3. INTRODUCTION
The electricity sector in India had an installed capacity of
232.164 GW as of November 2013,the world's fifth largest.
As of January 2012, the per capita total consumption in
India found to be 778 kWh.
India currently suffers from a major shortage of electricity
generation capacity, even though it is the world's fourth
largest energy consumer after United States, China and
Russia
72.18% of total population of India lives in more than
600,000 villages .
Around 60% of rural areas are electrified.
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4. ODANTHURAI- A MODAL VILLAGE
Situated in the southern state of Tamil Nadu
Population of around 8000 .
Chosen as the best panchayat in the country twice
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5.
Previously
energy supplied by Tamil Nadu
Electricity Board (TNEB),
a body of the state government
Odanthurai used to spend 60 %
of its public budget on power
Now
The local panchayat has a
diversified energy portfolio,
it owns 65 solar-powered streetlights,
a 9 KW biomass gasifier to pump
drinking water and a 350-KW
wind farm.
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6. uses around 50 % of the electric power
generated by the windmills and sells the
rest to the TNEB
Last year, that deal boosted the local
panchayat’s budget by the equivalent of $ 38,000.
To establish the wind farm, the panchayat took out a loan worth $
230,000, which is to be repaid in seven years. Once the loan is
repaid, the electricity bill will be nil.
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7. OBSTACLES
What worked for Odanthurai might not work for neighbouring
villages.
Erecting wind turbines may not be appropriate everywhere.
The cost of each solar streetlamp was the equivalent of $440.
Only with support from the state or central governments would
panchayats be able to install such lights.
With firewood prices on the rise, operating costs for biomass
gasifiers have been rising too. In Odanthurai, producing one
kilowatt now costs 140 % more than it did in 2003.
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8. SOLUTIONS / INITIATIVES
Some villages have access to rivers, water falls for mini and
micro hydro power plants
Most villages, of course, have some fallow land that could
be used for energy plantation.
need to thoroughly assess regional resources and
agricultural potential before embarking on biomass power
projects.
Animal dung, wastes from agriculture field, rice mill and
houses will reduce the dependency on firewood.
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9. ENERGY SURVEY- VILLAGE SULGAON(M.P.)
No. of families involved in the survey: 146
No. of members: 1296
No. of animals: 885
Total cultivable land (acres):764
Energy sources
Cowdung
Collection(tons/year)
2443.7
Kathi
Wood
Waste
1226.2
80.0
400.0
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10. And
The Most Important
"The success of our panchayat lies in the
transparency of its dealings. There is no
corruption at all. And there is no
discrimination in selecting beneficiaries,"
said Lingammal Shamugham, who has
been reelected as panchayat president..
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11. CONCLUSION
If India is to maintain its upward course, efforts to realise local
energy potential require support. Odanthurai’s success offers
a valuable lesson – one India can’t afford to ignore.
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To judge by recent trends, India will need to more than triple its power-generating capacity by theyear 2030 – from the current 130,000 MW to 400,000 MW. Tripling the energy output in twodecades is a daunting task by any account. And the actual need could be even greater, as theforecast assumes that energy-conservation plans will succeed and that energy-efficientequipment will be widely applied. More importantly, India’s dependence on fossil fuels isunsustainable, both at the national political level and the global environmental level.Coal remains the number one source of energy in India, but the domestic resources aredwindling. Moreover, the environmental dangers of coal exploitation are well established, andIndian power plants tend to use outdated equipment and are thus particularly harmful. Toreduce greenhouse-gas emissions – which is necessary to avoid the worst consequences ofclimate change – India will have to outgrow its dependence on coal.Oil and natural gas are the second and third most important sources of energy in India. Oil aloneaccounts for a third of India’s total energy production, and the use of natural gas is sharply onthe rise. India does not possess rich domestic oil and natural gas resources. Imports areexpensive. Moreover, they imply dependence on foreign countries.To power economic growth, therefore, India will need new approaches. In the long run,sustainable energy independence will only be possible thanks to renewable sources like the sun,the wind and biofuels.Solar power should become a cornerstone of reform. For any tropical country, it makes sense todevelop solar energy systems both for large-scale application in cities and for small, decentralisedrural requirements. Harnessing the wind and biomass will also be crucial.One
One virtue of solar and wind energy is their amenability to decentralised rural application.Odanthurai, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, offers proof of the potential. This community ofalmost a dozen villages has become a must-see for Indian officials interested in renewableenergy. In the span of six months, 2,000 panchayat chairpersons visited it. Panchayats are theelected local-government councils of villages and small towns.
