ISSN 2456-0

0901

RENEWABLES
POWER RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
CONSULTANTS NEWSLETTER Special issue

July 2016 Issue No.1 &2 Volume No.5

PAGE PAGE PAGE

Distributed 04 09 26
Generation of Towards
Micro Solar Sustainable Energy
Renewable Energy Roof Tops-Design
Ds Solution to for Academic
Considerations Campuses
Sustainable Power
Grid Operation

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Message from Managing Director...
Dear Friends,

On 8th of May, 2016 at 12.45 hours, Germany met the

country’s power demand which corresponded to a
genera on of 60.24 GW. Out of this, 44.92 GW was
a ributed to renewable power genera on consis ng of
27.62 GW of solar and 17.30 GW of wind, accoun ng to a
whopping 74.57% of the total genera on from
renewables. During on that specific day, Germany’s power
demand was 46.65 GW with export to the rest of EU
being 13.59 GW. More importantly, the grid survived as
expected and there was no blackout or brown out events.
It was reported that the power tariff went nega ve, as the
consumers were incen vized to consume more power. In
terms of energy mix, 27% of the electrical energy
requirement of Germany was met by renewables during Dr. R. Nagaraja, Managing Director, PRDC
2014. I was wondering how that could happen. It is
in the market and drive away the investors. Investment
important to note that the government policies to support
cost can be arrived based on geographical loca on and
the renewable energy in Germany have been consistent
genera on capacity. For example, a 2 kW roof top
and the country is indeed geared up for the higher
solar cost would be much higher compared to a 200
penetra on of the renewable energy to the grid with
MW large grid connected ground mounted solar plant.
various technical and commercial measures that it has
On the other hand, setting up of 2 NW roof top solar in
been pursuing.
Bengaluru would be much cheaper compared to se ng
Now, coming closer to home, India has the vision of up of 2 kW roof top solar somewhere in the North-
achieving renewable genera on installed capacity of 160 Eastern part of the county.
GW by 2022, from the current level of about 30 GW.
x Even though the renewable genera on is un-
Out of 160 GW, 100 GW is being envisaged from solar
predictable with the current technology op ons, it is
and balance 60 GW from wind as compared to present
easier and faster to cut-in or cut-off the renewable
level of about 5 GW of solar and 25 GW of wind. I may
energy sources into the grid as compared to coal fired
venture to suggest herein few of the measures that need
thermal genera ons. Hence, suitable market
to be taken up in order to achieve this ambi ous plan.
mechanism should be worked out which considers the
x Have consistency in the policy and regulatory par cipa on of the renewable energy genera on, sold
measures for the renewable energy penetra on for the directly into whole sale market with premium prizing.
en re country rather than being state specific. Major
x Give higher priority to grid security and reliability.
por on of the renewable energy genera on should be
Technicali es should always prevail over the
treated as the Distributed Genera on (DG), mee ng
commercial mechanism and should never be
the local demand thus doing away with the huge
compromised. Even a er 6 years of conceptualiza on
addi onal investment on the transmission
of the Renewable Energy Management System (REMS)
infrastructure. This will create an even distribu on of
in the renewable energy rich states, which is in prac ce
the renewable energy sources in the country & perhaps
in other renewable energy rich coun es, we do not
result in T&D loss reduc on and enable roof top solar
have one in place in India. Even with repeated impetus
systems ge ng embedded at the distribu on level.
to the centralized, region wise forecast to aid the State
x Do away with the subsidy and have the Feed In Tariff Load Dispatch Center (SLDC), we are s ll delibera ng
(FIT) mechanism whose price is scien fically arrived by on the plant level and turbine level forecast which can
taking into account the investment cost, return on never be implemented nor economically viable.
equity and debt cost. Frequent changes in the tariff and
Continued on Page 8…
inconsistency in the policies will create nega ve impact

Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er


Highlights What is in this issue?
P A GE

04 Distributed Generation of
Roof Top Solar Renewable Energy as Solution to
Sustainable Power Grid Operation
%HQHĆWV (FRQRPLF S. Gomathinayagam

Aspects 09 Micro 6olar Roof Tops-Design

&onsiderations
M. Siddhartha Bhatt

Power System Studies 15 5RRI7RS6RODUå%HQHĆWV 

Economic Aspects
for Renewable Dinesh J Kagathi

Integration 21 Power System Studies for

Renewable Integration
K. Balaraman & Rashmi Shekar

Editorial Committee 26 Towards Sustainable Energy for

Academic Campuses
Advisor: Dr. R. Nagaraja Suresh H. Jangamshetti
Editor: M. M. Babu Narayanan & R. Nagaraja

Members: Francis C. Joseph

Poornima T. R. 30 Indian Power Sector Highlights
Subramanya Kiran
Karthik Chandra 31 Events and Achievements
Rashmi Ranjan Rout
Somnath Guha 33 Training Schedule & Forthcoming
Events
Srikumar M S
Thimmappa N.
Designed: PRDC
34 About the Authors

Printed & Published by : Dr RNagaraja on behalf of Power Research & Development Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
©PRDC Pvt Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer
Responsibility for the contents in Technical articles published in this Newsletter rests upon the authors and not
upon PRDC Pvt. Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted with written permission from the publisher.
Distributed Generation of Renewable Energy as Solution
to Sustainable Power Grid Operation
S. Gomathinayagam

1. Introduc on 7KH+LQGX'DLO\-07-2016) editorial remarks rightly

the German like Energiewende, energy-transition
India’s installed electricity genera on capacity is 303 GW,
would be possible “for instance with the $625 million
of which 43.7 GW is from grid connected renewable; 1.3
grid connected roof topsolar fund could help strengthen
GW is decentralized off-grid renewable systems. Are we
state-level programs for net-metering. It also points that
on the right track in penetra ng MW scale plants of
the strength and reliability of a power grid capable of
renewables in the strained Indian Grid infrastructure?
handling more than is available are fundamental to
While we are concentra ng on crea ng the genera on
induct higher levels of renewablepower”.
capacity for electricity, are we missing to no ce or
develop the demand for electricity? “One-fourth of the 3. Need for Socio Poli cal Will
households in the country s ll have no access to
India’s current power deficits are low, it does not mean
electricity, with some states in East and North East having
that we have power for all and that too 24x7. There is a
less than even 30% households with (electricity) access.
need for sharing and caring to those who are yet to have
Most significant milestone that the na on must achieve is
the power supply. The demand curve should increase with
100% households having 24x7 quality supply of
more people to get access to electricity. There is a need
electricity,” reported a private study. But, today India’s
for mind-set transi on in the high power consumers
per capita power consump on of a mere 1010 kWh of is
(lifestyle) to share some of those who are in need, down
among the lowest in the world. China has a per capita
the line (life line). Such a socio poli cal will is must to shi
consump on of 4,000 kWh, with developed na ons
emphasis from lifestyle to life-line, 24x7. Here comes
averaging around 15,000 kWh per capita. Over 280
handy the distributed resources uniform (like solar,
million people have no access to electricity. Is there a lop-
300 days) , seasonal ( like wind), steady and man-made
sided development of centralized renewable power and
(like bio -mass, kitchen and municipal/industrial wastes ).
distributed renewable genera on? A short tour of
The silverlining in the cloud for India is the domination
achievements towards renewable targets of 175 GW and
of North/East/NE grid’s thermal/large hydro capacities
the future of higher renewable penetra on in Grid is
and the complementary renewable capacities in South/
undertaken in this paper.
west grid’swind/solar. Now that “One-Nation One-Grid”
2. DISCOM Paradox has been well established to a certain extent, the inter-
state transfer of power should be smooth & smart,
The huge target 175 GW of grid connected renewable
even though electricity remains concurrent subject of
seems possible now with missions and policies evolving
state and centre. In Europe, where multiple countries can
ever, but $200 billion investment has to get into the
live in style with a united grid, is it impossible at least
industry, with what kind of payment guarantees from
within India? So, the affordable consumers have to
mostly debt-laden DISCOMs. Let’s examine the role of
consciously shift to distributed renewable in mass
DISCOMs, their primary objec ve is to distribute
numbers and release ofexcess grid power to be used to
electricity from the generator through a system of
provide the first ever life-line support to some of those
networked substa ons and power lines down to the door
who weren’t lucky so far, thus indirectly laying new
step of the consumer, who is obviously geo spa ally
network of Transmission and distribution systems. This
spread everywhere in this country. Would the
together with the societal will to first use distributed RE
prolifera on of off-grid renewable systems from the
generated power prior to hoppingon to grid is the greatest
current 1.3 GW level in India solve at least those
need of the hour.
households without electricity access? Would the
customer be sa sfied with the naturally infirm power from 4. Wind and Solar Grid-Parities
renewable? Alterna vely grid powered urban/rural
Rapid rate of increase of solar installed capacity (just
customer is enabled to produce his/her own power in the
2 MW in 2010 to 7.6 GW in 2016) . In India, which started
neighborhood with distributed renewable would the
the Solar Mission in 2010, much later than the rest of the
DISCOMs loose revenue from the poten al customers?
world, is certainly an outcome of the bidding/reverse
This is certainly a DISCOM Paradox. How to devise
bidding mode, but it is not without hurdles to the project
a sustainable solution with renewable?
developers.

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er

in Germany when there is too much of renewable power wind and solar are combined in several ways to connect to
(wind and solar), there has been offer of free electricity to the grid. S ll, the lopsided development (latest status
maintain load-demand in the grid. Chile shared free solar shown in Table 1) of large WTG installa ons (27 GW) and
power. Wind power, on the other hand is highly mul - the SWES installa ons (2.7 MW) , exists of an order of
disciplinary engineering feat, with ever increasing cost of 10000 difference in scale of installa on during the same
all “engineering materials, manufacturing costs, and me period, in spite of a subsidy of over Rs 10 Crores/
services” , levelized cost of wind generated energy has MW to SWES systems. A mere 3% is from offgrid
been decreasing for the last three decades and has been installa ons in India from all the renewable needs a
predicted to go further 30% lower by 2030 by GWEC. focused a en on to move forward, with doubly beneficial
Healthy compe on does exist in the wind power as well, renewable resources in terms of availability, accessibility
in spite of spate of in-house (closed door) innova ons and sustainability of green power for all. Now small wind
within each company manufacturing WTGs. Grid parity in is becoming popular across the world, in both developed
Wind and Solar are now not a myth, it’s a reality. and emerging economies” and is expected to touch US
$1.89 billion. Hybrid power plants applica ons in both
5. Micro/Mini Renewable Grid rural and urban electrifica on, for street ligh ng, mountain
Dra hybrid policy has been released, and a market power, water pumps, mobile phone and communica on
development workshop with all stake holders has been towers, displace diesel in remote loca ons, including
held recently to promote Small Wind Energy Systems defense applica ons in border areas.
(SWES) organized by NIWE, with the support of MNRE Table 1: Ministry of New & Renewable Energy Program/
and ac ve coordina on of MEDA . It is expected that Scheme-wise Physical Progress in 2016-17 (in May, 2016)
distributed genera on system which is currently popular
being the diesel generator sets would fast get replaced by Grid-Interac ve Power Sector (Capacity in MW)
Solar and small wind energy systems given a clear policy CUMULATIVE
ACHIEVEMENT
push and sustaining the policy for considerably long me. ENTITY TARGET ACHIEVEMENT
(As on
It is not only that more number of small investors are 31.05.2016)
needed but also localized private renewable power supply
companies employing micro/mini grid technologies with Wind Power 4000.00 106.40 26932.30
smart grid management concepts are required for rural Solar Power 12000.00 559.78 7568.64
upli ment and remote area powering with renewable. The
RE in distributed form is likely to hit the roof if open Small Hydro
250.00 1.80 4280.25
access private sale of power is enabled by appropriate Power
policies in the LT-side power trading and banking. If I can BioPower
sell my excess renewable power to my neighbor, is it not (Biomass &
prac cal? The hybridiza on of not only wind and solar, Gasifica on 400.00 0.00 4831.33
and Bagasse
but also with any other locally available renewable source
Cogenera on)
such as biogas, biomass, waste to energy can be easily
Waste to
coupled with mini/micro based smart grids. 10.00 0.00 115.08
Power
6. Small Wind Energy Systems (SWES)- Total 16660.0 670.98 43727.60
Applica ons Off-Grid/ Cap ve Power Sector (Capacity in MWEQ)
The roof top solar applica ons are now rather straight Waste to
15.00 0.00 160.16
forward, with a clear target declared 40 GW, and Energy
Biomass (no-
iden fied through several schemes for every class of
bagasse) 60.00 0.00 651.91
consumer, individual, industry, ins tu ons, defense, Cogenera on
railways, border areas, etc. There is also a target to create Biomass
Suriyamitras, through skill development programs, to Gasifiers 2.00 0.0 18.15
assist the O&M issues which are grossly cleaning the panel (Rural)
and ensuring the wired connec ons, with no moving parts, Biomass
in the case of grid connected SPVs. Those with offgrid Gasifiers 8.00 0.00 164.24
ba ery charging applica ons there is need to maintain the (Industrial)
ba eries periodically depending on technology. The most Aero-
easily available complementary resource to solar is small Generators/
0.30 0.00 2.69
wind (annual average wind speed in the range of 3-5 m/s). Hybrid
But when compared to SPV, the opera onal issues of systems
SWES are fairly complicated owing to site and wind Total 186.30 2.07 1341.26
turbine generator features and depends on accurate Other Renewable Energy Systems Sector
microsi ng, maintenance of moving parts and the power Family Biogas
electronics of AC-DC-AC conversion. Today most o en, Plants (in 1.10 0.00 48.55
Lakhs)

