The Hindu Business Line : Soon, a table-top device to generate power anywhere

IMAGINE a table-top device meeting your domestic power needs at that farm house of your dreams built at a `back-of-beyond' place, but could never get `electrified' since the electricity company was simply refusing to provide a grid connection there.

This solution may soon come your way through a micro-turbine power generator. A high-speed small turbine engine similar to that of an aircraft, which can rotate at a speed of about 96,000 revolutions per minute and generate between 40 KW and 600 KW of power.

The device, which is a new concept in green power generation, can be mounted on a table and runs on compressed biogas (say cow dung) or solid waste.

Mr S.P. Gonchowdhury, Chief of West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency, said that this mode of power generation, if it takes off, would take care of the massive solid waste that is generated in the country while providing options for generation of cleaner power. However, the technology is not yet available in India. He also said that a demonstration project on micro-turbine generators is being planned in the State, using US technology.

"Such power projects would also qualify for `carbon credits' under the clean development mechanism (CDM) propagated under the Kyoto Protocol," sources said.

Under the CDM, saving the environment by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) brings what is described as carbon credits — which can be traded internationally — for getting funds for other projects. The country or the company buying these credit points can then set it off against GHG reduction norms set under the protocol.

However, the more immediate impact of generating power through such stand-alone routes would be in respect of providing electricity to far-flung areas (mostly in rural locations). These areas have only a remote chance of getting connected with the grid in the conventional mode since the State Electricity Boards or the private sector electricity companies do not find it economically viable to connect these areas with the main grid.

As a matter of fact, distributed generation (DG) by way of setting up small generating units based on a variety of local renewable energy sources has been identified as one of the more sustainable routes for providing reliable electricity to rural households in India. It is estimated that around 20,000 villages in India will never get connected with the main electricity grid.

The New Delhi-based The Energy Resources Institute is organising a two-day seminar to examine, among other things the extent to which DG can fill the demand-supply gap in rural electrification in off-grid areas.

It will also address issues relating to existing and emerging technological options. This session will look at fuel cells (futuristic technology involving hydrogen cells) and micro-turbines for power generation. The conference is being sponsored by the European Commission.

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