hyderabad | sep-16 | gram oorja : energy access in rural india : enabling agriculture

Energy access in rural India Enabling Agriculture

Hyderabad September 23, 2016

Business Overview : Gram Oorja

• Gram Oorja fulfils the electricity, cooking fuel and water needs of tribal communities in the remote, off-grid regions of India using PV micro-grids, biogas based cooking grids and solar pumps

• Ensures operational and financial stability of projects through an effective metering and tariff mechanism and organising appropriate finance

• Currently working in tribal villages of Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Odisha, Rajasthan and North Karnataka.

• Plans to expand into the tribal belts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh as well as the North-East.

• Clients include some of India’s largest foundations like the Tata Trusts and ICICI Bank Limited and policy and research institutions worldwide

• Founded by entrepreneurs from premier institutions like the IITs and IIMs and with experience in social, financial and energy sectors

Products

Solar micro-grids ranging from 5-20 kWp Biogas grids ranging from 50-200 cubic meter size for cooking

Solar water pumps (AC & DC)

Electrification of education and health institutions

Funders

Funders

Community Partners/ customers Beneficiaries

A

C

• Bosch Solar

• Sir Dorab Tata Trust

• ICICI Bank

• Rotary

• Grundfos Foundation

• Tribal communitiesFunds

Project

Proposal

Orders

Implement

Business Model

• Gram Oorja works to integrate the various aspects to ensure delivery of sustainable projects

Surveys to

identify needs

Long Term Handholding

Our Activities

Target Markets

• 69 districts with more than 25% tribal population

• Gram Oorja plans to expand into the tribal districts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan

• Deep relationships with social service organisations who work intensively with communities

• Ability to understand needs and aspirations and design appropriate systems

• Ability to source appropriate finance ensuring sustainability of projects

• Ability to work in geographically and politically difficult markets nationwide

• Has been able to provide a good base for testing various products anywhere in India

• Strong survey reach and skills

Gram Oorja – Unique Value Proposition

Solar water pumping - Agriculture

Dongripada

Village – Dongripada Taluka – JawharDistrict – Palghar

Pump size – 3 HPPV size – 3 KWpTotal head – 55 mPump capacity – 28,000 lits/dayIrrigated land – 5 acresType of irrigation – DripCrops – Vegetables & flowers

Jhumkapatia

Village – JhumkapatiaTaluka – RasolDistrict – Dhenkanal

Pump size – 7.5 HPPV size – 7.8 KWpTotal head – 35 mPump capacity – 1.25 lakh lits/dayIrrigated land – 9 acresType of irrigation – DripCrops – Vegetables & fruits

Survani

Village – SurvaniTaluka – DhadgaonDistrict – Nandurbar

Pump size – 7.5 HPPV size – 7.5 KWpTotal head – 25 mPump capacity – 2.5 lakh lits/dayIrrigated land – 17 acresType of irrigation – FloodCrops – Vegetables

Survani

Pump size – 7.5 HPPV size – 7.5 KWpTotal head – 25 mPump capacity – 2.5 lakh lits/day

Cost comparison with diesel engine:

Diesel engine required to achieve equivalent output of water – 10 HP

Its diesel consumption – 2 lit/hr

Operational time – 5 hrs

Diesel rate – 55 Rs/lit

Expenditure on diesel per day – Rs. 550/-

Life of the solar pumping unit – 25 years

Solar Micro-grid – Commercial load

Bhamane

Village – BhamaneTaluka – JoidaDistrict – Uttar Kannad

Number of houses – 32 Population – 160Project – Hybrid micro-gridTechnologies used – Solar PV& micro hydro

Bhamane

Total generation – 8 KWPV size – 3 KWpTurbine – 5 KW

Rice huller – 3 HPFlour mill – 3 HP

1. Setting the stage

• The first stage is Deep interaction with the community

• Assess the needs and willingness of the TG

• Inherent leadership in the community, if any, comes to the forefront

• Get the women on-board

• Building trust and goodwill is essential

This stage could be the most significant cost apart from hardware

2. Designing to meet future aspirations

Once on-demand power is provided, people discover and add new uses for electricity:• Utilization of the system steadily increases• Lifestyle changes and livelihood opportunities warrant high

loads that must be planned for– In Darewadi, a flour mill, two computers and a water pump account for

~16-18 units per day– Water pumps have transformed the lives of women by eliminating 4-5

hours of work during dry months– Water pumps will enable some farmers to graduate from an annual crop

to two crops per year

Sample Load Profiles

3. Devising a sustainable tariff

Metered consumption based charging is essential for– accountability – discipline – load management

Creating a corpus with billing collections is essential for– battery replacement– day-to-day O&M

Example of monthly paper bill (in Darewadi)Battery bank

4. Minimizing battery backup

• Minimizing battery storage has several advantages– Reduced upfront investment– Reduced battery replacement costs– Minimizing environmental impact

• Manual optimization through separate feeder lines for household, commercial and street-lighting loads– Enables better management during periods of low generation

Feeder line circuits

Darewadi during monsoons

5. Meeting safety & quality standards

• The installations should meet safety standards as per utility specifications• Higher upfront investment but longer term

sustainability• Possibility of interconnection with

the grid, depending on future policy• Ensures safety of people and cattle• Helps meet the psychological need

of being connected to the world

6. Closing the loop: Transfer of ownership

• Entrepreneurs cannot stay engaged indefinitely for day-to-day management, resolving disputes, etc

• A representative trust or village council plays a critical role in the success of the project

• People more likely to maintain if they feel like owners• Anecdotal evidence from

Darewadi

Biogas based Cooking Grid

Biogas based Cooking Grid

Rationale

• Cleaner, healthier and less cumbersome cooking systems with Biogas.

• Less burden on women to collect firewood.

• Reduction in smoke-related health problems due to burning of wood.

• Saves time, energy and money spent in getting firewood/kerosene/LPG.

• Increases time for family and for productive cottage industries.

• Reduced burden on forests due to less dependency on firewood.

• Nominal harmful greenhouse gas emissions due to the use of clean energy.

Biogas cooking grids at Kolvan

Individual Consumer

School i.e . Commercial Consumer

Scrubber and Boosting System Gas Line

Flame @ SiteFlame @ End User

Flame @ Commercial User

Biogas Plant

Consumer

Roof Top installations for SchoolsGram Oorja has installed small PV systems for running electrical load in schools & organizations including few lights, fans & computers:

• Pragati Pratishthan School

• Sadhana Village

• Ghatandevi Shikshak Prasarak Mandal

• Shree Gadage Maharaj Secondary

Ashram School & Junior college

• Mahajan Guruji Secondary and Higher

Secondary Ashram School

• Kranti Jyoti Savitribai Phule Primary,

Secondary & Junior College

• Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram

Roof Top installations for Primary Health Centers

Gram Oorja has installed PV systems for running electrical load in 11 Primary Health Centers in Nandurbar District to ensure 24x7 electricity for operating lights, fans, medical equipment and refrigeratiors for vaccine storage.

The system configurations were:

Solar Photovoltaic capacity: 3 kWp Solar Photovoltaic capacity: 6 kWp

Biogas cooking grids

Acceptance