Smart Renewable Energy Microgrid at Dayalbagh Educational Institute

Some weeks back we introduced you to the Renewable Energy efforts at Dayalbagh Educational Institute (DEI). We get a bit more technical this week and introduce you to the,

Smart Microgrid developed and implemented by the Institute.

The post is by Prof. Bhagwan Das, Professor of Renewable Energy in the Department of Electrical Engineering at DEI.

Prof. Bhagwan Das writes...

In order to carry out sustainable developmental activities in agreement with the concept of Eco-Village, DEI took bold initiatives in harnessing the renewable energy through Solar thermal and Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) power plants in 2010. Today, the institute has Solar Thermal Cooking systems in all the hostels. The whole university campus is powered by 11 Distributed Roof-Top Solar PV power Plants aggregating to a total of 668.2 kWp. 

To ensure efficient, reliable and economic operation of the distributed energy resources and achieve proper coordination among them, a need based R&D project to indigenously develop a Smart Micro Grid in the institute was started with support from DST’s Solar Energy Research Initiative (SERI) in 2014.

The Dayalbagh renewable energy smart microgrid is a modern, small scale electricity system comprising a group of distributed loads and distributed renewable energy resources acting as a single controllable entity in synergy with the grid. It is designed to achieve specific local goals, such as energy reliability, security, carbon emission reduction, diversification of energy sources, and cost reduction. Such smart microgrids are an ideal way to integrate renewable resources and form the building blocks of Smart Grids.

All the solar power plants at DEI are Hybrid PV Power Systems with battery storage to facilitate off-grid operation whenever required. The three phase DSP based, Grid Support Conditioners (GSC) are designed to operate as a multi-function power conditioning unit combining renewable energy sources on priority with the functionality of an industrial UPS system.

The effectiveness of renewable energy microgrid was evident during the major grid collapse on two consecutive days on 30th and 31st July 2012 in India when over 600 million people (nearly half of India's population), in 22 out of 28 states in India, were without power. The outage caused "chaos" for Monday morning rush hour, as passenger trains were shut down and traffic signals were non-operational Trains stalled for three to five hours. Several hospitals reported interruptions in health services, while others relied on back-up generators. Water treatment plants were shut down for several hours, and millions were unable to draw water from wells powered by electric pumps. Excessive use of diesel generators (a popular backup resource) caused local pollution and high cost for the consumers. However, Dayalbagh Educational Institute, having its own SPV microgrid, was not affected and the teaching – learning- co-curricular activities continued normally in a pollution free environment and economic fashion. Even on normal sun-shine days, the institute is self- sufficient in power and not affected by the frequent power outages. Under cloudy conditions, a careful battery management ensures uninterrupted power supply to the whole campus.  

INNOVATIVE FEATURES & BEST PRACTICES

The following features are being incorporated as part of the R&D project to develop the smart micro grid with remote monitoring, communication, control and fault diagnosis of DERs from a central control station, which would ultimately enable the development of a Decision Support System for Optimal efficiency, economics and reliability. 

• Display of Inverter parameters viz.  inverter voltage, current,  power, grid source for inverter parameters, solar current, voltage, power, solar irradiance, ambient temperature, heat sink temperatures, data logs etc. All of these parameters can be accessed from the central control station through our institute LAN. As per the requirement, the inverter behaviour can be controlled by remotely changing the software set points and selecting different modes of operations. All the inverters are on the institute LAN and accessible remotely through the front end program.

• Display of Load Parameters through integration of Smart Meters: Load currents, voltages, powers on all the outgoing circuits can be accessed at the central control station through smart meters over the institute LAN.

• Remotely controlled switchgear and change-over switches: Change-over switches for the selection of source (grid or solar) are installed for every outgoing circuit in various control rooms. A system has been designed and implemented to monitor the status of the switches and remotely control the selection through the software at the central control station.

