Mr. Omkar Buwa will present his APS as per the detail below:

Date: September 13, 2023

Time: 1100 - 1200 hrs.

Venue: CTARA Conference Room No.1

Guide: Prof. Anand B. Rao, Prof. Jayendran Venkateswaran

RPC Members: Prof. Satish Agnihotri, Prof. Albert Thomas

Title: Dynamic Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (D-LCSA) of Mini-grids

Abstract:

As per the ‘World Energy Outlook 2022’ projections, 660 million people worldwide (mostly from rural areas) will be without electricity access in 2030. There are three main approaches to rural electrification- centralised (also called utility, main or national) grid extension, mini-grids, and solar home systems (SHS) including pico-solar. Mini-grids have higher reliability (compared to the central grid due to local energy storage) and higher capacity to meet demand (compared to the SHS). Mini-grids are considered a promising solution in rural areas with electricity deficits. However, there have been failures of several mini-grid projects worldwide. There are various sustainability challenges faced by mini-grids: - technical, social, economic, environmental, and organisational. The past efforts to assess mini-grid sustainability have used cross-sectional studies (static approaches). The assessments are focused on the impact assessment of the project where the sustainability of the project may not be reflected. Consideration of dynamics in the mini-grids’ life cycle for sustainability assessment is an emerging research area and is being explored in this research work. The main objective is to show how the dynamics and the interdependency of different aspects related to the mini-grids can be considered for life cycle sustainability assessment. Complex environments, local operations, many interacting variables, and feedback processes characterise mini-grids. ‘System dynamics’ (SD) is a systems method suitable for describing behaviors of such systems and tackling relevant problems. In this report, the definition of a mini-grid and its sustainability is discussed in detail. The variables and indicators for the sustainability assessment are included. The causal loop diagram (CLD) with the feedback loops shows interrelationships among different variables. The field survey-related activities details (survey questionnaires, site selection, and some mini-grid details) are also included.