selected site and is expressed as a percentage
average on a day. The shaded area (either vacant area on ground or
GSM Control Unit
roof area) can be eliminated from the installation of SPV panels and
this provides how much panel can be accommodated per house.
Battery

7.1.5. Preliminary informations II: electrical related issues

Fig. 8. Weather monitoring station located at CIT, Coimbatore.
7.1.4. Preliminary informations I: geographical location of residential
buildings
Table 9 shows the preliminary investigated statistics about the
geographical location about the housing on the survey site. Most of the
houses are having rst oor of about 914 ft of height. This informa-
tion is useful to design the hub height of wind generator to capture
nominal wind velocity. The energy consumed by each house depen-
dents on the number of family members and also the connected load
of the house. The vacant area in the ground and unused roof area can
be more precisely useful for implementing SPV panels, since the
roong of all the houses in the survey site are reinforced concrete (RC).
From the Table 10 it is evident that the MG system can be
designed as AC microgrid (or hybrid) since most of the connected
loads are AC in nature and the consumers has a maximum of single
phase electrical connection. Because of the heavy load shedding
imposed by the state utility company, an accountable portion of
consumers are connecting inverters as backup power. While devel-
oping MG for this area, the battery system can be utilized to optional
storage. The table also echoes the view of the consumers for their
willingness to implement the MG project in their area and is ready to
pay for their electrical services.
7.2. Assessment of renewable energy potentials of the area
The design and implementation of microgrid in the proposed
area should be dimensioned to be technically feasible and cost
 S.R. Sivarasu et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50 (2015) 256269 265

10 5

Mean Wind Velocity (m/s)

Mean Wind Velocity (m/s)

0 0
May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr
Month Month
Fig. 9. (a) Mean wind velocity during windy season and (b) mean wind velocity during non-windy season.

1000 site also has 4.85.6 kW h/m2 sun hours annually which yield an
Mean Irradiance (W/m )
2

average of 45 kW h generations per kW of SPV panel.

The position of the Solar PV panel can be installed either in
500 tracking mode or in non-tracking mode in order to extract max-
imum power from the PV panel. In non-tracking mode, the panel
has been xed with an inclination angle equal to the latititue of the
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
installtion location. However in tracking mode, especially in dual
Month
tracking mode, the rst axis can be tracked from east to west for
every movement of sun hour. In second axis tracking, the panels can
Fig. 10. Solar irradiance potential of survey site. be tracked based on the inclination angle of the surface to earth and
this varies day to day. However the PV panels can be tracked based
effective [35] and offer reliable power to the consumer almost on the optimally estimated inclination angle for every month for a
throughout the year. Therefore the potential of regionally available specifed site condition. The optimum inclination angle for the
renewable energy sources has to be estimated by collecting survey site has been estimated and is shown in Table 11. From
corresponding data in the site area. the assessed values, it is concluded that integration of SPV panel is
also a best option for the development of MG in the proposed site.