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er


Figure 1: Illustra on of Table 1 (as on 30, November 2015)
The SWES applica ons with wind solar hybrids are several
folds, such as:
x Telecom towers - Battery storage is already present.
x Railway gates, Railway stations , Railway Bridges,
Railway signal posts.
x Urban Roof top (net-metered).
x Institutional roof tops (net-metered).
x Pedestrian wind locations near high rise buildings.
x Rural micro grids or mini grids, Coastal village
powering.
x De-centralized desalination of water.
x Production of hydrogen for use with fuel cells in
EoVs.
x Highway sign boards , (Velf-powered sign boards).
x Infinite possibilities with innovative forms for each
windy site.
7. Forecas ng, Scheduling and Smart Grids
Grid operator’s greatest concern is some of the issues of
LVRT (Low Voltage Ride Through), infirmity and
seasonality of wind, uncertain es of solar, frequency,
harmonics, grid stability and similar power quality issues.
To overcome these grid issues forecas ng, scheduling and
smart grids offer excellent technological possibili es.
As latest state of the art forecas ng technologies, NIWE
uses a mixture of physical and sta s cal schemes. NIWE
generates forecast informa on by calibra ng physical
input from global and mesoscale numerical weather
predic on models against historical wind farm
observa ons (real or synthe c) with the use of advanced
sta s cal techniques. The obtained calibra on is used as
learning informa on which can then be used to project to
the future and thus generate forecasted informa on. From
the physical point of view, NIWE makes use of several
global numerical weather predic on atmospheric models,
 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er
among which the European Center of Weather for
Medium Range (ECMWF) forecas ng determinis c model
and the North American Global Forecas ng System (GFS)
cons tute the two main inputs. Both models are used
worldwide on an opera ve basis and have been
intensively validated. Besides the global models, NIWE /
Vortex make use of the WRF model in order to generate
in-house mesoscale data that is also input to our
forecas ng system. To provide accurate day ahead /
Intraday forecast with up to 16 revisions per day, NIWE
needs the following three essen al inputs to train the
forecast model:
x Accurate Historical Genera on data of each pooling
sta ons.
x Real- me wind power genera on data from each
pooling sta ons.
x Architecture of each pooling sta ons.
x Pooling sta on wise details of the wind turbines.
NIWE has also developed an internal forecast refinement
algorithm to arrive more accurate forecast result with
the help of real me genera on data. Based on the past
2 wind seasons’ experience, NIWE could achieve the
per day average devia on between forecast and
actual from 25-30% to 5-10%. Based on the successful
implementa on, in Tamil Nadu, NIWE has plans to step
into forecas ng, and scheduling for other windy states as
well as forecas ng solar also Pan-India. The planned
Renewable Energy Management Centres (REMCs) is likely
to use the services of NIWE on the government side,
while a redundant Forecast Service Provider (FSP) may
also provide their forecast in much more refinement to
enable Devia on Se lement Mechanism (DSM) to be
opera onal in the long run for power trading.
Smart Grid technologies with data driven power networks
are very much possible to be part of the smart ci es
program. Intelligent plug and play converters/inverters are
today viable, remote metering to effec vely predict
demand (load forecas ng), me of the day cos ng and
trading of 1-minute power is in the prac ce elsewhere in
the world.
8. Technologies to Exploit Distributed RE
Genera on
In India, We import a lot more than 70% of fossil fuels
used from abroad, the use of which is pollu ng the
atmosphere with greenhouse gases apart from foreign
exchequer. It is staggering to no ce how much of this
dirty energy is being used through power conversion.
220V/50Hz AC to 1 - 2 Yolt DC to power 900 9. Summary
million mobiles of 1.2 billion populations in India. More so
to get this communication through we need remote The key advantages of knowledge and skill development
repeating microwave towers which are today 4.5 Lakh of academics need to be combined with business of
plus getting the 24x7 power supply from Diesel generator industry with high quality research infrastructure being
sets at least to overcome power cuts, again a 48 Yolt available at RE-ins tu ons. There is definite need to
DC application from a AC grid or generator. Why not ac vely involve the Indian manufacturers in the loop to
replace the DG-sets by distributed generation using small
deliver IPR rated products thus bringing down the cost of
wind and solar with smart hybrids?
energy. Acknowledging the higher focus, due to the late
Reliability of performance of any type of instrumenta on take off of solar in India, the paper emphasizes the need to
banks on uninterrup ble power supply, We are saying have focused and balanced R&D in various
‘Clean India’, ‘Digital India’, ‘Make in India’ , where it is all RE-resources to efficiently, cost-effec vely and with due
about the use of numerically controlled machines, sensors, priori es to provide power for all with on-grid/offgrid and
wireless sensor networks, data controlled power system
onshore/offshore developments in a energy starved
management including smart grid technologies, satellite
society for sustaining “energy access and security” in line
communica on, cloud compu ng , automa on, control,
with ‘Clean India’, ‘Make-in India’, ‘Skill India and digital
robo cs, remote monitoring of onshore/offshore wind
India’ and finally start-up India missions. Two more
farms, remote Mw solar plants with module level and
missions, one for Na onal Wind Energy mission and the
string level health and power quality monitoring.
Distributed green genera on is the only solu on to avoid other Na onal Bio-energy mission are in the offing.
the transmission losses and to make things happen with
zero-defect and zero-effect. Views and observa ons expressed by the author are his
personal and not the official views/reflec ons/policies of the
Dreaming power for all, food and water for all; life for all is
MNRE/Government of India in any aspect.
the need of the hour for sustainability. Energy access to
poorest of the poor and to those venturing their lives to
save other lives, living in the adverse cold borders at high
al tudes, would mean nothing, but jumping into
innova ve green technologies in all the sectors to leave
behind a greener future to our future kids.

First PhD in Power Systems from VTU Research Centre in PRDC

Faraz Zafar Khan, Manager, PRDC was awarded

Ph.D. by Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) of
Karnataka at its 15th Annual Convocation held at Jnana
Sangama, Belagavi for his thesis, titled, “Advanced
Protection and Analysis Schemes for Transmission
System” under the guidance of Dr. R. Nagaraja, MD,
PRDC. Faraz Zafar Khan is the first research scholar
registered at PRDC’s VTU Research Center in Bengaluru
to be awarded Ph.D.

PRDC congratulates Dr. Faraz Zafar Khan on his achievement!

Dr. Faraz Zafar Khan receiving the certificate from Mr. A S Kiran
Kumar, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisa on (ISRO) at
the convoca on.

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er

Conঞnued from Managing Director’s message...
x One should be willing to pay for the greener and x Ci zens should be encouraged to embrace the eco-
cleaner environment which will improve the quality of friendly culture with enabling laws and tariff allowing
life over long run. In the short run however, the them to derive profits from selling their excess energy
impact of the higher penetra on of renewable energy into the grid.
on the tariff would not be sudden but gradual in
While pondering over the renewable energy, I always
nature. In terms of capacity addi on, renewable
think about the five basic elements discussed in the
power installed capacity may look to be a large value,
ancient philosophy which are the basis of cosmic crea on
but in terms of energy mix, the quantum being added
viz. Prithvi (Earth), Apas (Water), Agni (Fire), Vayu (Air) and
is small. It is known that by 2018-19, the total
Aakash (Space/Ether). The first four elements have
installed capacity of the conven onal power plant in
contributed vastly to the sustainable energy development
the country is expected to be of the order of 250 GW
to save the nature through geo energy, hydro energy, solar
and that of the renewable energy sources is about 140
energy and wind energy. If one postulate that while four
GW. Considering a Plant Load Factor (PLF) of 0.65
elements have enormous sustainable energy poten al,
and 0.17 for conven onal power plant and renewable
why can’t the same energy exist in the fi h element i.e.
energy sources respec vely, the penetra on level of
Aakash, and this may lead to research to capture energy
the renewable energy is less than 14% in energy terms
from the free space, so called vacuum energy. Authors of
and hence the tariff impact would not be that high.
great Indian epics must have visualized this energy from
For the example considered here, if the levelized cost
the free space, as the way it is illustrated in the epics that
of the conven onal genera on is Rs. 3 per unit (kWh)
by concentra ng/medita ng, the energy could be
and that of the renewable genera on is Rs. 6 per unit,
captured in the form of divine weapons!! Interes ngly,
the overall levelized cost works out to only Rs. 3.4 per
few experiments conducted recently have proven the
unit. Here, the role of the electricity regulatory body
existence of the energy in the free space. It is le to the
to arrive at the proper tariff to support the RE
newer genera ons to find the method to harness the
penetra on into the grid is very important. How much
same for the construc ve use though; without causing
a par cular industrial segment earns must be of lesser
any imbalance or destruc on.
importance as compared to the benefit it brings to
society at large ? In this Newsle er edi on, which is a special issue on
“Renewables”, we have ar cles from experts covering
x Need for the smart grid projects are be er felt with
various aspects of renewable energy namely distributed
the successful implementa on of the demand
genera on, roof top solar design issues and benefits,
response control with consumer par cipa on. Even
system studies for renewable integra on and also a case
today, with so many smart grid pilot projects in place,
study on implementa on of sustainable energy solu ons
we do not have a proper demand response program in
involving renewable energy sources in academic
place, wherein consumer can par cipate and
campuses. I thank all those experts who have contributed
surrender part of his demand at a cost, if the system
to this issue of PRDC Newsle er through their technical
security is at stake. In this context, renewable energy
ar cles. Star ng with this special issue, the Newsle er
integra on and the smart grid projects employing
also comes to you with a refreshingly new cover page and
demand response control should go hand in hand and
interiors to make for an exci ng reading. I wish all the
not in isola on. Distribu on companies (DISCOMs)
readers great knowledge sharing experience and eco-
should take the tariff/incen ve proposal to the
friendly green environment.
electricity regulator to come out with a mechanism
that enables the consumer to par cipate in demand
response control. Dr. R. Nagaraja
Managing Director

Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er


Micro Solar Roo[ops – Design Consideraঞons
M. Siddhartha Bha

Abstract: This paper presents the design considera ons- primary sizing of the peak power and annual energy of roof top
Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV) plants. The knock down analysis gives accurate es mates of the power and energy genera on in
the system so that a realis c genera on profile can be arrived at. This will be a major input for sizing of the plant. At
present, the realis c net energy genera on on an annual basis for Bengaluru is of ≈4 kWh/kWp/day which needs to be
increased to 6+ kWh/kWp/day (through improvement in SPV system efficiency) to provide a pay back of 8-9 years at a
capital cost (module + balance of system) of Rs. 0.90 lakhs/kWp. The stochas c efficiency and mismatch efficiency are
factors external to the SPV system and are not in control of the end user or designer.

1. Introduction
SPV with both crystalline silicon (mono- and poly-cells) and
thin film converters are emerging as the largest capacity
addition source (50 GW in 2015) in a given year in the
human history. The world capacity of SPV is around 200
GW and the annual production capacity is ≈100 GW.
Many new countries are going in for SPV adoption at a
Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20-50 %. The
cost of SPV modules has dropped to Rs.0.35-0.45 /akhs/
kW. The largest capacity addition of SPVis through micro
roof tops. The advantage of the roof top mode of power
generation is that the capital cost will beborne by the end
user and there is no upfront cost to the utility for the
generating capacity addition. Also, there is no additional
land requirement or hurdles associatedwith it.
Presently, SPV systems are used in three configurations:
x Off grid power genera on systems with ba ery energy
storage for autonomy.
x Grid connected systems without ba ery energy
storage opera ng in the an -islanding mode.
x Grid connected systems with ba ery energy storage
for islanded opera on during grid failure periods.
The challenge in roof top SPV plants is to improve the
overall efficiency and capacity u liza on factor of the
plant while reducing the size of the unit (capital cost)
thereby making them economically more a rac ve. The
plant losses can be classified into:
x Energy losses due to energy efficiency of the
conversion involved right from the solar radia on
down to the load end.
x Stochas c losses due to non-availability of solar
radia on for genera ng solar power.
x Storage efficiency in the case of charge discharge cycle
efficiency of the storage device.
x Mismatched capacity losses due to non-u liza on/non
-genera on of the generated/generate able
solar power.
Energy losses are occurring in the SPV systems because of
inability to capture the total light input, genera on-load
mismatch and down-the-line electrical energy drop in the
system.
SPV cell efficiencies are limited by the Stockley-Quieser
(SQ) limit of 31 % without concentra on and 41 % under
concentra on [1]. As regards the overall efficiency of SPV
cells and components constructed out of them, viz.,
modules, panels, arrays and plants Baltus et al. (1997) have
measured SPV system losses, represented them through a
Sankey’s diagram and introduced the concept of
Performance Ra o (PR) as the ra o of the measured
overall system efficiency to the module efficiency [2].
Modeling system losses in SPV systems, Mermoud (2012)
[3] has classified system losses into op cal, array and
electrical losses and quan fied these. Electrical yield
improvement in SPV modules is through computa on and
minimiza on of the op cal losses [4]. The concept of
avoidable losses due to faults has been proposed and
measured to be in the range of 3.6 % to 58 %. Avoidable
losses have been iden fied in the op cal system (shading)
and electrical circuit (inverter shut down, system isola on,
etc.) [5] and represented the percentage of the system
losses which could be easily avoided during system
opera on.
System efficiency has been used as a basis for sizing of
SPV system and has been modeled considering the system
losses like shading, incident angle dependence, load
mismatch, temperature effect on cells, array electrical limit
losses [6,7]. The concept of system performance ra o has
been brought out and quan fied at 67 % for 421 sites
over a period of 1995 to 1999 [7].
Stochas c losses refer to reduc on in incident solar
radia on from atmospheric disturbances and cloud cover
with reference to the value in a clear and fully sunny sky.
Energy storage in ba eries results in efficiency drop by
≈20 % points of the quantum of energy stored due to
charge-discharge cycle losses. In the off grid and ba ery
storage off grid periods, when the ba ery banks are fully
charged and there is no load, the SPV genera on cannot
be u lized and gets wasted.

