CASE STUDY

on

DISTRIBUTED DECENTRALISED GENERATION BASED

BIOMASS GASIFIER SYSTEM

at

JAMERA (District Korba), Chhattisgarh

Submitted to

The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI)

New Delhi

December 2007
Introduction

Energy is a key driver to sustain an impressive economic growth of 9-10% in the country.
There is hardly any area where energy input is not required though in a varying measure.
So, it is quite important to ensure a sustainable flow of all forms of energy. That is not all;
as energy should also be used quite efficiently. Energy conservation is all the more
needed in the present day scenario. As of now, around 75-80% of our population lives in
the villages, where energy supplies are quite deficient in nature. As per census 2001,
nearly 44% of the rural households do not have any access to electricity. Out of these
some of the villages are situated in quite inhospitable terrains where taking grid power
would either be quite difficult or un-economical. Thus it leaves due scope for alternate
forms of energy to make their way into such remote rural areas.

Recently, the concept of rural electrification via Distributed Generation (DG) has come
as a boon for the rural areas. This is in tune with the Govt. of India’s initiative to provide
electricity to all by the year 2012. The key objective is to ensure an integrated
development of the villages accompanied by wholesome economic growth of the country.

Concept of Distributed Generation

There is a sizeable number of un-electrified villages in the country. Extending grid

power to such remote rural areas is a mix of technical, economic and social challenges.
A way forward is to consider the option of Distributed Generation (DG), which is now
deemed as a viable solution. The objective is to satisfy the bare minimum electricity
needs of the generally deprived sections of the civil society. It is generally believed that
the distributed generation can turn out to be more efficient, reliable and clean in contrast
to the grid power. However, the sustainability of energy supply may still be dependent on
the following few factors:
• fuel availability (at the site)
• appropriateness of the technology chosen
• trouble free operation of the system
• project management issues

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There is no ownership issue associated with the delivery of grid power at an individual’s
level. However, same is not the case with the DG mode of power generation. The State
utilities i.e. the State Electricity Boards (SEB’s) are certainly not geared up to take this
emerging power supply arrangement in their fold for one reason or the other. Perhaps the
best possible option under the existing circumstances is to hand over the overall control
of the DG based power generation systems to the Village community itself.

The present Case Study takes a close look at the holistic transformation of a tribal village
in the Jamera village of Pali tehsil in district Korba of Chhattisgarh after having been
adopted under the DG power supply mode.

Origin of the Study

Providing electricity to the rural areas is high on the priority of the Central government.
The Ministry of Power (MOP) has put in place a mission known as REST, which stands
for Rural Electrification Supply Technology Mission. Primary purpose of this mission is
to speed up the electrification of all villages progressively by the year 2012 via use of
renewable energy sources and similar other decentralized technologies. Accordingly,
MOP made a specific request to National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to get
involved in the above mentioned programme for rural electrification. The essence being
to set up De-centralised Distributed Generation (DDG) projects based on renewable
energy technologies like biomass and solar etc.

NTPC has one of its major power plants in district Korba of Chhattisgarh under the name
of Korba Super Thermal Power Station. There are quite a few villages in the Korba
district awaiting grid power connection since long. With this in view, NTPC put forth a
specific request to the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) to undertake the techno-
economic viability with a ready objective to identify the most suitable village (s) for the
purpose of setting up a DDG project in those remote rural surroundings.