7.2.1. Weather data on eld study location

Besides two or three automatic weather stations installed in 7.2.3. Variation of ambient temperature
Coimbatore, one such system is installed in Coimbatore Institute of The solar irradiance, wind velocity and wind direction are tempera-
Technology (CIT) campus and is shown in Fig. 8. It has been ture dependent variables. Especially the power output of the SPV panel
installed at a height of 20 m and can able to measure solar has come down when the temperature increases from the standard test
irradiation, wind velocity, relative humidity and temperature temperature. Solar cells are more sensitive to temperature variation
(max, min and average). This monitoring system records the data since higher the temperature reduces the band gap of the semicon-
at every 10 s and averaged for 15 min interval. ductor and thereby affecting the material parameters. The mostly
The specied eld study location Coimbatore has highly wind prone affected parameter is the open circuit voltage (Voc), as it decreases with
area and wind season starts from the mid of May and ends in the increase in temperature. The short-circuit current (Isc), increases slightly
October. However wind velocity in non-windy seasons is also appreci- with higher temperature, however, this is a small effect. Hence it is
able and is best suitable for installation of small and medium hub height much important to study the annual variation of ambient temperature
residential wind generators. Fig. 9(a) shows the mean wind velocity for of the survey site. Fig. 11 shows the variation of ambient temperature for
the period of MayOctober 2013 and Fig. 9(b) shows the mean wind the year 2013. The site has a maximum temperature of 36.56 1C (in
velocity for the period of non-windy seasons measured from the April) during summer and minimum of 18.85 1C (in December) during
weather monitoring station. It is evident that during the windy season the winter with an average temperature of 32.49 1C.
the mean wind velocity varies from 5.4 m/s to 7.9 m/s. On the other
hand during non-windy season the mean wind velocity ranges from
3.4 m/s to 4.61 m/s. The smaller wind turbines manufactured for 7.2.4. Possibility of additional sources
residential applications has an average cut-in speed of 2.8 m/s to It is necessary to include additional sources in the existing MG
3.4 m/s. This information is valid while selecting wind power as one to match the future increase in energy demand. While carefully
of the prominent source for developing MG and as a conclusion, this site analyzing the survey, residential household in the corporation
has good potential for installing small Wind Energy Generators. limit has narrow options for adding additional sources. Develop-
ment of centrally located bio fuel based power generation located
either has one of the best options which can be fueled by daily
7.2.2. Solar irradiance potential in eld study location generated vegetable waste. Secondly the integration of Small
The study location Coimbatore has ample opportunities to harvest Hydro generation is also one of the options; even the homes can
solar energy through photovoltaic (PV) system since this region has utilize the utensil and recycled water to run the plant.
almost 275300 clear sunny days in a year [36]. The solar irradiance The residential household located in sub-urban limit has greater
measured using the weather monitoring station located in CIT for the advantages in development of bio fuel based power generation. In
year 20132014 is presented in Fig. 10. The trend of the solar rural areas, agriculture is the main carrier for the livelihood and
irradiance of survey site has of mean minimum of 609 W/m2 during hence the agriculture waste can be the primary source for bio fuel
winter and a mean maximum of 960.7 W/m2 during summer. The power generation. Added to this, animal waste like cattle waste and
266
Table 11
Optimum inclination angle () in the survey site.
Month Jan
Inclination angle () deg 31.87
40
35
Ambient Temperature ( o C)
30
25
20
15
10
5 generator) are slightly higher [40] and therefore they need
0 direct or indirect subsidy benets.
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July
Month
Fig. 11. Variation of ambient temperature for the survey site.
poultry waste can also be considered as a resource for the bio
generation.
7.2.5. Climatic variations in Coimbatore region
Development of microgrid architecture energized from renewable
energy sources requires uninterrupted sources of energy to power
the consumer load. However it is evident that the renewable energy
sources are intermittent in nature and due to the environment
conditions their parameters may vary over the period. In Coimbatore
region, the wind velocity generally increases from the mid of the May
and it has a dramatic reduction in the mid of the October. [37] shows
the increase in air density of 0.005 kg m  3 for the past 10 years, the
spatial pattern of the wind speed varies in this region. The average
irradiation over the region shows there is a potential amount of
available irradiation varies between 600 W/m2 and 1100 W/m2 [38].
During the spring season, the region experiences the reduction in net
solar ux due to the formation of clouds [39]. Table 12 shows the
variation of climatic parameters in Coimbatore region over a speci-
ed period. From the Table 12, it is observed that the, variation of the
climatic parameters may affect the performance of the microgrid
system integrating wind and Solar PV energy system. Hence during
the design process of the microgrid, these variations should be
properly considered so that the system will deliver the uninterrupted
electrical power to the consumers.
8. Inferences of the study and future forward
From the study it is well clear that the survey site is best
suitable for implementing distributed MG, energizing local resi-
dential household powered from regionally available renewable
energy sources like wind, SPV, bio-fuels etc. The same conceptual
model developed from this project, can also be extended to all
rural and urban electrication in India. Particularly this model will
be preferable for rural villages where extension of grid electricity
is not viable. Even urban households can also utilize the model to
produce their own electricity and share the power among the
community connected in the MG. Currently the centralized Indian
power system has wide gap between the generation and demand
and hence the implementation of distributed power generation
schemes are well appreciated by the consumer. The key con-
straints and their possible solutions to promote the project and
S.R. Sivarasu et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50 (2015) 256269
Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
24.17 13.01 1.16  8.02  12.09  9.92  1.95 9.42 21.22 30.29 34.14
forward the technology in future are listed by:
 Consumers are much interested about this project. They want
clear and lightened implementation procedures.
Tmax  As of now, the initial installation cost of the SPV panels (as per
Tmin the PV market in India, currently the PV panel cost ranging
from Rs. 60 to Rs. 80 per watt) and small scale wind generator
(approximately Rs. 80130 per watt based on the type of
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec  Exemption of VAT (Value Added Tax) for the renewable energy
products may cut down their initial cost of the project.
 Installed MG project consumers may be levied with reduced
tax or can be adjusted with their generation.
 An administrative procedure should be laid to utilize the grid
distribution facility to transfer power from one MG to another MG.
 The MG projects (at least the village projects) must be included
in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) and all
benets must be provided to the consumer under this mission.
 A separate team from utility companies should be deployed to
control and monitor this project along with local designated
nodal agencies.
 All the state governments and local administrations are com-
mitted to promote solar energy establishments; it can be possible
to achieve a dedicated microgrid powered by Solar PV/Wind
energy source to cater the need of the residential community.
9. Study Outcome mapping with Government Policy Initiatives
The Ministry of power (MoP) is primarily responsible for the
development of electrical energy in India through perspective
planning, policy formulation, implementation of power projects
and enactment of legislation and ensures Power for All [41]. In
order to meet the target of Electricity for all by 2012 (later
extended to 2017), the MoP and MNRE launched Rajiv Gandhi
Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) in 2005 [42]. The RGGVY
programme has been formulated to extend the grid infrastructure
to most of the census villages by the end of 11th ve year plan
[43]. As a part of the RGGVY, in 2009 the MoP launched a
programme namely Decentralized Distributed Generation (DDG)
to provide electricity to villages and hamlets that are beyond the
reach of the utility grid [44,45]. MNRE launched two successive
initiatives to provide electricity to remote villages with small scale
off grid model powered only from locally available renewable
energy sources. Remote Village Electrication Programme (REVP)
is one such initiative, providing nancial support for electrication
to remote unelectried census villages and unelectried hamlets
where grid extension is either not feasible or not cost competitive
[46]. The indentied areas under this scheme are provided with
basic facilities for electricity through renewable energy sources.
The second initiative managed by MNRE is Village Energy Security
Programme (VESP) [47], to meet the total energy requirements
electrication and access to modern cooking to facilitate economic
and social development in village communities [48]. Again this
paper mainly promotes to supply electricity through regionally
available renewable energy sources. The Ministry of Environment,
Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) also formulated National Action
Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) in order to achieve a sustainable
 S.R. Sivarasu et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50 (2015) 256269 267