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In the grid connected mode without the ba ery storage,
during a network failure SPV genera on is not u lized.
2. Overall Efficiency of a SPV System
System efficiency is also known as performance ra o (in
unit of p.u.).
A. Overall Efficiency
The overall efficiency of a SPV system can be decoupled
into module and system efficiency as,
ηoverall SPV system = ηmodule × ηsystem
In other words the system efficiency is defined as,
ηO ver allSPV module
ηsystem = ηmodule
L. Module Efficiency
The module efficiency can be decoupled into module
installed efficiency and module inherent efficiency as,
ηmodule = ηmodule inherent × ηmodule installed
The module inherent efficiency is the declared value at
STC (Standard Test Condi ons) by the manufacturer for
the designed fill factor. Accurate determina on of the
module inherent efficiency is of importance in the
computa on of system efficiency. Normally, modules are
tested in sun simulators using xenon lamps. High accuracy
sensors such as reflec on type single long pulse flash
lamps give accuracy of 1 %. The module inherent
efficiency is declared by the manufacturer in his factory
test prior to dispatch to the site. This could be witnessed
by the end user if required.
The module installed efficiency is due to temperature rise
in the module (temperature coefficient), environmental
parameters such as rela ve humidity, air mass, wind
speed, system availability and ageing [8].
LL.System Efficiency
The system efficiency can be decoupled into photopic and
electrical efficiency as,
ηsystem = ηphotopic × ηelectrical
The photopic efficiency is due to losses from maximum
irradiance level below 1 kW/m2, shading, string, sun-
tracking, soiling of the glass cover with dust and dirt,
module op cal quality, reflec on, angle of incidence and
module name plate dc ra ng; which occur before the light
gets converted at the cell level [9].

The electrical efficiency is due to losses from Maximum
Power Point Tracking (MPPT), tolerance of rated power
varia ons due to varia on in voltage, current, power
factor, harmonic injec on, power frequency, etc.,
resistance/ohmic drop in components like wires, etc.,
inverter losses, mismatch /calibra on errors, overall dc-to-
ac de-ra ng factor; which occur a er the electrical energy
output is generated by the cell [9].
The system efficiency does not take into considera on the
ba ery storage efficiency, auxiliary power which is
charged from the sta on transformer and loss of
genera on due to loss of grid availability (for grid ed
systems only). Auxiliary power is generally required for air
condi oning (cooling) of the inverter room, ven la on
fans in the inverter room, plant ligh ng etc. Auxiliary
Power for a 1 MW plant is ≈ 100 kWh/day which are 2 to
4 % of the plant output power. Charge-discharge
efficiency of ba ery storage is 80 % for the quantum of
stored energy.
Based on the modular architecture of SPV systems, from
the cell to the module, from module to array and array to
the plant, there is drop in conversion efficiency due to
losses in each system. Normally for prac cal purposes cell
efficiencies cannot be considered in isola on because the
cell has to be packaged into the module. Generally,
energy efficiency is represented and compared for the
module. For the array or the plant, a term called
Performance Ra o (PR) is used which covers the overall
system efficiency from the cell to the load. The PR is
measured to be in the range of 0.61 to 0.74.
The detailed defini on, modeling and computa on of the
component efficiencies are brought out in several
references [2-3, 7-9]. In this paper, using this data, the
design aspects of solar roof top plants are presented,
especially on sizing.
B. Specific Energy Genera on
While the overall system energy efficiency gives the
conversion ra o it does not give the exact energy or
power being generated over a me period for which the
solar radia on data is also required. By coupling the
energy efficiency with the solar radia on data it is possible
to es mate the energy generated and power over a period
of me. The Specific Energy Genera on (SEG) is an index
which combines the radia on data (represented by
stochas c efficiency), non-availability due to mismatch and
storage along with the energy efficiency.
The (SEG): kWh/kWpeak of installed module capacity at
Standard Temperature and Pressure (STP). The SEC is also
being used by designers to guarantee minimum energy
generated for a SPV installa on.
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This includes the system overall SPV efficiency (nodule values (12 daily values averaged over the month for 33
and non-module system), stochas c, mismatch and years x 12 months).
storage. Opera ng daily SEG=
Considering the energy yield, the opera onal year can be
kWh kWh divided into three dis nct phases:
kWpeak = max daily solar rad kWpeak
rad x Summer season
* ηoverall SPVsys * η stochastic * ηmismatched η storage x Monsoon (rainy) season
x Winter season
The opera ng daily kWh/kWpeak can also be represented
in the form of daily plant load factor (PLF), Figure 1 gives the varia on in incident radia on with the
three seasons.
kWh of energy output/day
PLF =
kWpeak * 24

The index kWh/kWpeak is nothing but (PLFx24). Suppose

Solar Incident Radia on

PLF is 20 % it is 4.8 kWh/kWpeak. The SEG can be

(kWh/m2 /day)
computed on probabilis c basis for different seasons.
C. Stochas c Losses
The importance of stochas c losses is because many
designers provide guaranteed energy based on percentage
of actual incident energy received. The actual incident
energy is stochas c while maximum incident energy
generated in a given loca on is determinis c. Firm
performance guarantees are not provided and instead the
guarantees are given as a percentage of the actual incident Figure 1: Varia on of Monthly Long Term Time Averaged Solar
Incident Radia on (for a day) with season for a typical tropical region.
energy. If the stochas c efficiency is quan fied and bound
by predefined limits, the firm performance guarantees can
be provided as the maximum radia on levels are D. Storage and Energy Loss Under Grid Outages
determinis c. In other words, if the stochas c element is Grid ed systems are characterized by absence of ba ery
quan fied as a percentage of the maximum value storage. However, due to power disturbance on the grid
(determinis c), then errors will be largely reduced. side, SPV genera on is also lost. In some case this can be
Stochas c efficiency is given by, par ally used in ba ery storage.

3. Results and Discussion

Eactual incident solar radiation
ηstochastic = Table 1 gives varia on in the long term averaged daily
Emaximumincident solar radiation incident solar radia on over the year for Bengaluru. The
year
average loss due to stochas c factors is 15.6 %.
Stochas c losses are quan fied and indicated but not Table 1: Stochas c Efficiency & Range of Varia on in the Time
possible to be controlled or reduced. Though Averaged Daily Solar Incident Radia on (average over the
month for the whole day).
uncontrollable, the quan fica on of stochas c losses is
essen al in arriving at the maximum possible genera on Sl.no Par cular Unit Value
Maximum daily
from a given site over the year for providing performance
1 incident solar kWh 6.67
guarantee and to decouple this from the system (non- radia on
module) losses. Minimum daily
2 incident solar kWh 4.94
The annual solar radia on (kW/m2) data which represents radia on
Average daily
the global radia on (sum of the diffused and direct
3 incident solar kWh 5.65
components) is compiled as hourly average values for 12 radia on
points (0600 to 1800 hours) averaged over the month (for 4
Total collectable
kWh 2434.55
solar energy
each given hour) for 35 years (1977-2012) (for each
Actual collectable
month). From 1959 ll 1978 the data of Mani (1980) [10] 5
solar energy
kWh 2053.71
is used. The subsequent data (1977 to 2012) is averaged 6 Stochas c losses % 15.64
along with the data up to 1978. In all, each set and a grand 7 Stochas c efficiency % 84.36
average of the annual data can be represented by 144

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To provide good visualiza on, the
10 s plots of solar incident radia on for
three seasons has been shown in the
Figure 2.
Figure 3 shows the drop from Standard
Test Condi ons (STC) to PTC (PV-USA
test condi ons) (industrial) for over
16,000 data points. The R2 shows a low
value indica ng that the average drop
from 1.0 to 0.885 is independent of the
module output power.
Table 2 gives the energy efficiency due
to the module and system efficiency.
The inherent efficiency includes the
module efficiency while the installed
efficiency refers to the product of the
photopic and electrical efficiency.
The SEG computed from considering
the overall system efficiency is further
reduced by the stochas c efficiency
and the mismatch efficiency. The net
SEG considering the system, stochas c
and the mismatch efficiencies is given Figure 2: Plot of 10 s Varia on of Solar Incident Radia on During the Summer, Winter
in Table 3. For comparison purpose, and Monsoon Seasons.
the gross SEG which considers only the
module efficiency down rated by the
Table 2: Overall Energy Efficiency due to the Module and System
peak solar radia on in that loca on is
Average
also given. Sl.no. Par cular Min(%) Max(%)
(%)
4. System Design Considera ons 1 Photopic efficiency 75 80 78

A. Sizing and System Efficiency 2 Electric efficiency 80 92 88

Module installed
The thumb rule approach of retrofi ng a 3 kW 3
efficiency
94 95 94.5
or 5 kW grid only system with a 3 kW or 5 kW Module inherent
4 17 19 18
SPV roo op plant can be erroneous and the peak efficiency
power and annual energy genera on need to be 5 Overall system efficiency 9.6 13.3 11.7
clearly looked at in the sizing process. The
system efficiency place a major role in the sizing
of SPV plants.
Modules of SPV plants are sized on one of the
following criteria:
x Panel area (m2)
x kWpeak of module output under STP
condi ons
x kWpeak at load end

Figure 3: The Drop from STC to PTC

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 Table 3: Specific Energy Genera on (SEG) on Unit Area Basis and Unit Power Output Basis.

Sl. No. Par cular Units Min Max Average

1 Incident solar radia on kWh/m2/y 2400 2600 2434.55

2 Module inherent efficiency % 17 19 18

3 Overall system efficiency % 9.6 13.3 11.7
4 Stochas c efficiency % 94 95 94.5
5 Mismatch efficiency % 98 99.5 99
2
6 Net SEG on an annual basis (unit area basis) kWh/m /y 212.0 326.5 265.9
7 Net SEG on an annual basis (unit power output basis) kWh/kWp-inst 1246.9 1718.4 1477.4
2
8 Gross SEG on annual basis (unit area basis) kWh/m /y 408.0 494.0 438.2
9 Gross SEG on annual basis (unit power output basis) kWh/kWp-inst 2449.0 2653.1 2484.2
10 Peak power at load end kWp/kWp-inst 0.56 0.70 0.65

The Ppeak, load delivered at the load end depends on output. The peak module output (Ppeak,module) considering
whether module efficiency and non-module system these factors is given by,
efficiency is considered in the sizing. Installed capacity of
the plants is generally sized based on Ppeak delivered at the Ppeak,load
module output. Figure 4 shows a schema c of the Ppeak,module =
η
placement of the roof top solar system. η system * off STP module
η STP module

The peak power output of the module will have to be

Figure 4: Schema c of Placement of Grid Tied Roo op
In many cases, the electrical power output at the module
terminal under STP condi ons is considered for
calcula ons. In that case, the actual power output of the
system at the load or user end gets reduced to the extent
of the system efficiency as well as difference in STP and
non STP module efficiency. For example a 100 kWpeak
plant gives a maximum power output of 56-70 kW output
at the load end.
This difference is due to the percep onal difference
between the designer and the end user and could be
resolved by considering the non-module system efficiency
and non-STP module efficiency in calcula ons to provide
power output at the end user terminal.
If the system efficiency as well as the non-STP module
efficiency is taken into account, the SPV plant will have to
be sized based on a much larger Ppeak at the module
oversized to accommodate the system efficiency and
devia on of module performance from STP condi ons. In
other words, it is tantamount to consider Ppeak,load as the
star ng point and work out the Ppeak,module backwards. In
some cases, the photopic efficiency is absorbed in the
sizing of Ppeak,module but electrical efficiency is not. In that
case Ppeak,module will be oversized to the extent of the
electrical efficiency.
Thus, it can be said that the non-module system efficiency
plays a major role in avoiding de-ra ng of the actual panel
output of a SPV plant.
System efficiency presents opportuni es for improvement
from 56-70 % to 75-80 % level through:
x Design improvements: advanced MPPT tracking
systems, reduced tolerance bands of power output,
improved inverter efficiency.
x Focused opera on and maintenance: minimiza on of
shading, cleaning of module surface, etc.
B. Annual Energy Yield
The annual energy yield as indicated in Table 3, besides
being dependent on energy efficiency is also dependent
on stochas c efficiency as well as mismatched capacity
losses. It is seen that the average net SEG per kWp of
installed capacity is ≈4 kWh/kWp/day. At present with a
capital cost of Rs. 0.90 lakhs/kWp, the system does not
provide a rac ve payback period. Either the level of net

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genera on has to go up to 6+ kWh/kWp/day to provide a
payback period of 8-9 years or else capital cost has to
come down substan ally (See Figure 5 for cost breakup).
Cost of SPV panel
Cost of Grid Tied Inverter
Cost of BOP
Cost of I % C
Figure 5: Cost Break-up of SPV Roo op
The la er not being imminent in the immediate future the
focus must be on the improvement in the SPV system
efficiency through improved module efficiency and non-
module system efficiency. The stochas c efficiency and
mismatch efficiency are the factors external to the SPV
system and are not in control of end user or the designer.
C. An -Islanded/Islanded Opera on
Generally the an -islanded opera on is preferred for
micro solar roof tops to avoid the capital cost and drop in
energy efficiency (≈20 %) due to cycling of energy through
ba ery storage. Also, residences which already have a
backup power unit can integrate the same with the roof
top. Only in houses where there is no backup power and
there is a requirement, then the energy storage is also to
be included.
5. Conclusions
The main conclusions of the paper are as follows:
I. While specifying the SPV capacity, power output
(kWpeak) must be specified either at the array output
(Ppeak, module) or at the load point (Ppeak,load). Overlooking
of this factor can result in contractual disputes
regarding the deliverable power output of SPV plants.
The peak power output at the load end needs to take
into considera on various capaci es drops in the
system.
II. While specifying the average power output and the
annual energy genera on breakdown analysis of the
factors contribu ng to efficiency or genera on loss
that has to be considered in the design to ensure that
the roof top plants sa sfy both the power and energy
demand of the load.