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Site Selection

The thermal power major i.e. National Thermal Power Corporation consolidated the list
of un-electrified villages in the district Korba of Chhattisgarh state with an active support
from the Ministry of Power. Following which, preliminary survey was carried out in the
following few villages coming under the jurisdiction of the Korba district:
• Khirti
• Kandi
• Uchalenga
• Arisiya
• Jemara
• Bagdara
• Bela

A well structured questionnaire was framed for each of these villages to collect the
primary information. The study was based on an end use approach within which the
existing energy use patterns as well as the projected demands of the individual village
were evaluated. Accordingly, the collected data was thoroughly analysed to evolve a
suitable design plan for village electrification. Due consideration was accorded to the
local needs and there from to the demand and supply requirements of energy use in those
areas. The participatory approach of managing the intended facility was given a proper
recognition. In totality, the following few parameters were focused in the first instance
through closely held discussions with the individual rural groups:
• technical feasibility (of the energy options)
• initial readiness to pay for better mode of lighting (traditional oil lamps in use)
• overall sustainability (of the intended project)

The village surveys thus carried out led to the preparation of pre-feasibility reports.
Following which, NTPC and TERI jointly shortlisted Jamera a non-descript village in the
Pali tehsil of Korba district to have the very first Distributed Generation (DG) power
system. Figure 1 shows the schematic layout of Jamera.

3
TERI’s Participation
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) based at New Delhi revisited Jemara village
during the second week of November 2003. The sum total objective was to carry out a
detailed assessment of the following few important parameters:
• load requirement (s)
• available local energy resources
• willingness to pay
• project implementation structure

Accordingly, a Detailed Project Report (DPR) was prepared by (TERI) for NTPC, the
key outcome of which is detailed in the following section.

Site accessibility
Jemara is a picturesque village amidst a dense forest area. The village is accessible from
Pali via a 25 kms. long, rough and narrow hilly road. It is at a distance of around 70 kms.
from the NTPC power plant location at Korba. The TERI team had to wind its journey of
about 1500 kms. from New Delhi to Bilaspur by train with important stations like Jhansi,
Bhopal and Raipur falling enroute. From Bilaspur to the site, it meant traversing another
84 kms. by a jeepable taxi. On this route stands a widely frequented ancient temple of
Hindu pilgrimage. Jamera is spread over 6 closely spaced hamlets and is a predominantly
tribal dominated community. There are around 100 households at this site
accommodating nearly 617 people of all age groups.

Weather characteristics
Jamera enjoys dry to moist tropical climate with clear summer months lasting between
April to June. The rainy season sets in during July to September with winter months
slated for November to February. The maximum temperature is about 480C in May with
it being minimum at 70C in December. Average rainfall is around 1265 mm. On the
whole, the site is accessible for most part of the year, though somewhat vulnerable to the
flood like situation during the rainy season.

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Literacy rate
The literacy rate in Jamera is a dismal 18.63% with just about 30 children making it to
the primary education level at present.

Occupation
More than 90% of the village community is engaged in the area of agriculture for its
basic sustenance. Some of the villagers also work on the construction sites of Panchayat,
PWD and Forest department. There is just one person in the government employment
worth the name and another one works for a village cooperative.

Infrastructure availability
Jamera does not score too low on the infrastructural availability considering the fact that
it is a remotely located village. There is a primary school, panchayat bhawan, anganwadi
Kendra, Cooperative, ration shop besides a kerosene oil depot. However, the nearest
primary health centre is a good 16 km away in Lafa village. As far as a wholesome
market is concerned, it is at Pali. There is no dedicated bus facility for the residents of
Jamera, with just jeep transport being available for Pali twice a day.

Agriculture produce
This village is quite deficient in terms of irrigation facilities, which results in low
productivity of around 5 quintals per acre. Major crops grown here are paddy, maize,
arhar with few vegetables being grown for local consumption only.

Types of fuel in use

Jamera happens to be no different from a village elsewhere in the country. Every
household in the village uses firewood and kerosene oil for cooking and lighting purposes.
Wood is not a restricted commodity here being available in a large quantity from the
neighbouring forest. Key tree species found here include saal, saja, dhaura etc. The
average daily consumption for firewood is about 6.75 kg/day/household facilitating
cooking of meals (mainly rice) twice a day. The average monthly consumption of
kerosene oil totaled 4.25 liters per family per month. The oil wick lamps were quite
visible at this location before in addition to limited use of firewood flame for lighting.

