The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Generating electricity in the backyard

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Saturday, Oct 07, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Generating electricity in the backyard

Chitra V. Ramani

KREDL sets up two demonstration units to study feasibility

Bangalore: Would it not be ideal if each rural household generated the amount of electricity it needed? That way, our villages could be electrified and dependence on the national grid would decrease. This is just what Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd. (KREDL) is trying to achieve.

"The mechanism is age-old. Earlier, animals were used to extract oil. Now, we are replacing the mortar and pestle with a generator. With this mechanism, 2 kW of electricity can be generated in an hour," said B. Shivalingaiah, Managing Director of KREDL.

Mr. Shivalingaiah told The Hindu here on Tuesday that since the generator would not cost much, each rural household could set up a unit in its backyard. He said that KREDL had set up two demonstration units — one at the Mahatma Gandhi Integrated Rural Development Institute, Jakkur, and another at PES Engineering College, Mandya — to study the feasibility of introducing such a mechanism in rural areas.

Using Gobar gas

Another project on the anvil is the generation of electricity through animal waste. "This is nothing but the gobar gas technique. Instead of using methane gas that is generated for cooking purposes, we will use it to generate electricity," he said.

Mr. Shivalingaiah said that the U.S. was thinking of using animal waste to generate electricity through the thermal route, i.e. by burning it. "But once bio-waste is burnt, it loses its potential and cannot be used as manure," he said.

This project had many advantages for farmers, who could sell dung and buy the manure or sludge after the decomposition stage was completed. He said that the project could be taken up at the community level. "Gobar gas died out because of improper management. We plan to take it up in a phased and organised manner, so that the people in rural areas can draw full benefit out of it," he said.

Mr. Shivalingaiah said that 200 villages in Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Belgaum, Uttara Kannada, Chikmagalur and Dakshina Kannada districts had been identified for the project.

Project taken up

The project has presently been taken up in 20 villages and will likely be completed by December. "A list of 44 villages where the project can be implemented has been sent to the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources. After the list is verified by the Rural Electrification Commission, we will execute the project in those villages," he said.

It will cost Rs. 7 lakh to set up a 10 kW plant, which could supply electricity to about 100 households.

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