Solar Lantern Programmes - A brief watchlist.

Too many people and bodies, unfortunately including media like NDTV Green Campaign, seem to carry an impression that a chargeable torch or battery-powered lamp is a solar lamp by itself and that, donating one to a village family means immortality to all concerned. To top it, some of them have displayed ignorance of the difference between a solar thermal and SPV or photovoltaic panel. Nothing is more damaging to the credibility of the solar energy programme than these amateur freebies.

1. The lantern, most importantly, needs to be compatible to a solar SPV panel, which often costs more than the lamp itself, in the region of Rs 250 per Watt. Typical power ratings of crystalline silicon panels manufactured in India are 6W, 10W and 35W, for this purpose, by Tata BP, SELCO, Solkar, CEL, BHEL, Udhaya Semiconductors, etc. You may thus calculate the budgetary costs. More notes on techno-economic calculations for SPV systems can be found at http://micropower.blogspot.com/2003_11_23_archive.html



2. The energy drained from the lamp's battery each night, in Watt-Hrs should match the panel power rating in Watts X 4.5 hrs, i.e. the solar panel must feed its power in 4.5 hours what has been drained all night by the lamp's battery. This calls for correct matching and supply of a solar panel of adequate capacity and correct voltage for safe and reliable charging.



3. For battery durability and system-level reliability, the battery must not be drained for more than 20% of its stored capacity in a day, on average. While we provide for this in indoor and outdoor stationery lighting systems by using slow-drain Class-100 or Class-120 batteries, compact lantern manufacturers typically use a hi-drain, hi-charge C-5 battery which drains its full charge in just 5 hours. This is why batteries in solar lamps wear out in 3 years or less.



4. Another issue is the light source. Reading and activities involving inspection require 300 Lux i.e. 300 Lumens per Sq Mtr. The recent trend is to use white LEDs, which deliver mostly in the region of 20-30 Lumens per watt consumed, as against a filament lamp that delivers 15 Lumens and a 230V Commercial-grade CFL that delivers 44 and a tube-light that delivers 40 Lumens per watt respectively. Often, the quality of LED lights are questionable for eye safety, unless certified by a manufacturer.



5. Beside quality and quality of light, each light source has a limited life. A standard replacement should be available locally or provided for, the battery as well as LED, tube or bulb used.



6. The beneficiaries need to be taught to connect and place the panel correctly and clean it daily, in order to get the right amount of power. Often, there is no indication of light source or output in Lux or Lumens of the lanterns in the manufacturer's information. We do not even know how for many hours the lamp will glow on full charge, in one day.



7. The manufacturer or donor must address the above issues.



8. In India, it may be wise to contact the appropriate State Nodal Agency for a list o0f their approved manufacturers, because State Nodal Agencies typically undertake execution and follow-up of such programmes, even privately and charitably funded.



9. Alternately, I would suggest procuring the smallest rated but reliable, warranty-supported solar panel and approaching a manufacturer like Eveready, who have recently entered the solar lantern space and have a reasonably penetrated rural marketing network, for support in lantern servicing as well as replacement of battery and light source.

The Barefoot College in Rajasthan under the stewardship of Bunker Roy is a good example, where local persons are first trained and micro-entrepreneurs enabled to service solar lanterns. So is GEDA in Gujarat, for community-owned lighting installations like streetlights.

The country's first State to take up solar energy in earnest saw good and bad cases too. While Gujarat's State Nodal Agency GEDA (www.geda.org.in) managed few hundred streetlights a year in the late 80s by providing solar stills for distilled water to refill lead-acid batteries (sealed batteries were not available locally then), training owners and incentivizing local monitors, the SEBs or State Electricity Boards including GEB bombarded the villages with 1000-3000 streetlights and never bothered to check, with the result that all had failed by 1991-92, causing a massive loss in monetary and credibility of the SPV program. However, on the other hand, a good proportion of the ones installed and facilitated by GEDA with the village administrations' enthusiasm, continue to light up their habitats, to this day.

CHEAT SHEET ON SMART LIGHTING

We now have plenty of light sources to choose from as the days of the ubiquitous bulb and Yard-long tube for all seasons are gone. Here is a quick guide on picking the best one for your needs.

1. First, we should make it a point to insist on knowing the Lumens of illuminating power produced by any light source - bulb, tube, etc; and compare it with the Watts consumed by it.
   
