Given the nature of renewable technology, generating electricity ‘off-the-grid’ and in a decentralised manner is an attractive option. Some of the nascent developments that have taken place in the renewable energy space in India are categorised into three segments:

India in recent years has seen tremendous growth and potential for solar based energy generation. Solar technology has been identified as one of the most promising decentralised energy applications having significant potential to reduce emissions at the generation end. Solar based energy generation is now being accorded as an application that can help off grid rural areas and micro scale industries in reducing their dependence on the grid.

Conventional power stations in the present scenario of energy generation are centralised and often require electricity to be transmitted over long distances. In comparison, renewable energy based systems are decentralised, modular and more flexible. Located close to the villages, they typically serve with a capacity ranging from 30 KwH to 100 KwH.

Micro discoms / utility businesses can actually cater to energy demand with all the latest load monitoring gadgets to help the individual customers create and establish his / her specific load demand with supply at preferred hours and thus pay only for use and not the ancestral and established KW/hr rate system. Frankly speaking the ancestral system has actually spoilt the consumer habits and led to misuse of energy supply at the premises, whereas a decentralised micro grid is a localised grouping of electricity generation, energy storage and loads that normally operate connected to a traditional centralised grid (macro grid) which can be disconnected and thus the micro grid can function autonomously.

Generation and loads in a micro grid are usually interconnected at low voltage. From the point of view of the grid operator, a connected micro grid can be controlled as if it were one entity. Use of renewable energy sources such as small hydro, biomass, biogas, solar power, wind power and geothermal power play an important role for the energy supply through micro grid distribution system and can resolve the short comings of distribution network over long distances and make the local community more responsible with availability of power at the required hours and payment for the same as per demand and usage. The system has its own short comings and integration problems. Solar PV and wind power both have intermittent and unpredictable generation, so they create many stability issues for voltage and frequency. However, this issue can be resolved by integrating with intelligent hybrid inverters.

The adaptation of the smart grid vision to the Indian context offers the potential to revolutionise electricity supply and increase the probability of achieving the Government of India’s electricity sector goals sooner and more effectively. High pitch voices being raised at the national and international platforms for deep rooted concern on environmental challenges have added to the urgency of finding a sustainable, high-growth, low carbon economic model. The design of a sustainable smart grid model can also provide a blueprint for developing nations across the world.

The smart grid is not a simple formula or template. It is as much a vision as a blueprint. In its broadest interpretation, the smart grid vision sees the electric supply industry actually transformed by the introduction of two-way communications and ubiquitous metering and measurement. It enables much finer control of energy flows to the end user integrating the processes that have not been practicable to date. It also creates more reliable, more robust and more secure electrical infrastructure.