• Battery charging: Battery charging is a very important feature of the system affecting the life of the battery and overall system efficiency. Battery charging is to be closely monitored and controlled so as to utilize the solar power fully and ensure float operation of the battery as far as possible. Grid charging schedules (in rainy, cloudy days) for all the 9 power plants are carefully scheduled to prevent overloading of the sub-station. 

• Water Pumping: A scheme is being designed for remote monitoring and control of water pumps in the institute for punctual and efficient operation of water pumps. This will be integrated to the central control system software. A prototype with remote control and monitoring using Short Messaging Service on GSM mobiles has been developed and implemented for field testing.

• String monitoring and fault diagnosis: With thousands of panels in the institute, it is difficult to identify a mal-functioning panel. The requirement has prompted development of a ZigBee based wireless monitoring system for string current measurement. All the measurements of a plant would be collected at a central computer for processing and analysis. An alarm would be raised if some string is found to be mal-functioning along with the geographical location of the string. A prototype of the same has been developed. 

The Dayalbagh Educational Institute initiative has demonstrated that Universities, building intellectual resources through teaching-learning and research, offer a perfect platform for establishing renewable energy microgrids. In addition to sustainable development through clean energy technologies and self-sufficiency in energy, a university microgrid is an ideal test bed for conducting indigenous research and development through UG & PG projects and Ph.D. thesis. This would ensure quality research with relevance as well as development of skilled man power and intellectual property in the area. Universities can design and implement model curriculum for vocational diploma and certificate courses in solar energy technologies, provide earn-while-you-learn schemes to the students and encourage entrepreneurial start-ups through incubation cells. 

Renewable Energy Initiatives at Dayalbagh Educational Institute

Renewable Energy initiatives at Dayalbagh Educational Institute

The first of our invited posts is by Prof. Bhagwan Das, Professor of Renewable Energy in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Dayalbagh Educational Institute (DEI). In this post, we will delve into the renewable energy initiatives at DEI.

Through the vision, initiative and encouragement of Revered Prof. Prem Saran Satsangi, Chairman, Advisory Committee on Education, Dayalbagh, the renewable energy deployment in the institute commenced in 2010 to facilitate sustainable developmental activities in agreement with the concept of an Eco-Village.

The university campus is powered by 11 Distributed Roof-Top SPV (Solar Photovoltaic - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaic_system) power plants aggregating to a total of 668.2 kW(peak). Apart from the Dayalbagh campus of the institute, distributed Roof-Top Solar PV Power Plants of aggregate 45 kWp capacity have been installed at DEI extension centers (ICT centers) in various cities and a CSR sponsored project of 200 kWp distributed off-grid SPV system is under commissioning in the Dayalbagh Rajaborari Estate of Madhya Pradesh tribal area.

Fig 1 : Satellite view of Dayalbagh Educational Institute showing six of the eleven plants and their coverage (image - Google Earth)

The effectiveness of renewable energy micro-grid was evident during the major grid collapse on two consecutive days on 30th and 31st July 2012 in India when over 600 million people (nearly half of India's population), in 22 out of 28 states in India, were without power. Dayalbagh Educational Institute, having its own SPV micro-grid, was not affected and the teaching – learning- co-curricular activities continued normally. On normal sun-shine days, the institute is self- sufficient in power and not affected by the frequent power outages. Under cloudy conditions, a careful battery management ensures uninterrupted power supply to the whole campus.

Having commissioned the distributed SPV based micro-grid of the institute, the challenge now is to make the system efficient, reliable and economically viable in the face of dynamic loading conditions, weather conditions affecting generation and unreliable power grid. Multi-dimensional R&D activities are in progress to indigenously develop integrated remote monitoring, communication, control and fault diagnosis of all the power plants from a central control station, resulting in a Smart Micro Grid.

  Solar thermal cooking systems in Hostels  

Three solar thermal cooking systems have been installed in the three hostels in DEI. Each system comprises of 5 dishes, each having a 16 Sq m in diameter. The total average kcals generated by the concentrators in one system is 200,000 kcals / day, which is equivalent to 19 kgs of LPG. The system installed in the Girls’ Hostel is also equipped with water heating facility. For institutions having much larger hostels, the savings would be sizable.