III. At present, the realis c net energy genera on on an
annual basis is ≈4 kWh/kWp/day needs to be
increased to more than 6 kWh/kWp/day (through
improvement in SPV system efficiency) to provide a
payback period of 8-9 years at a capital cost (module +
balance of system) of Rs. 0.90 lakhs/kWp.
6. References
1. Rephaeli E, Fan S, 2009, ‘Absorber and emi er for solar
thermo-photovoltaic systems to achieve efficiency exceeding
the Shockley-Queisser limit’, Op cs Express, Vol. 17(17), pp;
15145-15159.
2. Baltus CWA, Eikelboom JA, Zolingen RJC, ‘Analy cal
Monitoring of Losses in PV Systems’. Paper presented at the
14th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference
Barcelona [ p:// p.ecn.nl/pub/www/library/report/1997/
rx97043.pdf]; 1-5.
3. Mermoud A, 2012, ‘Modeling Systems Losses in PV syst’.
Ins tute of the Environmental Sciences/Group of Energy/
PV syst. University of Geneva [h p://www.docseek.net/
mmrtyv/mermoud-pvsyst-thu-840-am.html]; 1-15.
4. Doble D, 2010, ‘Approaches to Energy Yield Improvement in
PV Modules’, Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy
Systems. Presented at Intersolar North America [h p://
cse.fraunhofer.org/Portals/55819/docs/energy-yield-
improvement-intersolar-2010.pdf];1-19.
5. Firth SK, Lomas KJ, Rees SJ, ‘A simple model of PV system
performance and its use in fault detec on’, Solar Energy, Vol.
84, Pp; 624–635.
6. Anon, ‘Grid-Tied Photovoltaic System Sizing, Harmony Farm
Solar’ [h p://www.harmonyfarmsupply.com/wp-content/
uploads/2010/12/Photovoltaic-Solar-System-Sizing.pdf].
7. Oozeki T, Izawa T, Otani K, Kurokawa K, 2003, ‘An
evalua on method of PV systems’, Solar Energy Materials and
Solar Cells, Vol. 75, pp: 687–695.
8. M. Siddhartha Bha , ‘System Efficiency (non-module)
considera ons in the sizing solar photovoltaic plants’, Journal
of CPRI, Vol.10, No. 2, June 2014, pp.345-354.
9. M. Siddhartha Bha , ‘Knockdown analysis of the performance
of solar photovoltaic plants’, The Journal of CPRI, 11(2), June
2015 pp. 357-374.
10. Mani A, ‘Handbook of solar radia on data for India’, New
Delhi: Allied Publishers, p 451-462. (1980).
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Roof Top Solar –Benefits and Economic Aspects
Dinesh J. Kagathi

1. Introduc on thereby reducing distribu on losses. It is well known that

distribu on loss is one of the key parameters that affect
Solar power has risen to prominence due to its promise of
the profitability of distribu on u li es. Also, due to the
genera ng electricity economically and also in an
reduc on of load on distribu on lines, new investments
environmentally friendly manner. Solar Photovoltaic (PV)
for upgrading distribu on lines and transformers can be
technology, the most popular technology to harness solar
avoided or postponed in feeders where the peak load is
power, is highly scalable and enables the se ng up of
experienced in the day me.
solar power plants from kW scale to GW scale. Over the
past 2 decades the costs of solar PV technology has Roo op solar power plants have a very short construc on
declined dras cally that it can compete with conven onal period and therefore enable quick ramping up of power
power both at power plant end as well as the consumer genera on capacity. This can help to mi gate the power
end. Government of India has set a target of 100 GW of shortages in the country, especially in the summer months.
solar power in India by 2021-22 which includes 40 GW Solar Power Plants also reduce the dependence on fossil
from roo op solar power plants. This will be in the form of fuels and thereby help to reduce carbon emission and
“grid- ed” solar power plants whose electricity output are atmospheric pollu on and contribute towards a be er
synchronized to grid and can be used seamlessly along
environment for all.
with other conven onal electricity. It is also different from
off-grid solar electricity or solar PV based appliances 3. Challenges
which have been promoted in India since mid-80’s to
The key challenge in solar power is its power genera on
primarily provide ligh ng and other associated services to variability. Obviously, solar power is generated only during
remote communi es. The grid- ed solar power plants that the day me. Even within the day me the output varies
are being constructed presently do not require ba eries as
throughout the day as the solar irradia on changes. This is
the electricity is directly injected to grid. The roo op solar depicted for a typical day in Figure 1.
power plants, as the name suggests, can be set up on any
roof which is not affected by shade, thereby avoiding
conflict with other uses of land. By using “grid- e”
inverters, the electricity generated by these roo op solar
power plants can be integrated into the exis ng electrical
network in the building. Thereby, the solar electricity first
Wa

gets u lized to cater the local requirements and the

surplus power flows to the other nearby consumers.

2. Benefits WR Consumers, Utilities,(QYLURQPHQW

There are several benefits of se ng up roo op solar
power plants. Also, the benefits accrue to mul ple
stakeholders. For the owners, it is an opportunity to u lize Figure 1: Varia on of Solar Power Output Observed on
a Typical Day in April.
unused roo op space to produce own electricity, thereby
reducing dependence upon distribu on u lity for supply
It can be seen that while the solar genera on starts early
of electricity. This way the owner can secure insurance
in the morning it peaks at about 10:30 am and
against increase in electricity tariffs in the future. Solar
starts declining after about 2SP , and stops by sunset
power can also be used to provide backup electricity
time. One can also observe some valleys in the curve
supply during grid outages by integra ng ba eries and
which represent the cloud movement creating temporary
charging the ba eries during day me. Investors in
shadow over the solar power plant. For any individual
roo op solar power plant can also earn a rac ve returns
consumer, it is near impossible to match the
on investments as described in the later sec ons.
generation with load on a continuous basis.
For the power u li es, roo op solar power plants help
reduce load on power distribu on lines and transformers

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This problem can be easily solved for an individual addressed by installing the solar PV panels over a canopy
consumer adop ng grid ed system. structure. This arrangement is depicted in Figure 5. Such a
In a grid ed system, the solar power is synchronized to concept will not only free up the roof space for other uses
grid power through a grid- e inverter which feeds into the but also help in keeping the roof cool and reduces the
electricity demand for air condi oning of the top floor of
exis ng electricity network within consumer premises.
This is conceptually depicted in Figure 2. By adop ng a the building.
grid ed system, op mal solar genera on can be a ained
independent of the local load. At any point of me, if the
solar genera on is in excess of the load, the excess
genera on is absorbed by the distribu on u lity and if the
solar genera on is less than the load, the deficit is met by
the distribu on u lity. Power flows of both the scenarios
are conceptually depicted in Figure 3 & Figure 4. Also,
there will be no need for incorpora ng ba eries in grid
ed roo op solar power plant configura on thereby
reducing capital as well as recurring costs.
While individual consumers can overcome the power
genera on variability by adop ng grid ed roo op solar
power plants, the distribu on u li es will have to contend Figure 3: Power Flow when Solar Power Genera on is More
with varying load. Distribu on u li es have the capability than Local Load
to manage their systems with varying loads as long as
solar power penetra on is about 10% of the total power
genera on capacity in the grid system. A power system
can be managed with higher solar mix if the system has
some capacity of hydro power and gas based genera on
plants. Incorpora ng storage solu ons such as ba ery
banks, pumped storage etc., also increases the capacity of
a power system to accommodate a higher share of solar
power capacity. Managing power system with renewables
is an elaborate topic and is beyond the scope of this paper.
The other concern that a consumer would have is the
need to use the roo op space for other purposes
Figure 4: Power Flow when Solar Power Genera on is Less
occasionally and therefore not wan ng to block the space
than Local Load
for a roo op solar power plant. This concern can be

Figure 5: Solar PV Panels Installed Over a Canopy Structure

Figure 2: Schema c Diagram of a Grid Tied Roo op Solar
Power Plant

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4. Determinants for Economic Viability of plant irrespec ve of internal consump on. KERC has
determined Feed-In-Tariff which is linked to capacity of
Roo op Solar Power Plants
the roo op solar plant which is as depicted in
For any investor, the decision to invest in rooftop Table 1 [1].
solar power plant would depend upon its economic
Considering all the above, for a consumer in Karnataka,
viability. The key factors that determine the economic
the price of electricity from roo op solar power plant
viability are discussed as follows.
would depend upon the classifica on of the consumer, the
A. Price of Electricity consumer’s electricity tariff, the capacity of the power
plant and whether the consumer has availed capital
The price of electricity from a solar power plant is highly subsidy for the solar power plant or not.
dependent on the prevalent policy framework.
Different State Electricity Regulatory Commissions For example, for a domes c consumer installing 10 kW
(SERCs) have laid down different policies for their roo op solar power plant and not availing capital subsidy,
respective states for Grid Tied Rooftop Solar Power the price of electricity from his/her roo op solar power
Plants. The key policy parameters being: plant would be Rs. 7.08/kWh for 25 years. This is subject
to the consumer having a sanc oned load of 7 kW prior to
L Nature of Connectivity to Grid - Net Metering or se ng up roo op solar power plant.
Gross Metering
For a commercial consumer in Bangalore, under LT tariff,
Both the net metering and gross metering options permit with net metering facility, the price of electricity from
synchronizing of solar power to grid but stipulate how the roo op solar power plant will be equivalent to the
energy will be metered and accounted. Net consumer’s tariff which is Rs. 8.64/kWh including
metering provides for the electricity generated from electricity taxes. This price will keep changing as the tariff
the rooftop solar power plant to be set off against the for the consumer is modified on a year to year basis.
consumption. In gross metering, all the electricity
generated is paid for at Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) determined
by the SERC irrespective of the tariff applicable for the
Table 1: Feed-,n7ariff for Rooftop Solar Power Plants
concerned consumer. For example, as per latest determined by KERC in May 2016
KREC regulations - domestic consumers, hospitals
and educational institutions are eligible for gross Capacity of Solar Approved Tariff Approved Tariff
metering in Karnataka whereas all other consumers Roo op and in Rs/Unit in Rs/Unit
small PV power (Without Capital (With Capital
including commercial and industrial consumers are eligible plants Subsidy) Subsidy of 15%)
for net metering.
1 to 10 kW 7.08 6.03
LLLimits on Electricity Generation / Capacity
SERCs also specify the quantum of electricity that can be
Above 10 kW and
generated in energy terms vis-a-vis the annual up to 50 kW
6.61 5.63
consumption of the consumer or specify the capacity
of the rooftop solar power plant vis-a-vis the
Above 50 kW and
consumer’s contract demand / sanctioned load. For 6.14 5.23
up to 100 kW.
example, KERC has specified a capacity limit of 150%
of the contract demand / sanctioned load for
rooftop solar whereas TNERC has specified an energy Above 100 kW and
5.67 4.83
up to 500 kW.
limit of 90% of the annual electricity consumed .
LLLFeed-In-Tariff
Above 500 kW and
5.20 4.43
Feed-In-Tariff is the price at which electricity up to 1 MW.
generated from a rooftop solar power plant is purchased
by the local distribution utility (DISCOM/ESCOM). In
case of net metering, this price is applicable for
net electricity exported within a billing cycle to the
distribution utility. In case of gross metering, feed-in
tariff is applicable for all the electricity that is generated
by the rooftop solar power

