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Decentralized sustainable energy planning of Tumkur district, India
Author(s) -
Hiremath Rahul B.,
Kumar Bimlesh,
Balachandra P.,
Ravindranath N.H.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
environmental progress and sustainable energy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.495
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1944-7450
pISSN - 1944-7442
DOI - 10.1002/ep.10467
Subject(s) - energy planning , work (physics) , biomass (ecology) , electricity , environmental economics , renewable energy , grid , electricity generation , scale (ratio) , sustainable development , business , environmental resource management , natural resource economics , agricultural engineering , environmental science , economics , power (physics) , engineering , mathematics , geography , ecology , physics , geometry , mechanical engineering , cartography , quantum mechanics , electrical engineering , biology
Present work shows the feasibility of decentralized energy options for the Tumkur district in India. Decentralized energy planning (DEP) involves scaling down energy planning to subnational or regional scales. The important aspect of the energy planning at decentralized level would be to prepare an area‐based DEP to meet energy needs and development of alternate energy sources at least‐cost to the economy and environment. The geographical coverage and scale reflects the level at which the analysis takes place, which is an important factor in determining the structure of models. In the present work, DEP modeling under different scenarios has been carried out for Tumkur district of India for the year 2020. DEP model is suitably scaled for obtaining the optimal mix of energy resources and technologies using a computer‐based goal programming technique. The rural areas of the Tumkur district have different energy needs. Results show that electricity needs can be met by biomass gasifier technology, using biomass feedstock produced by allocating only 12% of the wasteland in the district at 8 t/ha/yr of biomass productivity. Surplus electricity can be produced by adopting the option of biomass power generation from energy plantations. The surplus electricity generated can be supplied to the grid. The sustainable development scenario is a least cost scenario apart from promoting self‐reliance, local employment, and environmental benefits. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2011