5
Choice of Technology

The Jamera village was extensively surveyed to arrive at the best possible technology
option for basic electrification. Biogas based power plant was ruled out both on the basis
of degree of difficulty in collecting the dung as well as the non-uniform distribution of
cattle (often put for sale) amongst the community. There is a good sunshine (5.4
kWh/m2/day) at the site, which would have made it an ideal choice for the use of a solar
PV based village powers system. However, its high initial capital cost swung the balance
in the favour of a biomass energy based power system commonly known as a biomass
gasifier.

Accordingly, biomass gasifier technology was deemed as a best possible alternative for
this village having a forest cover of nearly 5247.7 ha. There is a grazing land totaling
around 124.7 ha, which has been encroached upon by the villagers for agricultural
purposes. Jamera has an annual surplus availability of woody biomass in the range of
3567.46 tonnes enough to keep a biomass gasifier system of 10 kWe going on for a daily
operation of 4-6 hours. The dry and fallen wood is found year round excepting during
the rainy season.

However, to run the system on a long-term basis, unanimity was reached with the
villagers to use 5 acres of village forest. The local forest department agreed to develop
this forest for supply of fuel wood by a massive plantation drive. TERI agreed to bear the
entire cost of tree plantation guided by its own initiative.

The biomass gasifier technology

Biomass gasification is a process of converting solid biomass fuel (like wood) into a
combustible gas. It is commonly known as the producer gas, which results due to a series
of thermo-chemical reactions. The gas is a low heating value fuel, with a calorific value
of 1000-1200 kcal/Nm3. Nearly 2.5-3.0 Nm3 of gas can be derived via the gasification of
about 1 kg. of air-dried biomass. It can then be used in an energy-efficient manner with a
fairly good control mechanism to meet thermal energy demands in ovens/burners, boilers
or kilns etc. However, the gas can be cooled, cleaned and fed to an engine to operate

6
either on dual fuel or in a 100% producer gas mode to produce some useful electricity.
The biomass gasifier with 100% producer gas engine is a proven and eco-friendly
technology and thus carbon neutral. Further, the ash content of biomass as wood blocks
(5 cm cube) is less than 0.5 %. It is also possible to use the unburnt charcoal taken out
from the gasifier for any commercial purpose.

National programme on biomass gasifiers

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is implementing a National
Biomass Gasifier Programme for mechanical, electrical, thermal heating applications and
village electrification since mid nineties. Various types of financial incentives are
available for installation of gasifier systems under this programme. Biomass gasifiers in
the capacity range of 5 kW to 1 MWe electric capacity have been developed indigenously
and are being manufactured by around 15 manufacturers in the country.

The systems being proposed for village electrification applications are based on 100%
producer gas, which is a recent technological development. The biomass gasification
systems can be used for a diverse range of applications in the rural areas. Apart from use
as a cooking fuel and for electricity generation, the gas can be used for heating
applications in village industries.

The estimated cost of village electrification projects with biomass gasification systems is
about Rs. 50,000/- to Rs. 80,000/- per kWe in capacity range of 5 KW to 50 KW
including the cost of land, civil works, distribution lines etc. Biomass Gasifiers in India
are being made in capacities ranging from a few kWs to MW. Table 1 shows the growth
pattern of various biomass technologies.