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B. Capital Costs D. Cost of Capital
The main cost associated with a roo op solar plant is its Loan can be availed to part finance the project cost. Banks
capital cost. There are significant economies of scale in the and financial ins tu ons finance up to 80% of the cost of
capaci es associated with roo op solar power plant. Table the roo op solar power plant subject to their terms and
2 provides the capital cost of roo op solar power plants of condi ons. The rate of interest payable for such loans and
different capaci es as per PRDC es mates. the dura on of repayment significantly impacts the
returns earned towards the equity investments made by
C. Electricity Yield
the investor.
The electricity yield of a solar power plant depends upon
E. Applicability of Accelerated Deprecia on
several factors such as solar irradia on at the loca on, the
ambient temperature, wind speed, alignment of the panel Government of India has incen vized investments into
vis a vis south (azimuth) and lt angle. Solar irradia on is solar power plants by permi ng accelerated deprecia on
the primary energy which is converted to electricity in of the capital costs involved in solar power plants. This
solar PV panels. Higher the solar irradia on, higher the benefits investors who are liable to pay income tax by
electricity yields. However, the ambient temperature has a reducing their tax burden. This way, part of the
nega ve impact on the electricity yield, with higher investment made into roo op solar power plants is
ambient temperatures reducing yield. The impact of higher financed from the savings in income tax, thereby reducing
temperature is more for crystalline technology than the the investments and improving profitability.
thin film technology. Wind speed impacts the solar power
plant by reducing the effect of ambient temperature as it
5. Economic Viability
helps in cooling the solar panels. A financial model was developed and economic viability
The alignment of solar panels vis-a-vis south is important was es mated over the 25 year life of solar project for
to get the maximum benefit of solar irradia on on a day to different capaci es. The analysis included the impact of
day basis. However, from a prac cal point of view, solar the different prices for electricity generated from roo op
panels will have to be aligned with the building which may solar power plants of different capaci es. The impact of
not be op mally aligned vis-a-vis south. Therefore, quite availing accelerated deprecia on was also considered.
o en, one will have to live with some azimuth in roo op Economic viability was assessed based on two commonly
power plants. understood indicators viz. Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
and payback period.
A lt angle is provided to solar panels to op mize the solar
yield on a year round basis. As we know, the posi on of
Table 2: Capital &ost of Rooftop Solar Power Plants
the sun changes from winter to summer as the sun moves
from winter sols ce to summer sols ce and back. In order
to op mize solar genera on, a lt angle is provided which Capacity Capital &osts (Rs.) Cost/kW (Rs.)
is dependent on the la tude of the loca on of the solar
power plant. Normally, solar power plants in northern
5 kW 5 Lakhs 1,00,000
hemisphere are lted towards south and the solar power
plants in southern hemisphere are lted towards north.
10 kW 9 Lakhs 90,000
A er considering all these factors, the expected yield from
roo op solar power plants is in the range of 1500 – 1600
20 kW 16 Lakhs 80,000
kWh/kWp per annum. Simula on so ware packages are
available to es mate electricity yield for solar power
plants which calculates the genera on based on 50 kW 35 Lakhs 70,000
meteorological data and loca on informa on. The most
100 kW 65 Lakhs 65,000
commonly used simula on so ware is PVSyst.
It is also well known that the solar panels degrade with
me. The guaranteed life of crystalline solar PV panels is
25 years. The rated capacity of the panels reduces by
2.5% in the first year and 0.8% per year over the next 24
years. Thus, at the end of the guaranteed economic life of
the crystalline solar PV panels, the panels will s ll be
genera ng at 80% of their rated capacity.

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er

 Figure 6: Economic Viability of 20 kW Roo op Solar Power Plant

Figure 7: Economic Viability of 50 kW Roo op Solar Power Plant

Figure 8: Economic Viability of 100 kW Roo op Solar Power Plant

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er

 The key assump ons for carrying out economic viability
assessment are listed in Table 3.
For the sake of simplicity, it was assumed that no loans
would be availed and the projects will be fully financed by
equity of the investors. The Figure 6, Figure 7 & Figure 8
depict the IRR and payback period for roo op solar
project of 20, 50 & 100 kW respec vely for different
electricity prices. It can be seen that higher the tariff and
the price of electricity, higher the IRR and lower the
payback period. If one considers that 15% IRR is the
minimum essen al for an investor to consider inves ng in
roo op solar power plant, a 20 kW plant become viable at
an electricity tariff of more than Rs. 8/kWh, a 50 kW plant
becomes viable at an electricity tariff of more than Rs. 7/
kWh and a 100 kW plant become viable at an electricity
tariff of more than Rs. 6.5/kWh.
Table 3: Key assump ons for Economic Viability Assessment
Capacity (kW) 20 50
Capital costs (Lakhs) 16 35
Annual Electricity Genera on
30,000 75,000
(kWh)
Annual O&M Costs 1.5% of project cost
Escala on in Annual O&M Costs 5% PA
6. Conclusions
The stage is set for large scale penetra on of grid ed
roo op solar power plants in the Indian market. There are
several benefits to the consumers, investors, u li es and
the environment by installing roo op solar power plants.
Variability of solar genera on is a key challenge for
consumers which can be overcome by adop ng grid ed
roo op solar power technology. While there are several
factors that determine the viability of roo op solar power
plants, the key determinant is the price of electricity which
is determined by State Electricity Regulatory
Commissions. Also, there are significant economies of
scale in roo op solar power plants within the 100 kW
capacity range. Considering all these aspects, economic
viability of roo op solar plant is highly customer specific.
Customers who can implement larger capacity projects
and pay a higher price for electricity will earn higher
returns on their investments.
100
65 7. References:
1,50,000
1. Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission. (2016).
‘Determina on of tariff and other norms for Solar Roo op and
Small Photovoltaic Power Plants’. Bengaluru: KERC.

Insurance 0.5% of project cost 2. Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission. (2013).
2.5% in year 1, 0.8% pa ‘Order on LT connec vity and net metering in regard to Tamil
Degrada on
therea er Nadu solar energy policy 2012’ . Chennai: TNERC.
Electricity Tariff (INR/kWh) 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5 & 8.0
Annual escala on in electricity
3%
tariff
Financing 100% Equity
Accelerated Deprecia on 80% with tax rate being 33%

PRDC CONDUCTS TRAINING PROGRAM IN BHUTAN

Bhutan Electricity Authority (BEA) requested PRDC to

conduct training program for Bhutan Power System
officials. The training program was conducted from 20th
June to 22nd June 2016 at Hotel Migmar, Olakha Thimpu
and was a ended by officials from BEA, DPC
(transmission wing and distribu on wing), System
opera ons, DGPC and College of Science & Technology.
The program covered topics in power system such as (i)
Power System Opera on and Control (ii) Power System
Reserve and Response (iii) Reac ve Power Management
in Transmission System, Loss Alloca on and (iv) Over
Voltages and Insula on Co-ordina on. The training
program has received a good feedback from the
par cipants at the program. Dr. K. Balaraman, Chief General Manager-Power System Studies, PRDC
delivering lecture at Bhutan training

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er

Power System Studies for Renewable Integration
K Balaraman & Rashmi Shekar

Abstract: In recent years, Renewable Energy (RE) has become an important part of electrical genera on in many countries and its
significance is con nuing to increase. The amount of renewable genera on, in par cular wind and solar, is growing rapidly and
their capaci es are growing in size and complexity. Wind & solar farms are being installed consis ng of hundreds of individual
WTG’s and solar modules respec vely, which are capable of producing hundreds of MW. The loca on of a renewable genera on
(both solar and wind) is selected primarily based on favorable landscape and environmental condi ons. However it is generally
observed that the good regions o en coincide with rela vely remote parts of the power system as there is a need for large land
footprint. Thus the opera on of the renewable energy genera on and its response to disturbances or other changing condi ons on
the power system is becoming of increasing concern, especially in cases where the renewable energy represent a significant por on
of the local genera on.
These concerns will con nue to grow in importance as the amount of renewable genera on increases. In order to integrate large
amounts of RE power plants successfully, a number of issues need to be addressed, including design and opera on of the power
system, grid infrastructure issues and grid connec on of RE power. In order to inves gate the effects of RE on the grid, it is
necessary to carry out detailed simula on studies ranging from steady state to dynamic condi ons. The simula ons may have to
be carried out for various me frames and various opera ng condi ons so as to ensure that power system would be operated in
secure state under all the opera ng condi ons.

1. Introduc on
over 1000 MW
System– Wide
The planning, design and opera on of commercial and
Genera on
industrial power system requires a con nual and Adequacy
Primary
comprehensive analysis to evaluate current system Reserve Secondary
Reserve Hydro–
performance and to establish the effec veness of the Thermal Grid
Power

Efficiency
100-1000 MW

alterna ve plans for opera ng the system. The Adequacy

Grid Transmission
computa onal work require to determine power flows and Stability Efficiency
Regional

voltage levels resul ng from single opera ng condi on,

Conges on
for even a small network, is all but insurmountable if Management
performed by manual methods. The need for
Local <50 MW

Voltage
Distribu on
computa onal aids led to the design of a special purpose Management
Efficiency
analog computer (ac network analyzer) as early as 1929. It Power Quality
provided the ability to determine flows and voltages
ms-s
during normal and emergency condi ons and to study the Vmin
Time
Kr-days \ears

transient behavior of the system resul ng from fault

condi ons and switching opera ons. The earliest
applica on of digital computers to power system problems
dates back to the late 1940. Most of the early applica ons
were limited in scope because of the small capacity of the
punched card calculators in use during that period. Large-
scale digital computers became available in the mid-1950
and the ini al success of load flow programs led to the
development of programs for short-circuit and stability
calcula ons. Today, the digital computer is an
indispensable tool in power system planning, in which it is
necessary to predict future growth and years or more.
The power system simula on is carried out for different
me frames for different purpose. For renewable energy
integra on, different me scales would mean different
models and the data for their impact studies. The
descrip on of various impact studies is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Impacts of Wind Power on Power Systems, Divided
based on different me scales and Width of Area Relevant for
the Studies (IEA WIND Task 25)
In order to understand the impacts, various analysis tools
are considered. In general, the power system analysis is
grouped into two categories, viz., steady state analysis and
dynamic analysis. In steady state analysis, it is assumed
that any transients from the disturbances are se led down
and the system state remains unaltered i.e., the system
load including transmission system losses are matched
with power genera on. The primary tools for analysis for
steady state opera on is so called power flow analysis or
load flow studies where the voltage and power flow
through the system is determined. Another very popular
steady state analysis tool is the short circuit analysis for
determining the fault current through system.

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er

2. Power System Studies
The power system studies carried out for renewable
energy genera on are:
a. Load Flow Studies: This is the most common study to
be carried out for designing the basic network for
connec vity between the generators or module and
also for evacua on of power. The study would also be
used for op miza on for the unit commitment process
and evaluate the power quality aspects.
b. Short Circuit Studies: This study is useful in
understanding the fault level in system so as to design
the equipments and also for protec on co-ordina on.
c. Stability Studies: Stability studies are needed whenever
the contribu on (penetra on) from RE sources in a
u lity system exceeds 10% of the demand so as to
understand the interac on between the RE generators
and conven onal power plants. The studies are used
for designing dynamic compensa on system whenever
the power quality is threatened and to ensure reliability
of the system.
d. Wind Turbine Star ng Studies: In a large wind farm, if
all the wind turbines are started together, the current
drawn from the grid would be high which may result in
voltage dip. Hence, there is a limita on while star ng
large number of machines at the same me. The
impact can be obtained through this study and would
be dependent on the fault level of the system.
e. Harmonic Analysis: The power electronic circuit
connected to the power system would result in
genera on of harmonics. Hence there is a need to
design appropriate filters in reducing these harmonics.
In addi onal to above, there are special studies like
overvoltage studies, switching transient studies that may
be required depending on the geographical loca on and
also local system conditions.
A. Power 6ystem 3roblem )ormulation
The goal of a power flow study is to obtain complete
voltage angle and magnitude informa on for each bus in a
power system for specified load and generator condi on.
Once this informa on is known, real and reac ve power
flow on each branch as well as generator reac ve power
output can be analy cally determined. Due to the
nonlinear nature of this problem, numerical methods are
employed to obtain a solu on that is within an acceptable
tolerance. The solu on to the power flow problem begins
with iden fying the known and unknown variables in the
system. The known and unknown variables are dependent
on the type of bus. A bus without any generators

