Community development and energy equality: Experiences from micro hydro implementation in a tribal settlement in India

Abstract

Rural development is one of the major focus in developing countries like India, since more than 70% of citizens live in rural village. Studies show that inequality in Energy access, often hindering the collective development initiatives in those villages. This paper describes the electrification project carried out in the village of Komalikudi, Idukki District, Kerala, India where 60 % of households were not connected to state power grid. As part of this study a detailed analysis of economic levels of the community and the requirements on education, healthcare, skill development, social business etc., has been developed. Based on these requirements, a feasibility study has been performed for different renewable energy options available in the locality. The study results based on resource availability, access to the area of deployment, availability of skilled workers, Energy awareness, and commitment are used to design a 5 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">K</sup> W hydro based generation and distribution system which energy equality and subsequently community development. A pilot deployment has been operational and reciprocating this novel innovative model to other 101 villages is ongoing with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.