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Table 1: Status of biopower from different technological routes in India
Technology Estimated Installed Growth Capacity Growth Rate
Potential Capacity as Rate Installed in 2005-06
on December, in 2005-06
2006
Bio Power 52000 MW 500 MW 36% 87 MW 30%
(Woody Biomass)
Biomass Gasifiers 16000 MW 76 MW 13% 6 MW 9%

Bagasse Cogeneration 5000 MW 708 MW 22% 54 MW 12%

Energy Recovery from 5000 MW 46 MW 28% 0b 0%

Waste
Biogas Plants 3.9 million 4% 0.02 1%
million

TERI-a front runner in biomass gasifier technology

Small capacity (10-20 kWe) biomass gasifier systems are ideally suited to provide remote
rural electrification at an affordable cost. TERI has developed a 100% producer gas
engine with good field performance reliability. Figure 2 shows a pictorial representation
of such a system. In an effort to spread their use, it has so far commissioned four systems
in the states of Chattisgarh, Orissa and Rajsthan. A few more systems are currently in the
different stages of installation under the ambit of Village Energy Security Programme
(VESP) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the recently
envisaged renewable energy charter of NTPC.

It was on February 13, 2004 that TERI teamed up with NTPC to set up a 10 kWe biomass
gasifier system for electrification of Jemara village. Thus Chhattisgarh got its very first
biomass based power system, which is running satisfactorily excepting for just a few
brief spells of shutdown. A unique feature of the project set up here is the creation of a
village-level cooperative society by the all powerful name of Mahamaya Urja Utpadan
Sahkari Samiti, Jemara.

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System capacity
There are around 100 households availing the benefit of biomass based lighting. Two
light bulbs of 40 W each are being used for indoor lighting in each household. These
lights remain operational for about 4 hours (6-10 p.m.) on a daily basis. Five nos. of street
lights also lit up a few vital entry and exit points within the village at night. Such lights
also stay on for about 4 hours daily. The plant capacity is around 8.20 kWe as per the
following breakup:
Number of households 100
Total domestic lighting load (@ 80 W per household) 8.0 kW
Street lighting loads 5 No.s (40 W each) 0.2 kW
Total connected load 8.20 kWe

The system capacity was scaled up to 10 kWe taking into account the near-term
electricity demand as also the associated technical losses etc. A well performing producer
gas engine offers a distinct cost advantage at Jamera, since it does not use diesel.
However what is really needed is an assured supply of biomass.

Table 2 gives a bird’s eye view of Jemara village from several important considerations:

General

Name of the Village Jemara, Pali Block, Korba district, Chhattisgarh

State
Distance from the nearest road- 23 kms.
head
Distance from block office 23 km.
Distance from electrical sub- 23 km.
station/11 kV line
Distance from nearest 70 km.
powerhouse
Total number of households 100
Total population 617
Number of hamlets/dalit bastis 06
Community facilities available Primary school, primary health centre, Panchayat
Bhawan, Anganbari Kendra
Commercial establishments Ration shop, Kerosene oil shop
Primary Occupation Agriculture
Important crops Maize, Paddy, Arhar

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Technical-Electric Demand

Total Household load 8.0 Kw

Total Street lighting load 0.32 kW
Commercial load (proposed) 7.5 kW ( 7.5 hp rice huller+ battery
charging)
Industrial load Nil
Community load Nil
Daily hours of use (lighting) 4 hours
Daily hours of use (commercial load)- 2 hours
proposed
Technology option considered Biomass gasifier (with 100 % Producer gas
engine)
Installed System capacity 10 kW

Management of Funds

Total project Rs. 2.5 lacs -Detailed Project Report

cost Rs.- ?
(on equipment cost, civil work, distribution network, social
engineering and Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC)
Total Cost-Rs. ?
Sources of Central Financial Assistance: Rs.
financing State Share
Central Share
Other sources
Revenue Rs. 250 initial charges
generation Rs. 25 per lighting point per month

Raw feedstock availability

The wood collected for the purpose contains nearly 25-30% of moisture. It is removed
prior to being loaded in the biomass gasifier system through a sun drying system. Total
quantity of firewood used per day is around 60 kgs. to ensure 4 hours of daily operation.
Specific fuel consumption is nearly 1.5 kgs of wood per unit of electricity generated at
the site. Buffer stock of woody biomass is maintained for about 4-7 days at a time in a
specially created shed at a distance of just 0.5 km. from the plant location. Wood is
moved from that point to the system via a trolley mounted arrangement.