connected to it is called a Load Bus. With one excep on, a
bus with at least one generator connected to it is called a
Generator Bus. The excep on is one arbitrarily-selected
bus that has a generator with high genera on reserve
connected and would be referred as Slack Bus.
In the power flow problem, the real power P and reac ve
power Q at each Load Bus are specified and hence they
would also be called as PQ Buses. For Generator Buses,
the real power generated PG and the voltage magnitude |V|
is specified (hence also called as PV buses). For the Slack
Bus, the voltage magnitude |V| and voltage phase θ(phase
angle), assumed to be zero or any other reference are
specified. Therefore, for each Load Bus, the voltage
magnitude and angle are unknown and must be solved.
For each Generator Bus, the voltage angle and reac ve
power genera on must be solved.
B. Modeling of Renewable Energy Genera on for
Power System Studies
The objec ve of a load flow analysis is to determine flows
on transmission lines and transformers along with
voltages. This calcula on is essen al in the planning and
design of the interconnec on of the RE sources to the
power system to ensure that exis ng equipment is
operated within its capabili es and new equipment is
properly sized. Such calcula ons are performed under
base case (normal condi ons, all equipment generally in
service) and con ngency condi ons (one or more power
system elements such as lines, genera ng units, or
transformers out of service). System performance is
compared to opera ng limits and criteria. These
computa ons are o en performed for different system
condi ons such as peak load, light load, different seasons,
or different power transfer condi ons. From the
standpoint of the wind farm & solar farms, these studies
are primarily to determine if the generated power can be
evacuated to the load centers or purchasing en ty without
any constraints such as overloading or voltage problems.
The modeling of the ability (or lack of ability) of wind farm
to maintain voltage through the control of the reac ve
power output of units is very important as well.
The model of RE (wind or solar) farm can be considered to
have two poten al levels of representa on:
x A detailed model of the RE farm, represen ng
individual units and the connec ons between these
units and the system. A large RE farm may have over a
hundred units. These units are generally spread over a
large area, typically connected by a series of the
feeders.
Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er
 These feeders are typically connected at a “collector”
bus which is connected to the power system. The
detailed model would thus consist of, say, a hundred or
more buses and a similar number of lines. Very detailed
data on the system connec ng the wind turbine/ RE
generators would need to be supplied by the
developer. These detailed models can be used to
determine voltages and flows within the RE farm, as
well as the injec on into the u lity grid. The model can
be used to check/ design voltage control or reac ve
power strategies in RE (wind or solar) farm along with
incidental power system losses in the farm.
x The RE farm can be modeled as equivalent injec on
from the power system point of view for grid
integra on studies. Here, the concern is not on the
individual units but on the aggregate effect of the
en re farm on the power system. The individual
generators are lumped into equivalent machines,
generally represented at the collector buses. Thus the
size of the system representa on of the RE farm is
reduced to a few buses and the data requirements are
significantly reduced. This level of modeling is o en
used in system studies where the effects of the
injec on into the system on element flows and
voltages are the concern, and the internal RE farm
condi ons are neglected.
Therefore for the large scale RE studies a detailed model
(where there is a need to represent many generators and
thus a significant amount of data must be entered) may
not be required and thus lumped representa on in which
an equivalent of the RE farm would suffice for the
evacua on studies.
3. Grid Integra on Issues with RE Sources
The key issues for integra ng large capacity of RE sources
into the grid are on the planning, opera on and
transmission upgrades. These issues were less &
insignificant when their penetra on level was low. But,
with high RE penetra on, grid behavior would change
significantly with changes in these intermi ent genera on
as the characteris cs of RE generators are quite different
from the conven onal power plants. The major issues of
RE integra on can be addressed by-
x The changed approaches in opera on of the power
system,
x Connec on requirements for RE power plants to
maintain a stable and reliable supply,
x Extension and modifica on of the grid infrastructure,
x Understanding influence of RE power on system
adequacy and the security of supply.

The key factors to be considered in the power system
studies are as follows:
A. Load Genera on Balance Analysis / Evacua on
Study Scenarios
x Power evacua on studies for conven onal power
plants, are generally conducted as s pulated in
“Transmission Planning Criteria” for annual system
peak load and light load condi ons for maximum
Hydro/Thermal genera on scenarios. Evacua on
studies would be analyzed for various scenarios to
examine the ability of the different elements of
network to carry the power during peak hours without
network conges on and voltage viola ons including
under con ngency condi ons s pulated in the relevant
grid codes. System studies also examine whether
voltage excursions are within limits par cularly during
light load hours and help to suggest measures to keep
the voltage within acceptable limits.
x In case of solar genera on, the demand in the vicinity
may be high and the corresponding loads may have to
be considered. The most important aspect in case of
solar genera on is that the ambient temperature would
be high which would limit the loading of transmission
lines and transformers.
However, renewable energy projects like wind & solar are
generally located in remote loca ons from load centers
and may require long transmission lines to major load
centers. The local sub-sta on loads near these plants
during peak genera on are another important factor to be
considered. If the local substa on loads are low, then the
en re genera on may have to be transported to the
nearest major grid sub-sta on for further absorp on in
the grid and this ability of the network has to be checked
in the evacua on studies to avoid backing down of
genera on. In general, annual system peak loads generally
occur in summer months (may be due to high agriculture
demand, cooling loads in residen al/industrial/commercial
loads) and however, when wind speeds are high, this will
bring the cooling effect in the area and hence system
loads would be less. Hence for wind power evacua on
studies the system peak loads during peak wind
genera on period would be in the order of 70% to 80% of
the system annual peak load (as seen in some of the states
in India).
The corresponding minimum load during peak wind
season that may occur in night hours when wind
genera ons hit the peak is another important scenario
that has to be analyzed. The network data collec on
therefore has to include the wind genera on pa ern
month on month and local sub-sta on loads for the
corresponding periods so as to carry out wind power
integra on studies for the cri cal scenarios.
Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er
 Table 1: Cri cal Scenarios to be Analyzed for RE Power Evacua on
Sl.
Wind Genera on Solar Genera on System Demand Local Demand Local Conven onal
No.
Maximum system
Corresponding local
1 Maximum Maximum demand during peak RE Maximum
load
season
Corresponding
Minimum system demand Corresponding local
2 Maximum Minimum conven onal
during peak RE season load
genera on
Maximum system
Local S/S light load in
3 Maximum Maximum demand during peak RE Maximum
peak wind genera on
season
Corresponding
Minimum system demand Local S/S light load in
4 Maximum Minimum conven onal
during peak RE season peak wind genera on
genera on
Maximum system
Corresponding local
5 Minimum Maximum demand during off-peak Maximum
load
RE season
Minimum system demand Corresponding
Corresponding local
6 Minimum Minimum during off-peak RE conven onal
load
season genera on

x Thus, load flow studies for peak wind integra on have
to be simulated for minimum and maximum system
demand during peak wind season, also considering
other renewable genera on dispatch (solar/ hydro in
peak wind season) and maximum conven onal
genera on dispatch par cularly in wind farm area in
order to-
x Develop a reliable wind power evacua on system.
x Examine the impact of simultaneous injec on of
all renewable genera on (solar, wind, hydro) on
the network and whether any network conges on
occurs or not.
x Load flow studies for off-peak wind genera on season
also has to be simulated for minimum system demand
and maximum system along with respec ve other
renewable genera on dispatch (solar/ hydro in off-
peak wind season) and maximum conven onal
genera on dispatch par cularly in wind farm area to
examine whether the bus-voltages are within limits and
help to suggest measures to keep the voltages within
acceptable limits.
x Load Flow studies for solar integra on may have to be
simulated with day peak condi ons as the genera on
would be higher during mid-day.
B. Wind Farm Capacity Factors for Grid Integra on
Studies
x Capacity factor is the ra o of maximum genera on in
MW to the sum of installed capacity of individual
WTGs in the wind farm. Normally in India, plant load
factors of wind farms would lie in the range of 20-30%.
But capacity factor may go up to 100% in small wind
farm. So to have economic viability, transmission
planning of wind farms should consider capacity factor
as a parameter. Large wind farm is a collec on of wind
generators geographically wide spread considering the
spacing factors based on technical factors. It is to be
noted that all wind generators in a large wind farm may
not generate full capacity (equal to the installed
capacity) simultaneously at any point of me as wind
speeds may not be uniform over the en re wind farm
spreading over several tens of hectares.
Based on consultants experience in analysis, the
capacity factor shall correspond to following during
high wind season-
x 100% for small wind farms (less than 40 MW and
connected at 33 kV and at 66 kV level).
x 90% for medium wind farms (between
40-100MW and connected to grid at
66 & 110/132 kVnetworks).
x 85% for large wind farms (between 100-200MW
& connected to grid at 132 kV, 220 kV).
x 80% for very large wind farms (>200 MW &
connected to grid at 220 kV & above) while
carrying out the power evacuation studies. For
small wind farms connected at 33 kV & below, the
capacity factor can be unity.
&Transmission Line Loadability
x The loadability of transmission lines depends not only
on the size & material of the conductor used, but also
on the area, ambient temperature and the transmission
line design standards followed by the area transmission
utility like allowable maximum conductor temperature
(65º or 75º or 90º C) /permitted sag/wind speed, etc.

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er

x Generally transmission line ampacity calculations are
calculated as per IEEE standards considering wind
velocities of 0.5 m/V and experience has shown that
minimum cut-in speed for wind turbines are > 3 to 3.5
m/sec. Considering 1 m/s or 1.5 m/s wind speed
(duly factoring that transmission lines are at much
lower height as compared to Wind turbines &
transmission lines run several 10’s of km from WF site
where wind velocities may not be same) an increased
ampacity of 20-30 % is possible in peak wind season.
This can be considered safely while deciding loading of
transmission lines particularly in contingency
conditions (which are not frequent) to avoid additional
investments for enhancing evacuation reliability.
However, due attention needs to be paid for
controlling reactive power requirement with additional
compensation.
x In case of solar power plants, the ampacity of the lines
and transformer would be lower due to higher ambient
temperature which needs to be considered specific to
the location before permitting the loading.
4. Conclusions
Renewable energy sources of electricity have two
wonderful a ributes namely no air pollutants and
extremely low opera ng costs. It is in the interest of the
country to harness this poten al by integra ng this energy
into the grid. The solu on to all the outstanding issues and
other issues which may crop up later can be found to
harness this nature’s gi through series of analysis.
In this regard, power system analysis plays a great role in
understanding and resolving the issues.
The capacity of power systems to absorb large scale RE
genera on is determined more by economics and
regulatory rules than by technical or prac cal constraints.
With increase in penetra on, a common approach need to
be taken for incorpora ng RE genera on by transmission
planner, system operators and developers by adop ng grid
codes specific to RE generators.
5. References
1) L. Bird and D. Lew, ‘Integra ng Wind and Solar Energy in the
U.S. Bulk Power System: Lessons from Regional Integra on
Studies’, Na onal Renewable Energy Laboratory, Conference
Paper - American Clean Skies Founda on: CERF III,
September 2012.
2) Tomas Petru, ‘Modeling of wind turbines for power system
studies’, Department of Electrical Power Engineering,
Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, 2003.
3) Yuriy Kazachkov and Steve Stapleton, ‘Modeling of wind
farms for power system stability studies’, Shaw Power
Technologies Inc TM, Newsle er issue -95 Power technology,
April 2004
4) Expert Group Report on Recommended Prac ces – ‘Wind
Integra on Studies: Task 25, Design and opera on of power
systems with large amounts of wind power’, IEA wind,
September 12, 2013.
5) IEEE std.399/1997 ‘IEEE Recommended Prac ce for Industrial
and Commercial Power Systems Analysis’ (Brown Book).
6) IEEE Standard 738: ‘IEEE standard or calcula ng current
temperature of bare overhead conductors’, IEEE, 2006.

ERPC AWARDS MiP PROTECTION SUITE TO PRDC

The ‘Task Force on ‘Power System Analysis under Contingencies’ Jenerator/EF/unit protection.) for the different operating
constituted by Ministry of Power, Govt. of India in December conditions.
2012 in the backdrop of the blackouts that occurred on 30 th and x Establishing the system which is remotely accessible to
31st July 2012 recommended creation & maintenance of common stakeholders and having transparency of operation.
protection database under the various Regional Power
Committees (RPC). The first RPC to go for this implementation is The scope also includes collection of data from all the substations,
the Eastern Regional Power Committee (ERPC) consisting of the preparing the database for Protection Database Management
states of West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar. In different System and Protection Setting Calculation Tool, supply of
Protection Co-ordination Committee (PCC) meetings of ERPC, it hardware and software and updating of network for next 5 years.
was also felt that a protection database for transmission system
of Eastern Region of India is urgently needed and accordingly
ERPC called for agencies to execute the Protection Suite. PRDC
won this prestigious project being implemented for the first time
in the country. The objectives of Protection Suite are:

x To build the centralized web based Protection database of

the eastern region transmission system.
x To create facility to store all types of relay settings in one
system irrespective of the manufacturer.
x To capture the life cycle of protection settings & template.
x To create an interface with Relay Setting Calculation engine Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er
and compute the relay settings (distance, over current,
Towards Sustainable Energy for Academic Campuses
Suresh H. Jangamshe and R. Nagaraja

Abstract: Large academic campuses are silent guzzlers of electricity. As the growth of academic campuses is well defined
over a period of me, these become favourite sites for introducing Sustainable Energy Technologies to conserve electricity.
Academic campuses can implement, operate and maintain facili es to meet the energy sustainability. This paper makes an
a empt to describe academic campus loads in India, types of tariffs, representa on of campus electricity distribu on
network, steps to introduce SCADA for distribu on automa on and micro-smart gird for efficient energy management
within the campus.

