SASE scientists develop wind-powered energy system for cold deserts

Scientists of Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) have developed a wind-powered hybrid energy system for Nubra Valley near Siachen Glacier, which will help save over 33,000 litres of diesel a year. Scientists Neeraj Sharma, Jimmy Kansal and director Ashwagosha Ganju of SASE showed how wind energy could be used for an off-grid field location in Ladakh's cold desert, Nubra Valley. The paper was published in the International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology recently and was also presented during a workshop on 'Renewable Energy Systems for Mountainous Regions: Issues and Challenges' at Chandigarh on Friday. The location under study is a SASE field laboratory in Nubra Valley, at a remote place, which has no source of grid power. Presently, the electricity demand is met with diesel generators that consume 1.42 lakh litre of fuel every year. "Electricity generation by this method is very expensive due to ever increasing cost of diesel and transportation of fuel. So, we thought of exploring the wind energy option," said Jimmy Kansal. "The design of the system is sought to use wind energy in addition to the existing diesel generators to supply energy to the location," said Neeraj Sharma. The scientists used one-year power consumption data and wind energy resource and explored the potential of tapping the renewable resource available to bring down the diesel consumption at the site. From this data, the average daily, weekly and annual power requirements for the location under study are determined. The annual average wind speed at a height of 10m at the location is 10.12 m/s and the highest wind speed is available in July and lowest in January. The hybrid energy system will use ten 10KW wind turbines, one existing 82.5KVA diesel generator, 120 lead acid batteries, a 50KW converter and 37.5KW rectifier. "It is our pilot project. Looking at its success, we will implement such hybrid systems at other places as well," said Kansal. http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/chandigarh/sase-scientists-develop-wind-powered-energy-system-for-cold-deserts/article1-1184425.aspx