Solar Micro-grids

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Microgrid Solutions

Several rural communities reside in extremely remote off-grid locations where grid extension doesn’t appear to be a reliable long-term solution.
Accessing such regions at times necessitates journeys through challenging terrains that are often seasonally cut off.
People are denied regular basic lighting and cannot undertake productive activities that require electricity.
Gram Oorja’s microgrids are typically designed for larger loads that not only powers all basic facilities in the homes and the village, but also enable productive applications.

Our Solution & What Sets Us Apart

Decentralised micro-grids have proven to be the solution to this challenge in a variety of developing countries, delivering energy services to isolated rural communities more cost-efficiently than grid extension.

At Gram Oorja, we follow an integrated approach towards micro-grid projects that we have successfully implemented over 150 remote communities in India, along with 2 in Africa. This approach enables productive use technology and new enterprises along with all basic facilities in the house and village and engages heavily with local communities, resulting in greater economic sustainability and increased community impact.

Remote rural communities can have successful long-term access to energy if the right approach is established from the onset. Gram Oorja believes that sustainability of such projects could be largely ensured by following what is known as the “Circle of Sustainability”

Community Interaction & Design For Aspiration

We engage deeply with the community to help us understand their aspirations, ability to pay, and priorities for the use of energy, which we support. With our partner social organisation, we also help establish effective community governance mechanisms, like Village Energy Committees, which manage and maintain the micro-grid infrastructure after commissioning.

Community interaction is critical since both the producer and the consumers are based in the community. It also ensures that people take ownership of the project and is also critical for tariff discovery.

Beneficiary Contribution

A connection fee is paid upfront by each household, which is then deposited into the account of the Village Energy Committee. The collected sum eventually helps in bearing the cost of the first battery replacement.

Villagers also volunteer in the initial installation stage of the project. These steps ensure that the communities have a vested interest in the sustainability and management of the project.

Metering & Tariff Structure

A connection fee is paid upfront by each household, which is then deposited into the account of the Village Energy Committee. TheThrough intensive community interactions, a clear understanding of the community’s ability and willingness to pay metered bills is achieved. For our solar microgrid projects, each household is metered with the aim of discouraging wastage and promoting responsible usage. Reading and payment records are meticulously kept by an individual (elected by the community) from the community. collected sum eventually helps in bearing the cost of the first battery replacement.

Villagers also volunteer in the initial installation stage of the project. These steps ensure that the communities have a vested interest in the sustainability and management of the project.

Ownership Transfer

Importantly, the beneficiaries bear the maintenance cost over the project life-cycle, which in the cases of solar based micro-grids, could mean around 25 years. This enables one whole generation of the village community to enjoy the fruits of a one-time investment. Over the life cycle of the project, this could mean that the village bears around 60% of the overall cost.

The sustainability of these microgrids also depends on prompt and reliable service over their lifetime, helping increase these projects’ lifespan. Since this is the only source of electricity for the villages, we make it a point to provide the best possible service to all these remote sites after the commissioning.

Other Key Features Of Our Micro-grids Include

Installation and maintenance of only one central system is needed.
Stage-wise expansion is possible; Adjustments with respect to changing village requirements can be made.
High quality products that are time-tested and built to last are used, thus increasing the reliability of the system.
Productive applications like agri-processing machinery, pumps, and fridges for shops enable income generation.