1. Introduc on Lighting load and fans constitute 20% of the total

Electrical energy is vital and plays an important role in
overall economic development of the country. During the
financial year 2015-16, the electricity generated in Indian
u lity sector was 1,090,851 billion kWh with a short fall
of requirement by 23.557 billion kWh (-2.1%). The peak
load met was 148,463 MW [1], with a short fall of
requirement by 4,903 MW (-3.3%). Onset of every
summer keeps many parts of the country in dark. In-spite
of large installa ons of solar/wind power plants, the
power crisis in India s ll con nues. Addressing this issue is
important and is a challenge for the researchers,
academicians, investors and u li es.
Industries, corporate offices, commercial u li es, large
academic campuses, large apartment complexes,
transporta on, agriculture are some of the major energy
intensive sectors. Con nued efforts are being made to
overcome the electricity crisis by adop ng energy
conserva on techniques through energy audit. Amongst
these sectors, large academic campuses like technical
ins tutes and medical colleges are silent guzzlers of
electricity. As the growth of academic campuses is well
defined over a period of me, these become favourite
sites for introducing Sustainable Energy Technologies
(SET) to conserve electricity. This is because they can
implement, operate and maintain SETs. Hence, there is a
need for prepara on of strategic plan to implement SETs
in academic campuses. This paper makes an a empt to
describe academic campus loads in India, types of tariffs,
representa on of campus electricity distribu on network,
steps to introduce SCADA for distribu on automa on and
Micro Smart Gird for efficient energy management within
the campus.
connected load. Typically, the average demand is between
75kW to 500kW. It is es mated that India has around
4000 technical campuses (engineering colleges). Taking
250 kW as the average load, this will be 1000 MW total
load of academic campuses (engineering colleges) alone in
the country. If this demand is met through sustainable
technologies, then there will be considerable energy saved
for country.
3.Typical Load Profile of Academic Campuses
Academic campuses operate during daytime between
08:00 hrs to 17:00 hrs. Research intensive institutes work
up to 23:00 hrs. Daily load curve of a typical academic
campus is shown in Figure 1. Major electricity consuming
devices, viz. mechanical workshops, electrical
machines, computers and air conditioners, are
operated during laboratory sessions, which are
typically of 3 hoursduration. Other campus loads are
lights, fans, corridor & campus street lighting, water
pumping, etc. Generally the laboratory classes are held
from 09:00–12:00 hrs and 14:00–17:00 hours. A
two semester (4+4 months) academic year will have
192 working days of total 1344 working hours.

2. Electricity Consump on in Academic

Campuses in India
Academic campuses (technical institutes specially WKH
engineering colleges) operate during day time. Major
loads are computers & printers, air conditioners,
electric motors, lathe machines, electric powered Figure 1: Load Curve of a Typical Academic Campus
workshop equipment, HWF

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er

4. Energy Consumption and Electricity Tariff 6. Descrip on of Study Site
Considering average 250 kW of campus load operated for Site selected for study is Basaveshwar Engineering
6 hrs per day for 200 days in a year will amount to College (Autonomous) Bagalkot. The HT distribu on
average energy consumption of 1.2 billion units in 4000 network is spread over 92 acre campus. Total connected
engineering institutes. This estimate is quite load is about 220 kW. Total length of overhead HT line is
enormous and hints for identifying energy 801.7 metres. Seven 11 kV HT transformers are located
conservation opportunities in academic campuses. near load centres as given in Table 1. Backup power is
provide by diesel-generators as given in Table 2. About
Most of the engineering institutes avail the HT
8.8 kW of renewable energy is installed on campus for
power supply at 11 kV. The electricity tariff is typically
research purposes, as given in Table 3.
in the range Rs. 170 to 200 per kVA for billing
demand/month and energy tariff is Rs. 5.40 to Table 1: Details of HT Transformers
Rs. 8.20unit [2,3] depending on the units consumed Distribu on Distance from
and type of institution (Government/ Aided/Private). Ra ng Loca on –
No. Transformer HESCOM HT
(kVA) Connected to
A typical institute having the peak demand of about 300 No. meter (m)
kVA and average demand of 250 kW for 6 hours will have 1 DTC-1 100 CV, EE, ME & 101.9
to bear the monthly energy charges of about Rs. 2,94,000
2 DTC-2 100
at the lower tariff structure and Rs. 4,29,000 at CS 225.4
higher tariff structure. To meet the energy requirement 3 DTC-3 100
of about 45000 units per month, about 900 kW of roof 4 DTC-4 100 EC 515.5
top solar plant is required. As most of the academic
institutions have large campus and also roof top 5 DTC-5 63 CPEd 488.4
available, it is not difficult to put up a roof top solar 6 DTC-6 100
CV-lab, C, P, BT, IP &
101.9
plant of that order. At the current solar plant old PG
installation cost of about Rs. 65,000 per kWP, the Canteen, Academic
Block, Library, IS, EI,
installation cost works out to Rs. 585 lakhs. 7 DTC-7 100
PG-MBA, AU & Indoor
218.1

Stadium
5. Identification of Energy Conservation
Opportunities in Academic Campuses Table 2: Details of Diesel-Generators

A joint study was initiated in 2014-15 to study the said DG No. Ra ng on it Loca on –
issue by the Department of Electrical and DG-1 40.0 Academic Block
Electronics Engineering, Basaveshwar Engineering
College (Autonomous) Bagalkot (BECA) and Power DG-2 82.5 CV & EE

Research and Development Consultants Pvt. Ltd., DG-3 82.5 ME

Bengaluru (PRDC). The study suggested and initiated
DG-4 82.5 EC
the following steps to move towards achieving
sustainable energy in Academic campuses. DG-5 40.0 CPEd

a. Survey of electric loads and energy consump on on DG-6 40.0 IS & EI

the campus. DG-7 40.0 CS

b. Systema c representa on of campus electric DG-8 12.5 C, P, BT & IP

distribu on network – developing single line diagram.
c. Implementa on of SCADA for distribu on Table 3: Details of Solar PV & Wind Sources
automa on. Type Ra ng (W) Loca on

d. Scope for installa on of Solar PV or Micro-Wind or Wind 1500 Academic Block

Solar-Wind hybrid genera on units. Solar PV 4000 Energy Park

e. Conver ng the campus electric distribu on into a SPV-Wind 3300 Academic Block
micro-smart grid for campus energy management.

lAU: Automobile; BT: Biotechnology; CS: Computer Science; CV: Civil; EC: Electronics & Communica on; EE: Electrical & Electronics;
EI: Electronics & Instrumenta on; IP: Industrial & Produc on; IS: Informa on Science; ME: Mechanical; C: Chemistry; P: Physics

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er

7. Survey of Electric Loads and Energy x Energy audit of the campus with the available data
Consump on on the Campus from the SCADA system.

In order to provide hands-on learning experience to the
students, a project work was allo ed to final year
electrical & electronics engineering students. The students
prepared a detailed report on electrical loads connected to
each transformer. The report also provided specifica ons
and other details of the transformers and diesel-generator
systems installed at different loca ons on the campus.
They also measured the total distance of the HT as well as
LT distribu on lines. Informa on about solar PV and wind
genera on sources was also collected. The data is
furnished in Tables 1 to 3.
x Technical loss assessment in distribu on system,
measures to reduce the technical loss in the system.
x Load balancing.
x Power quality and PQ measuring capability.
x Laboratory test setup to measure and cer fy the
power quality of the equipment.
x With availability of cloud and weather sensors,
scholars can develop forecas ng modules for the
exis ng demand.

8. Systema c Representa on of Campus x To explain the students the distribu on SCADA man
machine interface (MMI), data base architecture, filed
Electric Distribu on Network – Developing
device control and different communica on
Single Line Diagram technologies.
Survey report submi ed by students provided all basic 10. Conclusions
informa on required for systema c representa on of
BECA electric distribu on network. The detailed Distribu on system is one of the important en es in the
representa on in the form of a single-line network genera on, transmission and distribu on of electrical
diagram is shown in Figure 2. Students used PRDC’s energy. Campus distribu on system characteris cs are
MiPower so ware to represent the BECA distribu on typically HT connec on at 11 kV voltage, one or more
network. Further the students have also taken up a study distribu on transformers to step down the power and
on distribu on load flow study using MiPower. supplying to the load centres and in addi on having DG
Sets, renewable energy sources - Solar Park/Wind,
9. Implementa on of SCADA for Distribu on Individual loads in the department. In this ar cle an
Automa on a empt is made to describe the road map to have
sustainable energy fulfilments in technical ins tutes.
In the mean me, K-FIST level-2 grant was received from
Further, benefits of se ng up of a distribu on SCADA
Vision Group on Science and Technology (VGST) for
system in the campus are explained. It is also planned to
se ng up postgraduate laboratories in upcoming
publish the studies conducted by the student using the
technological areas. The scheme was under Department of
SCADA setup in a separate ar cle.
IT, BT & ST of Govt. of Karnataka. Grant worth Rs.20
Lakhs was received by the first author to establish SCADA
for distribu on automa on. PRDC received the work
order through e-procurement tender of GoK to implement
the SCADA for distribu on automa on. Addi onal grants
from TEQIP-2 were received for supplemen ng the
SCADA for distribu on automa on to be fully
implemented. This ini a on has set path to iden fy the
sustainable energy technologies for academic campuses in
a systema c order. The campus electric distribu on
network is automated to monitor the energy u liza on. It
is now represen ng a campus energy management
system. Figure 3 shows the distribu on system SCADA
system control room set up at BECA. The objec ves of
se ng up this facility are :
Figure 3: Distribu on System SCADA Control Room at BECA
x Complete visibility of the campus network in both SLD
and GIS mapping.

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er

11. References 2) Electricity tariff of BESCOM: bescom.org/wp-content/
uploads/2011/11/TO-BESCOM-2014.205-244.pdf
1) CEA monthly report – May 2016: h p://www.cea.nic.in/
reports/monthly/installedcapacity/2016/installed_capacity- 3) Electricity tariff of MAHADISCOM: www.mahadiscom.in/
05.pdf tariff/Tariff-Booklet-aug-2012.pdf

Figure 2: Single Line Diagram of BECA Electrical Distribu on Network

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er

 Indian Power Sector Highlights
“VIDYUT PRAVAH” App
The Web / Mobile App provides a wealth of informa on
pertaining to the current demand met, shortages if any,
surplus power available and the prices in the Power
Exchange. The real me data and comparison with
previous day/year data is also available. Data from mul ple
sources, including the States and Power Exchanges, has
been made available through a single portal for
convenience of all. A user friendly interface, based on the
geographical map of India, facilitates all the consumers /
stakeholders in visualiza on of the power availability and
prices at the overall country level and at also States/UTs
level. The informa on disseminated through the
applica on will empower the consumer, thereby leading all
the stakeholders to be more responsive and efficient,
bringing more profit to the country.
“SURYAMITRA” Mobile App
The GPS based mobile app is developed by Na onal
Ins tute of Solar Energy (NISE) available in Google Play
Store, which can be downloaded and used across India.
This innova ve mobile approach aims to enhance the
employment of trained youth in solar PV technology and
also improve the businesses of solar entrepreneurs
because of quality servicing, maintenance and repairing
professionals who are now available to customers at the
click of a bu on on their mobiles.
Power Tariff Policy 2016
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of the Ministry
of Power for amendments in the Tariff Policy. For the first
me a holis c view of the power sector has been taken
and comprehensive amendments have been made in the
Tariff policy 2006. The amendments are also aimed at
achieving the objec ves of Ujwal DISCOM Assurance
Yojana (UDAY) with the focus on “4 Es”: Electricity for all,
Efficiency to ensure affordable tariffs, Environment for a
sustainable future and Ease of doing business to a ract
investments and ensure financial viability.
Highlights of Amendments are:
x 24X7 supply will be ensured to all consumers and
State Governments and regulators will devise a power
supply trajectory to achieve this.

x Power to be provided to remote unconnected villages
through micro grids with provision for purchase of
power into the grid as and when grid reaches there.
x Affordable power for people near coal mines by
enabling procurement of power from coal washery
reject based plants.
x Reduce power cost to consumers through expansion
of exis ng power plants.
x Benefit from sale of un-requisi oned power to be
shared allowing for reduc on in overall power cost.
Na onal Smart Grid Mission (NSGM)
Government of India (GOI) has launched Na onal Smart
Grid Mission (NSGM), to plan and monitor implementa on
of policies and programmes related to Smart Grid ac vi es
in India. The Budgetary support for NSGM ac vi es for
the Financial Year 2016-17 is Rs 30 crore. With an
expenditure of Rs 21.73 crore has been incurred for
development of four Smart Grid pilot projects and one
Smart City Pilot project during 2015-16. NSGM envisages
implementa on of Smart Grid projects in the country to
make Indian Power infrastructure cost effec ve,
responsive, reliable and self- healing.
UJWAL Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY)
The Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) was
launched by the Government of India on 20th November
2015 for opera onal and financial turnaround of State
owned Power Distribu on Companies (DISCOMs). The
scheme aims to reduce the interest burden, reduce the
cost of power, reduce power losses in distribu on sector,
and improve opera onal efficiency of DISCOMs. The
scheme incen vizes the States by exemp ng State
takeover of DISCOM debts from Fiscal Responsibility and
Budget Management (FRBM) limits for two years,
increased supply of domes c coal, coal linkage
ra onaliza on, liberally allowing coal swaps, alloca on of
coal linkages to states at no fied prices and addi onal/
priority funding in schemes of Ministry of Power and
Ministry of New & Renewable Energy; provided they meet
the opera onal milestones in the scheme.
Source: www.powermin.nic.in
Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er
 Events & Achievements
PARTICIPATION AT THE 2nd SMART CITIES INDIA EXPO
PRDC participated in the prestigious 2nd Smart Cities India Expo during
11-13th May 2016 at Pragathi Maidan, New Delhi by setting up a stall.
We have had an overwhelming response of more than 200 visitors
spanning across Consultants, RE developers, System integrators and
RIĆFLDOVIURPWKH0R8':HKDYHKDGYLVLWRUVIURP6SDLQ5XVVLD 
Holland and had fruitful discussions on doing business jointly and
exploring new business avenues.
Dr. R. Nagaraja, MD, PRDC was an invited speaker at the session on “Smart
Grid: Shaping cities future” during the event..

