Smart grid to cut greenhouse gas emissions


BANGALORE (Feb. 22)— Energy Minister Shoba Karandlaje on Tuesday launched a two-day workshop on  the smart grid—a highly efficient method of delivering power using digital technology.
Experts from the Karnataka Electricity Board Engineers’ Association and French power company Schneider Electric (India) outlined the new concept of electric grid that will provide power to remote villages and cut greenhouse gas emissions by utilizing renewable resources.

 “What we are proposing is not only a transformation of the power grid, but also of what we think of as the power system,” said Dr. Rahul Tongla, principal research scientist at the quasi-governmental Central Power Research Institute (CPRI) in Bangalore.

Anil Katam of Schneider Electric (India) said that under the current system there is “generation of energy in one centralized point, we have a transmission company which transfers the power to the grid and a supply company will finally give power to the end user…the processes are no longer proactive and have become outdated.”

Anil said that in a smart grid power is distributed on the basis of necessity, and the system automatically cuts unnecessary power consumption in homes, which is advantageous for a power company because it allows it to provide energy for more homes and prevent frequent blackouts as well as saving energy.

“If, in the beginning, the power will still be produced by centralized power generation, in five years, with the help of the government, we aim to begin furnishing roof panels in such way that our customers also become producers of electricity.  This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the power grid,” Anil said.
“India has the capability to produce this technology and to reduce its price and in doing so can avoid buying photovoltaic panels from China, which is the world leader in this sector,” said N. Murugesan, general director of CPRI. “The first need is to implement the electric grid.”

Murugesan said no energy source—including solar power—produces zero carbon emissions, and that even green technology entails a cost for the environment.

“The improvement of [solar] technology will help in the long run, and this is green energy because carbon dioxide emission is negligible,” he said. “We actually don’t have any plan about how to dispose of the technology [old solar panels]. We’ll probably follow the example of other companies of Germany and France where special sections or other companies are dedicated to that skill.”

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