   
2. Typically, a filament bulb delivers 15 Lumens/watt, as against a commercial LED (unless otherwise specified) at 25-30 Lumens/Watt, a TL grade tubelight at 50 Lm/W, and PL lamp (without ballast) at 80 Lm/W and a sodium lamp, as found in streetlights at 100-120 Lm/W. This way, we know that a good tubelight of 40W rating delivers 2000 Lm.
   
   

   The slew of popular CFLs or Compact Fluorescent Lamps available in the market that fit into your regular 230V bulb holder come with a built-in ballast and deliver about 40-50 Lm/W.
   
   

   Hi-Luxage LEDs from LumiLEDs, Philips, Nichia are entring the market now and they are known to deliver as much as 70-90 Lm/W but need to be accompanied with a test certificate or have the Lumen output marked on their assemblies. Another disadvantage lies in the narrow beam angle of an LED, though wide-beam versions are coming into the market. heat dissipation is an issue with hi-power LEDs of 1-3 Watt rating, even if these mostly come with heat sinks.
   
   

   Yet, single LEDs have very low power consumption, LED hence matrices and strips can be configured, to meet various intensity and power needs, almost like a set of dominoes. Here lies an advantage of scalability. One can configure LED arrays and clusters for lighting up passages, stairways, lobbies, even kerbs and pavements, beside wash-lights and up-lights outdoors. One can also use them for safety signage in remote locations, since LEDs use DC which can be stored in batteries and hooked on to a signalling or control network.
   
   

   LEDs also have the flexibility advantage. Advertising signs can incorporate arrays such that they can switch off an alternate LED during late nights to save on power.
   
   

   All this lets us select the light source according to its use without over-providing to waste power or under-illuminating as a misfired power-saving measure.
   
   

3. Next, we need to know the intensity, or how many Lumens and square-feet we need in each of our working/living spaces. A number of standards exist for this. As a thumb rule, it is -
   
   li750 Lux or Lm/SqM for intricate work like embroidery or detail drawing,
   
   • 500 Lux for reading & office work,
     
   • 200 Lux for casual work and 150 Lux for storage spaces etc
     
   • Passages, doorways and gate-cabins need to be lit according to the above work associated with them.
   
   
   

   Each working area in Sq metres multiplied by intensity required will give us the total Lumens.
   
   

   We need to remember from Inverse Square Law that intensity drops 4 times for 2 times increase in distance. So, for high-intensity lighting. This way we need to correct our Lumen requirement.
   
   

   Finally, we can select and space each light source and from ts Lumens, estimate the number of watts these will consume, or the electrical energy per hour. Typically,
   
   

   Tubelights distribute 2000 Lm over a length of 1 Mtr or 1000 Lm over 500 mm. These make for shadow-free lighting. Accordingly, LED strips can be used to deliver similar luxages. The comparative economics are evolving. These can be hung or wall-mounted. Lighting power gets distributed by the square of its distance. This way you can get economy when basic illumination is used.
   
   

   PL lamps and CFLs provide as much as 1000-1200 Lumens but from a single source. If these are required for intricate work, these need to be mounted on the desk, work-table or machine. The same holds for lanterns and LED combo bulbs, several of which are available.
   
   

4. Shades and reflectors not only protect the lamps, they also direct more light toward the lit space. Besides, in low-lit areas, translucent shades can be used so they can be seen from a longer distance. This helps in street lamps and marker lamps in power-scarce areas.

For another example, your walls and ceilings may typically act as a reflector for the white light of a tubelight, else the 2000 Lumens may be halved. Using a bright wall or ceiling colour helps the light behind the source to be reflected forward, so as to improve illumination. Such a combination of reflected and direct light works to diffuse any shadow.

Biofuels - for the hearth, not the car for now

It is good to see that Mr Vinod Khosla, VC No1 (and former Sun Micro Chief?) is 'fired up' by bio-fuels, going by this article of 26th in the ET (Economic Times - www.economictimes.indiatimes.com) and his guest-edited ET edition of Monday, 29th August '05. I have also noted his optimism for storming the Rajasthan Desert and other arid wastelands with Jatropha.

I am sure that with his grip on learning curves and over further trips to India, Mr Khosla will note that:

1 Regardless of arguments on Pongamia pinnata or Karanj Vs Jatropha or the harm done by Jatropha, a mono-culture is an environmental hazard with disastrous consequences. Look at the havoc wreaked by enthusiastic eucalyptus-dominated aforestation drives.

2 When our existing forest cover is depleting at a frightening rate, arresting that will always get more priority over developing energy forests.

3 The plantation development business is in total disrepute and hence it will take an uphill task beginning with intense political lobbying, ranging to confidence-building measures to develop a nation-wide spread of energy plantations.

