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Smart Grids will help integrate renewables into the power grid

Venugopal Pillai ,  Friday, December 09, 2011, 11:49 Hrs  [IST]

William Ash— William Ash, Strategic Program Manager, IEEE Standards Association

IEEE is the world's largest professional association advancing innovation and technological excellence for the benefit of humanity. There are more than 400,000 IEEE members in over 160 countries round the globe. IEEE-SA (Standards Association) is a leading consensus building organisation that nurtures, develops and advances global technologies, through IEEE. William Ash discusses the close linkages between Smart Grid, an active area for IEEE-SA in India, and India's renewable energy endeavours. An interview by Venugopal Pillai.

Please discuss the importance of renewable energy in a developing country like India that is also seen to be a major consumer of energy in the coming years.
India is one of the fastest developing economies in the world and India's energy demand is growing all the time. However, India is also one of the largest CO2 emitters in the world, which means that country will have to stop relying so much on coal and other fossil fuels and focus more on renewable energy sources. The country has a vast supply of green energy resources, and has a significant program for deploying these resources. Adoption of renewable energy will help decrease the demand supply gap and boost rural electrification. For India, an optimal mix of both kinds of energy sources and integration of both conventional and renewable energy into a Smart Grid is essential to have a sustainable energy system.

India is the only country in the world that has a separate ministry for renewable energy. Having said this, do you think that the country's overall achievement and progress is satisfactory?
According to a recent survey, India has an installed renewable energy base of about 20 GW, which is around 11 per cent of the country's total power capacity and accounts for 4 per cent of the electricity mix. India today stands among the top five countries of the world in terms of its renewable energy capacity. The National Solar Mission seeks to facilitate the generation of 20,000 mw of solar power by 2022. India is also working on a National Biomass Mission, which will help tap bio-energy potential of over 25,000 mw. The ministry of new & renewable energy looks into all the matters pertaining to clean and green energy in India and it has initiated several programmes and schemes in promoting non-conventional sources of energy such as wind, biomass, solar energy, etc. In addition, the India Smart Grid Task forum, set up last year, is working on accelerating the implementation of the Smart Grid and a number of pilot projects have already been deployed in Karnataka, West Bengal, etc.

What key policy changes would, in your opinion, help India achieve more in its renewable energy pursuits?
Commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions coupled with cheaper technology for renewable energies will spur their growth, especially as the increasing shortage of oil and other fossil fuels raises those costs. Policies also need to be changed to attract massive investment to build the infrastructure and spur the technology innovations needed that make renewable more affordable and dependable. It is likely that renewable energy will have a significantly larger role in the global energy system in the future than today.

Untitled - 33Even as India stresses on renewable and clean energy sources, its dependence on fossil fuel (mainly coal) is unlikely to mitigate. How can then India strike a balance?
Coal at present constitutes a little over 50 percent of India's energy mix. Coal has been the chief energy source for India because it is found in abundance and it is cheaper to exploit than some of the other energy resources. Meeting the nation's anticipated energy needs with clean energy over the next decade and beyond though, will require a significant investment that must start immediately.

Please discuss in brief the role of IEEE-SA in the field of renewable energy in India.
Smart Grids which will help integrate renewable energy into the power grid and therefore increase efficiency is a strategic area of focus for IEEE-SA in India. Industry standards are among the most important foundational elements and form the basis of a plug and work architecture and hence we are actively growing our engagement in India to promote, educate and help evangelize Smart Grid standards interests in the country. The IEEE-SA has standards like IEEE 2030TM and the IEEE 1547TM series standards that identify and address the interface and interconnection of renewable. IEEE 1547.4TM, recently approved, addressed islanding (mirco-grids). Standards like these will allow renewable energy to be resources for the grid.

Could you elaborate on how Smart Grid and renewable energy are interlinked in the broader pursuit of energy efficiency?
Grid stability is a key consideration for interconnection of any new system to the existing grid. For a conventional electricity network based on a radial power distribution model, high levels of renewable energy would pose some challenges related to the efficiency and stability of interconnected systems. The variable nature of renewable energy necessitates the development of interconnection standards to enable the grid sustain variability of the different sources of power without affecting the quality of power adversely.
 
                 
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