PRDC PARTICIPATES IN ELECRAMA 2016

PRDC participated LQELECRAMA 2016 exhibition held in Bengaluru during
February 13 - 17WK at BIEC. At a function held during the event,
Dr. R. Nagaraja, 0'35'&UHFHLYHGWKHĆUVWFRS\RIWKHFRIIHHWDEOHERRNê
\HDUVRIElectricity” from Mr. Piyush Goyal, Honorable Minister of State (IC) for
Power, Coal and Renewable Energy, Govt. of India on behalf of IEEE Power &
Energy Society.
Dr. R. Nagaraja, MD, PRDC receiving the Coffee Table book on “125 years of Electricity”
from Mr. Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and Renewable Energy
at ELECRAMA 2016 in Bengaluru.

BLOOD DONATION CAMP @ PRDC

Blood donation camp was organized at PRDC by Rotary Bangalore
Blood Bank on 5th May 2016. 47 pints of blood was donated by
employees of PRDC for this noble cause.

'U51DJDUDMDUHFHLYLQJWKH&HUWLĆFDWHRI$SSUHFLDWLRQRQ
behalf of the PRDC.

CELEBRATION OF PRDC DAY – 13th MAY 2016

The PRDC annual day was celebrated with great fanfare on 13th May 2016 at Club Cabana, Bengaluru. All the
employees of PRDC participated in the celebrations, actively taking part in various sports and games events and even
performed skits and other stage shows. On the occasion, Merit awards Pere given away to outstanding performers by
ourManaging Director, Dr. R. Nagaraja.
 Training Schedule & Forthcoming Events

Level 1 Level 2
MiPower Client Training: A comprehensive Power MiPower Client Training: A custom made tutorial
System tutorial with hands-on session, using on for candidates, with focus on the power system
MiPower, based on practical scenario. issues faced by them.
The week long course includes modules such as Load This course has hands on sessions on the
Flow, Fault $nalysis, Transient Stability and candidate’s network.
Protection.

Note: Interested participants are requested to apply for the training as per their
requirements i.e Level 1 and Level 2

At PRDC, we conduct various training programs throughout the year. The duraton of the training
program varies from one to four weeks.

One Week Training We conduct one week training program on MiPower™.

It is a standard course.

MiPower Training Level 1 Level 1 is a training program on basic theory & simple problems
(+ands - 2n).

Level 1 Batch 1th 6HSWHPEHU to UG 6HSWHPEHU 2016.

MiPower Training Level 2 Level 2 is a training program which consists of only hands-on and
VROYLQJRZQV\VWHPSUREOHPVVRUWQJRXWLVVXHVDQGFODULĆDWRQV

Level 2 Batch 8th August to 12th August 2016.

In additLon to the above said program PRDC is also conductLng

short term training program and workshops to impart knowledge
Short Term Training and SUDFWLFDODSSURDFKRQVSHFLĆFWRSLFVZKLFKDUHRIUHOHYDQFHWR
/Workshop power engineers in day-to-day works. Such training not only
enhances their knowledge but also helps to implement these
techniques in their routLne works. For short term and special
training program, please contact our marketLng team at the
following email address: marketingteam@prdcinfotech.com

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er

 About the Authors
Bhatt, M. Siddhartha
M.Siddhartha Bhatt is Director at Central Power Research Institute (CPRI), Bangalore. An energy expert,
he has a professional experience of 35 years at CPRI and has extensively contributed in the areas of energy
DQDO\VLVHQHUJ\HIĆFLHQF\UHQHZDEOHHQHUJ\DQGVDIHW\ZLWKVSHFLDOL]DWLRQLQWKHSRZHUJHQHUDWLRQVHFWRU
+HKDVSXEOLVKHGSDSHUVLQLQWHUQDWLRQDOMRXUQDOLQWKHDUHDRIHQHUJ\HIĆFLHQF\DQGDXWKRUHGRQHERRN
He has developed several energy products and holds 9 patents. In the area of industrial consultancy he had
XQGHUWDNHQ D ODUJH QXPEHU RI SRZHU DXGLWV HQHUJ\ HIĆFLHQF\ VWXGLHV DQG VWXGLHV RQ UHQRYDWLRQ
modernization & life extension of thermal and hydro power plants. He has been awarded the Young
Scientists Award (1984), Mysore University Golden Jubilee Award for Science and Technology (1988) and
CBIP Best 3aper Award (1998).

Gomathinayagam, S. Dr.
Dr. S Gomathinayagam is a graduate (Civil engineering) of Regional Engineering College Trichirapalli
obtained his postgraduate and doctoral degrees from the IIT-M. After serving 25 years in solving various
multidisciplinary industrial, consultancy and software development problems at Structural Engineering
Research Centre, Madras he joined as Executive Director in Centre for Wind Energy Technology, an
autonomous research body of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE, GOI) in January 2009. He
has also visited, the University of Notre Dame, Colorado State University, and Texas Tech University, USA
under the UNDP Fellowship Programme for wind engineering research. He also visited Universities in USA
and Australia. He is one of the members of the team which has won the CSIR Technology Shield for FHQWUH
RI H[FHOOHQFH LQ ZLQG HQJLQHHULQJ LQ  DQG WKH ê$ 6 $U\D å 825 'LVDVWHU 3UHYHQWLRQ $ZDUGë LQ the
year 2001, for their contribution towards cyclone disaster mitigation. In the 4 th World Renewable (QHUJ\
7HFKQRORJ\ &RQJUHVV &RQIHUHQFH LQ 6HSWHPEHU  KH KDV EHHQ DZDUGHG ê*OREDO ([FHOOHQFH
Award-2013 in Renewable Energy”. He has published over eighty (80) interdisciplinary technical papers in
referUHd national / international journals / conferences / seminars. He has over hundred technical reports
to his credit based on the research and consultancy in the areas of power, wind energy, space, railways and
Indian Navy involving instrumentation experimental analysis, design and testing and software
development. He is a fellow, Life Member and Chartered Engineer of Institution of Engineers (India) and
life member of Computer Society of India, Instrument Society of India, Indian Society for Wind Engineering
and India Meteorological Society. He served/serves in various awards/Academic/ Professional committees
including Wind Energy  &ommittee of Bureau of Indian Standards. Now at NIWE (formerly C-WET) as
Director General, he has to do technology management and coordination of UHVHDUFK DQDO\VLV GHVLJQ
FHUWLĆFDWLRQ DQG SHUIRUPDQFH WHVWLQJ FRQVXOWDQF\ DQG KXPDQ UHVRXUFH development related to Wind
Power development in India.

Jangamshetti, H. Suresh. Dr.

Dr. Suresh H. Jangamshetti obtained M.Tech in Power Systems and Ph.D in Wind Energy from IIT
Kharagpur in the years 1989 and 2000 respectively. He has 30 years of experience in technical education,
R&D innovation and administration. He received Fulbright-Nehru visiting lecture fellowship to Dept of
ECS, MTU, Houghton during Fall 2011. He was invited to deliver Keynote Address and Tutorial at IASTED
AsiaPES-13, Phuket Thailand in April 2013. His areas of research and interest are wind-solar energy
conversion systems, energy audit & DSM and computer applications to power systems. Till date he has
guided four PhDs, 45+ PG & 50+ UG projects with two pending patents. He has 65+ technical publications
in international/national journals/conference. He has received Rs. 93+ lakhs research grants from AICTE/
VGST/TEQIP-I & II. He has established Renewable Energy and SCADA for distribution automation
laboratories for PG/R&D. Till date he has organized 38 sponsored FDPs/SDPs. He has delivered more than
120+ invited talks at various International/National events. Professionally he is Senior Member IEEE,
Fellow Member Institution of Engineers, LMISTE, LMISWE, DMKRVP and LMSVAK. Bagalkot Lion and
Lioness club honored him with ê<HRPHQ 6HUYLFH 5HQGHUHG LQ WKH ĆHOG RI (GXFDWLRQë DZDUG IRU WKH \HDU
 ,((( %DQJDORUH VHFWLRQ FRQIHUUHG RQ KLP ê7HFKQLFDO 3XEOLFDWLRQ $ZDUGë DQG ê2XWVWDQGLQJ
%UDQFK&RXQVHORUëIRUWKH\HDU UHVSHFWLYHO\,QKHZDVDZDUGHGê2XWVWDQGLQJ%UDQFK
&RXQVHORUëIRU$VLD3DFLĆF5HJLRQ

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er

 About the Authors
Kagathi, J. Dinesh
Mr. Dinesh J. Kagathi, a Mechanical Engineer with more than 25 years’ experience, focuses on renewable
energy and clean technologies. +LVZRUNH[SHULHQFHFRYHUV all aspects in the life cycle of renewable HQHUJ\
SURMHFWV LQFOXGLQJ RSSRUWXQLW\ LGHQWLĆFDWLRQ DQG IHDVLELOLW\ YLDELOLW\ DVVHVVPHQW SURMHFW
development, detailed engineering, project execution management and operations, Worked in the verticals
of small hydro, biomass and solar energy, he has an excellent understanding of the technical issues and risk
factors associated with each of these technologies. He also raised debt and equity capital for several
SURMHFWVDQGKHQFHKDVDJRRGXQGHUVWDQGLQJRIHYROYLQJĆQDQFLDOPRGHOVDQGSUHVHQWLQJWKHLQYHVWPHQW
opportunities to debt and equity investors. Ha has been part of the startup team that developed
investment opportunities in renewable energy for several private Independent Power Producer
companies. Presently, he is Head of Renewable energy in PRDC.

Kannan, Balaraman. Dr.

Dr. Balaraman Kannan heads Power System Consulting division of PRDC as Chief General Manager and is a
core member of the top management group of the company. His vast experience of about 26 years is
spread across the gamut of Power System Engineering. He travels across the globe for business
development, technical discussion and research. He is an expert power transmission and distribution
consultant, having exhaustive knowledge in handling very large systems across India and several other
international grid systems and complex industrial networks. He is among the key contributors at PRDC in
ZLQQLQJ EXVLQHVV DQG SURYLGLQJ WLPHO\ LQSXWV WR WKH EXVLQHVV GHYHORSPHQW WHDP ,Q 35'& å +LV
International experience includes clientele at England, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait,
Nigeria,Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Fiji Islands, Sudan, Bhutan and other countries.

Ramappa, Nagaraja. Dr.

Dr. R. Nagaraja is the founder and Managing Director of M/s Power Research & Development Consultants
Pvt. Ltd, Bengaluru, one of the leading power system consultants in India. He has done his Bachelors in
Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Mysore University in the year 1986 and obtained his Master’s
degree from Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), Bangalore in 1988, specialized in Computer Applications to
3RZHU6\VWHPVDQG'ULYHV+HZDVDZDUGHG'RFWRUDWHIRUKLVZRUNWLWOHGê'HYHORSPHQWRIDOJRULWKPIRU
applications in energy control centers” by Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. His specializations
include Parallel Computing, Power System Analysis, Simulation, SCADA Systems and Energy Management
Systems, Development of Algorithms for Real-Time Power System Simulation and Control, Power
Engineering Education and Power System Protection. Dr. R Nagaraja has authored several technical papers
and conducted a number of workshops, conferences, seminars throughout the world. Dr. Nagaraja is the
brain behind the architecture, design and development of the MiPower® Sower system DQDO\VLVVRIWZDUH
ZKLFKLV35'&èVćDJVKLSSURGXFWZLGHO\XVHGE\(OHFWULF8WLOLWLHV,QGXVWULHVConsultants and Universities /
Engineering colleges globally.

Shekhar, Rashmi
Rashmi Shekar obtained B.E (Electrical & Electronics) in 2004 from Malnad College of Engineering, Hassan.
She joined PRDC in 2004 & currently serving as Manager in power system studies group. Her areas of
interest include power system simulation & studies, renewable energy integration studies, power system
operation & control. She has published technical papers in national conferences. Since  VKH KDV
ZRUNHGRQYDULRXVSURMHFWVLQWKHĆHOGRIGLVWULEXWLRQV\VWHPDQDO\VLVSRZHUV\VWHPstudies for utilities &
IPPs, Renewable integration studies for various states in India & islanded power system networks of
Lakshadweep, Sri Lanka & Indonesia.

 Power Research and Development Consultants Newsle er

Simulation Software for
Power System Studies

TM

MiPowerTM is driven by a robust power system analysis engine covering

various aspects of power system studies from steady state analysis to
stability and security assessment, including reliability and protection.
MiPowerTM caters to the needs of power system planners and
operations engineers.
Windowss® based platform makes it highly interactive and
ndly.
user-friendly.
Professionally
nally designed GUI and centralized databases add to the

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