4 Assuming success in the above three areas, there are results going back to the 70s, notably the Gasohol experiment of Indian Oil Corpn which was abandoned on finding out that even to replace about 30% of petrol with ethanol/methanol would need seven (?) hectares of land per car each year. Assuming that cars today are more fuel-efficient, their population has spiralled.

5 Several other experiments on vegetable fuels have been carried out and a gamut of regionally-appripriate solutions will be needed. This will mean a problem in standardising quality of each type of fuel, much needed if auto manufacturers are expected to honour their warranty obligations. Auto manufacturers like Telco in India have experimented with Jojoba among other bio-fuels, as back as the 80s. Their experience too needs factoring.

6 Further, Auto manufacturers will need to be made stakeholders as much as petroleum companies by utilising their R&D and distribution in a synergistic way. This will be yet another issue.

7 Even after clearing those further hurdles, the disseminated resource in the plantations or forests will mean a lot of infrastructure and energy invested in harvesting, local processing, transport to refineries, central processing, homogenising & standardising, quality checks and finally, distribution. These costs and investments may reverse some or all the economy as compared to petroleum.

8 Instead, would it not be more advantageous to simply focus on the rural food sector?

9 If so, the disseminated nature of this forest/plantation resource can spawn local village cooperatives where each villager gets credit for cooking bio-fuel in exchange for his supply of some input. This stake will assure sustenance of the trees.

We also have successes in biogas and biomass gassification that need to be consolidated.

Waste vegetable oil recovery processes are also simple, economical and need more discipline than resources to exploit.

10 Thereby, sufficient trees and their growth rate can be sustained to make every village self-sufficient in cooking oil and TOTALLY REPLACE KEROSENE as presently used in progressive stoves and lamps.

11 Further, wood stoves can be replaced with bio-fuel (veg oil or bio-gas) fired stoves and ovens. technologies are available and various State Nodal Agencies under the MNES have done good work in this area too.

12 Likewise, kerosene in oil lamps can be replaced by vegetable oil, as ponghum is already used. Several thousand women and children (Millions, globally, as per an ITDG report.) are either blinded or choked to death by kerosene vapours from lamps in cold regions each year. Solar photovoltaics driving CFL and LED lamps are the cleanest alternative.

Such a GHAS TEL HATAO campaign focused on the food sector instead of aping the West on the transport sector will free up rural kerosene + LPG demand and the vast amounts of pollution as well as the associated subsidy funds.

I shall appreciate Mr Khosla's consideration of this.

Regards

Udit Chaudhuri

Rugged LED Tower-lamps

At last these are in production!

The lamps are extremely rugged, with polycarbonate 'tower shield' and thick rubber base - ideal for camps, small cabins, tents, etc. in remote places

The power consumption for eCandle (the white, non-flashing ones) is light enough to retain brightness for about 20 hours with a set of 4 dry cells, while eFlasher (red light flasher) runs close to 48 hours on 2 dry cells.

Illumination is 200-500 Lux (you need 300 Lux for reading) for the eCandle white lamp while eFlasher the red blinking light is visible as far as 20-30 mtrs in the dark. These are LED-powered, hence the life of these lamps is eternal compared to CFLs, tubes and bulbs, saving replacement costs.

An array of 15-20 white lamps or 30-40 red flashers can be backed up very adequately by a single 10 Wp Solar Photovoltaic panel of TBP/BHEL make, in no-power zones as against a typical 35 Watt garden-light
system that charges just 5 or 10 PL lamps. Dusk-to-dawn operation is also available, as a special option.

The basic cost, since we did not avail of the expected grant, is Rs 400 each, for orders up to 10 pcs of the white lamp and Rs 250 for the flasher, payable against our proforma invoice, FOR/FOB Mumbai. For automatic dusk-to-dawn operation, Rs 75 extra will be charged.

Write to uditnc@gmail.com or uditc@yahoo.com for a free coloured e-brochure in PDF format.

STATES ASKED TO FUND THEIR OWN POWER SUBSIDIES

In perhaps the first decision taken by our new power minister, Mr PM Sayeed, he deserves congratulations. Let us hope that there is no pressure to roll back this tough stand, asking States to provide subsidised power to farmers from their funds.

One hopes that this will see the end of the "drug regime" where cash subsidies, like wonder drugs are injected ostensibly into the food sector by bleeding another artery in the economy to reduce food costs. Such a regime rarely benefit few other than rich farmers, it leads to side effects, addictions and withdrawal symptoms, as we have seen in several States. Ironically, these "addicted" States happen to be large food-grain producers, enjoying the best of the irrigation, fertiliser and power policies.