Table 12
Climatic variations in Coimbatore region.

Solar irradiation (W/m2) Wind velocity (m/s) Temperature (1C) Rainfall (mm)

Maximum 1180 18.1 36.2 136.7

Minimum 600 3.4 18.1 6.6
Average 540 5.8 22.4 53.0
Effect Increased Oscillating Increased Oscillating
Variations 58% 35% 24% 810%
Remarks Over the past 10 years Over the past 10 years Over the past 53 years Over the past 53 years

Table 13
Government Policy Initiatives mapping with Study Outcome.

S. Policy Initiatives Programme Promoting Description of Mapping

No Agency

1. Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY)
2. Decentralized Distributed Generation (DDG)
3. Remote Village Electrication Programme (REVP)
4. Village Energy Security Programme (VESP)
5. National Solar Mission through NAPCC under UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
6. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efciency through
NAPCC under UN FCCC
7. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat through NAPCC
under UN FCCC
8. National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan
Ecosystem through NAPCC under UN FCCC
9. National Mission for a Green India through NAPCC under
UN FCCC
10. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate
Change through NAPCC under UN FCCC
11. Re-Invest 2015 Renewable Energy Global Investment
Promotion Meet and Expo
12. National Mission on Power Electronics Technology
(NaMPET)
MoP & In India prosperity scopes are available to develop renewable energy based DG schemes and
MNRE formation of community based microgrids
MoP
MNRE The outcome of this study is to promote the development of MG using renewable energy
sources as a distributed power generation model and is matched with the REVP's
programme objectives
MNRE The outcomes of the study will be sent to the administrative authorities in the ministry for
the promotion of renewable energy based microgrid development in village communities
MoEF Able to create affordable Solar PV based microgrid sytem for rural community
MoEF Create energy efcient product design and development applicable to microgrid systems
MoEF Excclusive design of building integrated microgrid systems for for urban planning
MoEF To prevent the forest land and land dehydrodation and provide best mechanism for Lighting
and efcient cooking through community microgrids
MoEF Development of renewable energy based microgrids reduces the effect of Green House Gases
MoEF To initiate focused research and technology development in the eld of microgrid and
address various aspects of climate chage
MNRE Grid interactive renewable power generation through the development of microgrid
MCIT Intergration of renewable energy sources using MG either in grid tied or standalone mode
through energy efcient, modular Power Electronics interface