The cooking systems are used for boiling Amla and decoction of herbs for preparation of Chyavan Prash in the Ayurvedic Pharmacy of Dayalbagh during their lull phase. With conventional boiling process, there was a requirement of 80 Kg of Hard Coke and the process time was 12 hours. In steam cooking the process time has reduced to 3 hours with no expenditure on fossil fuels.

A pioneer in the field of vocational education, the institute has launched vocational programmes in renewable energy at various levels viz. Certificate, Diploma, B.Voc., M.Voc. and Ph.D.

The Dayalbagh Educational Institute initiative has demonstrated that Universities, building intellectual resources through teaching-learning and research, offer a perfect platform for establishing renewable energy micro-grids. In addition to sustainable development through clean energy technologies and self-sufficiency in energy, a university micro-grid is an ideal test bed for conducting indigenous research and development. This ensures quality research with relevance as well as development of skilled man power and intellectual property in the area.

Look forward to your comments and feedback.

Sigma Six Q: Air Quality - The Second Quality

As a symbol, Sigma (Σ, σ) is used to typically denote a “mathematical sum” or “standard deviation”. In our context, it is a “sum” and to quote Revered Prof. Prem Saran Satsangi, “Sigma means that all these (six) aspects or components have interaction amongst themselves and the cumulative effect of all these is many times more than their individual effect.”

In the words of Revered Prof. Prem Saran Satsangi, “You are nowadays witnessing world-wide emphasis that environment does not get polluted and it is protected. For this purpose, SPHEEHA (Society for preservation of Health, Environment and Ecology and Heritage of Agra) is there, Supreme Court is there. All of them are taking steps for it. At this time, often it appears to be conflicting to the growth of industry. On this account, there are delays in the way of our progress. But, it is necessary to see whatever air and water is there in our environment, we should pay attention to their high quality, so that we are protected against diseases and lead a healthy life which is necessary if we want to achieve fully the ideal of Better Worldliness. Thus, there are two other excellence's in Quality – Air Quality and Water Quality which are inseparable parts of Dayalbagh Way of Life.”

The second Quality for a Sustainable Way of Life is Air Quality.

How does Dayalbagh ensure high standards of Air Quality?

The Dayalbagh campus is situated in garden settings, away from the din and noise of the city. Nestled between lush green fields, fruit bearing tree orchards, tree lined roads, it remains in harmony with nature.

Petrol (Gasoline) two-wheelers are not allowed inside the campus. Driving cars for commuting within the campus is restricted. Most men, women and children walk or cycle on the tree lined roads. This serves three purposes, people are healthier, promotes social equality and the air is sparkling clean. People who find it difficult walking/ cycling, utilize Cycle Rickshaw/ Battery operated e-Rickshaw service or Solar Augmented-Battery operated Bus.

There is a monthly 300-unit limit on residential grid power usage. Residences further augment this with clean solar power. Use of residential generators is prohibited. In the dry Agra summers, traditional methods of cooling or low power consuming coolers are utilized.

In terms of farming practices, there is a mix of manual and mechanized farming. All inhabitants (whether an academician or an entrepreneur or a person in service or a retiree) participate in community farming for a couple of hours each day. The community works together fostering a spirit of brotherhood, is healthier and need for mechanized farming reduces substantially. Further the Community Kitchen (Bhandar Ghar) uses Gasifiers for better efficiency and Solar-Thermal Cooking.

There is no burning of left over stalks post harvesting. These are utilized as Animal fodder or re-tilled into the land.

The cumulative effect of these is crisp and clean air, a quality necessary for a Sustainable Way of Life.

We look forward to your feedback. You can follow us on facebook (www.facebook.com/sigmasixq) and/ or on twitter (@SigmaSixQ). You can also subscribe to our posts via email (link on the right).

In the next post, we will cover "Water" quality.

The above post is by Anurag Singh, Editor of the Sigma Six Q blog.