Here is an excellent chance for innovation: Instead of viewing the farmer as an energy guzzler and food producer, the farmer should be seen as a fuel and compost supplier, to be given wheeling or energy credit against supplies of biomass.

In the food-grain sector, every 1.5 Kg of husk and 1 kg of most types of wood each result in delivery of 1 KwHr of electricity, when fed to gassifier-generators. Similiarly, the calorific values of most varieties in grass, twigs, leaves and plants have been well established as viable feedstock for biomass composting and gassification. Further, plenty of documentation is available to suggest that, in fertile lands as the grain-producing states have, as little as 3 to 5% of land holdings over 20 Acres set aside for 'energy plantation' can make these holdings self-sufficient in energy, by deploying the right equipment and techniques.

The MNES and its SNAs have done extensive work in promoting and developing biomass-based power projects, while IREDA and other bodies also provide international institutional funding for biomass-based power generation projects. As per MNES's 2002 figures, biomass accounted for 11% i.e. 381 MW out of 3513 MW totally generated from renewable sources - solar, wind and small hydro comprising the remainder. As for employement, biomass provides 1905 jobs out of 19985 jobs in the RE sector and these are slated to grow proportionately.

Additionally, India is the largest sugar cane producer while 60% of bagasse or spent cane is wasted. Its ability to yield economically attractive amounts of fuel gases is also well known. Some initiatives have already been taken in this direction. Bagasse-based power plants are coming up with public-private sector partnerships in several locations and MNES therefore projects a 28% share for biomass in 2012 including bagasse, at 3000 MW out of a total expected 10680 MW of power after adding waste-to-energy, solar, wind and small hydro based systems.

Likewise, vermiculture and other composting techniques for production of organic fertilisers are also very well documented and have been implemented on a reasonably widespread scale, though not intensively, for lack of a policy and administrative direction. Ill-effects of chemical fertilisers are being increasingly reported. While not promoting a mono-culture, a farmer may gain by using a mix of both types. Alternately, farmers can be alloted chemical fertilisers in exchange of compost supplied by them to a central or cooperative pool - or a higher level of energy credit for composted biomass.

Energy cooperatives are not a new concept, as experiments since the late 80s at Khandia Village in Baroda Distt in Gujarat under the aegis of GEDA and execution by Jyoti Ltd have shown. If the Power and Nonconventional Energy ministries join hands, say through the SEBs and SNAs in each state, farmers can avail of energy credit against all bio-wastes collected from them, which will incentivise them to produce more. The state administrations can aslo club together smaller holdings under a single command area. This way, energy cooperatives can be formed, possibly linked by the PDS infrastructure as well to distrubute and exchange produuce from one command area to another.

We have the capabilties for self-reliance in power, we have proven these in a number of scatterred ways and it is now time to consolidate these as the only way forward and make the Indian food sector a great power in itself.

Sincerely,
Udit Chaudhuri - Director
The microPower Initiative

MAXIMISE YOUR MILLIWATT
http://microPower.blogspot.com

6 Roop Kala, 128 West Avenue
Santacruz West, Mumbai 400 054
INDIA

Tel (+91-22)26045595; e-mail uditnc@gmail.com
http://unika.freehomepage.com

Renewables 2004

Please refer my earlier posted base document "Fusion of Positive Energies" drawing attention to the people's solidarity initiatives in renewable energy and India's critical role in it. Unfortunately, it seems that the Indian RE administrator and govt-controlled establishment of Nodal Agencies, etc are far too inward-looking and a perspective change is very essential.

The programme of Renewables 2004 is pasted below this message for your reference. It is a culmination of a global process of peoples support for RE and for developing countries to apply pressure on the developed world, which has been responsible for the GHG emissions, which has dumped inappropriate solutions at high cost and debt burden on the 3rd world.

I would appreciate the Indian media particularly the EPW taking this seriously and tracking this event, preferably with a issue focus after the ensuing summit and features at regular review intervals.

Beginning with JREC, followed by the CURES Declaration and now at this summit, the agenda will be now to put place a mechanism to assist, monitor and guide the incorporation of clean and effective RE technologies by the developed world for the benefit of the developing one.

India's RE experience has been a lesson to both the developing and developed world. As a proving ground and model in its 30 year old program going back to 1974-75, its present power generation levels at nearly 4000 MW from solar, wind, microhydel and biomass as well as its 2012 projection at 10680. India can play a technical experts' role to the entire developing world and stem the infusion of 'recycled' inefficient products and systems that cost the beneficiary industry dearly besides imposing a large debt burden, in the form of gigantic outdated windmills and hydro-turbines, high-power photovoltaics and inefficient (re-modelled marine) engine-driven generators re-adapted from their earlier dubious avatars.