development path that simultaneously advances economic and
environmental objectives [49,50] of national and international
global community. In addition to that, the MNRE proposes a global
investor meet namely RE-INVEST-2015 to attract large scale
investments for renewable energy sector in India [51]. National
Mission on Power Electronics Technology (NaMPET) is a national
mission programme launched by Department of Electronics and
Information Technology (DeitY) under Ministry of Communica-
tions & Information Technology (MCIT), Government of India.
NaMPET is a multi-institutional programme involving research,
development, deployment/ demonstration and technology trans-
fer for production and commercialization of Power Electronics
technology which plays a foremost role in all renewable energy
systems and especially in the development of MG architectures
[52]. Power Electronics Group(PEG) of Centre for Development of
Advanced Computing (CDAC), Thiruvananthapuram A National
Research and Development Institute under DeitY is the nodal
centre for NaMPET. Table 13 shows the various Government Policy
Initiatives mapping with the outcome of the research study.
10. Conclusion
In this paper, promising challenges of microgrid projects like
technical, economical and social implications are discussed with the
view of Indian power perspectives. These challenges are not unique
for all the sites in India and deviation may persist since the potential
for regional resources like wind, solar irradiance and bio fuel
generation are not same. Similarly the load duration curve also
differs from site to site and hence the capacity of MG and their
operation may vary. This leads to different control algorithms to be
adopted for reliable operation of the systems. A general block
diagram model shows how residential households are connected to
the microgrid and also the power transfer possibilities between
established houses and to the main utility grid. Distributed power
generation for selected community area is inevitable by augmenting
locally available renewable energy sources may be deployed with
various topologies like ACLV MG, DCLV MG and hybrid MG. Again the
selection of topology is based on the site condition. As a rst step
towards implementing the MG projects in India, a reliable estimation
of the community electrical issues and their source availability has to
be estimated by conducting a sample survey. Denitely the results
obtained from the survey are very much useful to design a pilot
project and able to develop a demonstrated model solution. Similar
type of surveys with more specic content may be conducted in
different parts of India to assess how MG project offers best solution
to the existing energy demand. Formation of MG projects is more
viable between selected settlements of human habitation than
installing individual system, since it offers higher reliability and cost
reduction. Based on the study, it is recommended that the low
energy consumers may develop a microgrid with an approximate
power capacity of 1 kW per home each. Similarly the medium energy
consumer and high energy consumers may deploy 2 kW per home
and 3 kW per home respectively. The approximate initial investment
for low energy consumers per home is about Rs. 1.50 lakh (which
includes the cost of the PV panel, wind generation system, power
268 S.R. Sivarasu et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 50 (2015) 256269
conditioning unit, mounting structures and all other mechanical/
electrical accessories). Similarly for the medium energy consumer
and high energy consumers, the initial investment is about Rs. 2.50
lakh and 3.5 lakh respectively. The above cost has been estimated for
hybrid PV-wind based power sources. The cost of the installation of
MG including its protective system must be included and are equally
shared by all the residential consumers connected in the system.
Based on the consumer electricity prole, it is estimated that the
nominal simple payback period for this project is about 67 years for
all the consumers.
Additionally the present study also reveals that use of RES has
signicant advantages in developing MG which reduces the burden
on the foreign exchange economy during the import of fossil fuel
resources. The primary goal of the MG project is to reduce the
consumption of fossil fuel based power generation by increasing
access to clean renewable energy sources and to promote the
sustainable community development. The outcome of this research
paper is to inculcate result oriented focused research on the devel-
opment of MG projects for both urban and rural community with
modular, energy efcient power converters to efciently transfer the
power to the consumer. Also high energy content storage system
with integrated self-healing MG networks under faulty conditions to
be studied in future. Decentralized Distributed Generation (DDG)
requires techno-commercial and sustainable product development
especially for the MG projects. Separate technology transfer research
incubation centers in association with industrial clustering units
must be developed in future for the development of large scale
products related to MG projects and to encourage companies to
manufacture in India to promote the Make in India initiative. Further
the implementations of distributed MG projects are the rst step
towards the realization of smart grid projects in India.
Acknowledgment
We gratefully acknowledge the nancial support extended by
University Grants Commission (UGC), a statutory body of the
Government of India through Major Research Project (MRP) under
Grant folio no. 41-656/2012 (SR) dated on 23rd July 2012.
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