Indian industry includes about 100 SSI units manufacturing solar-thermal absorber panels, water-heating systems for homes and industry, the hugely popular absorptive solar cookers, solar lanterns, biomass gassifier-generators, micro-hydro-electric generators and small-power windmills. These are over-shadowed by two giants promoted by influential local industrialists through JVs with Macs, in the form of Tata BP the world's largest solar products manufacturer and Suzlon among the top 5 wind-mill manufacturers. The public sector has a residual presence due to the earlier tight protection given to PSUs in photovoltaics.

The former industry has come up through in-house R&D, very limited Nodal Agency backed assistance and marketing, lot of local talent and risk-taker local entrepreneurs. Despite the original and appropriate products, the further assistance required through enhanced R&D facilities, access to more raw materials from overseas where needed and a better marketing infrastructure to upscale their production and cover larger populations, is being choked by our bureaucracy against the large packaged offers of ineffective over-priced equipment with finance. In many cases, these are sanctioned by ministries not related to the MNES. A lot of such situations would be redressed, as the CURES mechanism will require compliance to transparency and accountability norms.

The EPW can play a part here, as can the rest of the Indian media, by covering and highlighting these issues, not necessarily what I have written of them.

Regards
Udit Chaudhuri

MAXIMISE YOUR MILLIWATT
http://microPower.blogspot.com


renewables 2004


June 1 to 4, 2004

The International Conference for Renewable Energies, Bonn 2004 - renewables 2004 - will be held in Bonn, Germany, from June 1 to 4, 2004.

From June 1 to 4, 2004, Germany will host the International Conference for Renewable Energies, as announced by German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2002 in Johannesburg. renewables 2004 will lend further impetus to the dynamic process launched in Johannesburg for the global development of renewable energy. It will also take up and add to the momentum generated by the coalition of like-minded countries for promotion of renewable energy (known as the Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition, JREC).

Currently, conference participants are expected to address the following themes in particular:
Financing (instruments) and market development
Formation of enabling political framework conditions
Capacity building (education, research, networks, cooperation, etc.)
These will be treated in a country-specific context.


Additional information:
contact: International Conference for Renewable Energies, B
e_mail: info@renewables2004.de
internet: http://www.renewables2004.de

SPV In India

We in India have a 30 year old solar energy programme, which very much
includes SPV or solar photovoltaics. See www.mnes.nic.in,
www.greenpeaceindia.org and www.winrockindia.org for more information. About 55-60 MW of power is generated from SPV instalations all over India.
Critical lighting and communications are major applications, even though you
see these being used for applications like rail signalling, cathodic
protection of underground pipelines & vessels, geophysical/oilfield
instrumentation, etc. Very few civilian use installations exceed 100 Watts.

Production has reached 20 MW annually, between nine manufacturers. Yet,
considering a total renewable energy production of 3500 MW, SPV has a very
small share. Its high cost and poor conversion efficiency make it affordable
only where the cost of not having any power is greater than the cost of a
SPV system. Here too, wind and biomass provide better alternatives in cost
terms.

SPV is excellent for low-power-high-quality power in remote locations, esp.
where fuel is not available as in a desert, or where noise and cables are
not affordable for safety/security reasons, like military and mobile
installations.

Reliability is no major issue - plenty of information and tech resources are
available. While silver solder materials are locally availed and importable,
I have made panels using very crude processes in the 80s, which continue to
embarass me by their living presence! It is however critical to ensure that
silicon cells do not get exposed to oxygen, being highly reactive, from the
time they are unpacked. And here lies a difficulty in producing panels. The
controlled environment means a scale for economy.

Before Liberalisation of the 90s by the Narsimha Rao govt., no one outside
the public sector was even allowed to sell a development, let alone produce
anything photovoltaic, except at system level. This has since changed
radically.

Solar cells are largely imported while Mettur Industries manufactures
silicon and few companies like Udhaya Semiconductors Ltd, CEL, BHEL,
RES/Microsol etc 'cut' the silicon sheets into strips and fabrcate the solar
cells. Panels are also made by these companies. As for total systems, Tata
BP Solar is about the world's largest producer, with a turnover of Rs 200 Cr
as of 2001-02.

Hence, SPV in India is a mature and growing industry, with plenty of upward
scope.

Udit Chaudhuri uditnc@gmail.com