10
Operation of TERI supplied biomass gasifier system
The system was transported to the site by TERI in a fully dis-assembled form. Once it
reached the site, TERI staff took just about 15 days to assemble it with a high degree of
precision. Nearly a week or so was spent on installation and commissioning of the plant.
A 3-feet boundary wall incorporating a wire mesh was found to be unsuitable for
preventing the rainwater seepage. As a remedial measure, a thick shield was erected.

A wood cutting machine is available at the site, which cuts it to a uniform size of about
2x2 inches. It is then fed to the hopper of the gasifier via a door opening arrangement.
The opening and closing of the door is carried out by using a manually operated chain
pulley device. The reactor gets the air and solid fuel and changes them into a gaseous fuel
known as the Producer gas.via a partial combustion process.

Gas thus obtained is drawn below the grate and made to pass through the cleaning system.
The hot combustible gas coming out of the gasifier is filled with impurities like dust
particles and tar, which are drained out in the cleaning train. Following which, the
cooling and cleaning train cools as well as cleans the gas upto the prescribed standard.
Finally, the clean combustible gas at around ambient temperature is available for
operating the gas-generator set. The system is being used throughout the year excepting
for any brief periods of malfunctioning. Nearly an hour or so is spent every evening to
stabilize the operation of the power producing system.

Key attributes of the gasifier system at Jamera

• Upto 15 % moisture in the woody biomass (feedstock) is being tolerated by the

existing system

• Wood pieces of 2 inches x 2 inches avoid the bridging problem thus leading to a
smooth operational flow

• A rod is kept in place to shake wood prior to final loading

• Charcoal is present for quick ignition

• Sufficient water level is maintained

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 • A polypropylene filter is being used

• Blower paddle is in use at the time of ignition

• Proper venting arrangement is in place to increase the temperature of fire box for
gas production

• Flame is visible to know the presence of producer gas. Any change in the colour
of the flame points to presence of impurities

• Tar content is significantly reduced

• Gas finally passes through the paper filter before it is inside the engine

• A cutoff fuse is present as a safety measure

Initially, a diesel engine was being used to fire the blower. This practice was discontinued
after a year or so mainly to bring down the system maintenance cost.

Major problems witnessed

These type of power producing units have just been around for a limited period of time.
So, there is not enough field demonstration experience available, which leaves a definite
room for system improvement especially vis-à-vis the following few parameters:
• uniformity in size (2x2 inches) of the woody biomass fed to the system is not
always maintained, which leads to one problem or the other

• cleaning system still needs a fair amount of change to make the operation more
clean

• system assembly and standardization procedures are not adequately documented

for an easy understanding during the troubleshooting stages in particular

System breakdown

This village community based system has functioned more or less satisfactorily since the
time of its installation excepting for some brief spells of troubled operation. The change
of filters during those times accompanied by a through cleaning of the system restored
the system operation to normal. Spares availability at the site was found to be up to the

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mark. Table 3 gives the actual performance status of the biomass gasifier system at
Jamera during the period January 2005 to May 2006.

Period Total hours of operation Total hours of operation

(as observed) (as desired @ 4 hours/day)

May 2006 120 124

April 2006 73 120
March 2006 86 124
February 2006 83 112
January 2006 73 124
December 2005 109 120
January 2005 79 124

It is clear from above that the system did not perform for almost half of the stipulated
time in the months of January and April 2006. While as, it worked remarkably well in the
month of May 2006 recording just % of down time. There are a variety of reasons due
to which the plant failed to provide lighting for the desired duration of 4 hours per day. In
fact, some of the most common reasons visualized at the site are given in Table 4:

Problematic issue % Contribution

Engine related 12
Social (related to collection) 9
Distribution network related 3
Non-availability of fuel wood (due to excessive rains at the site) 1
Non-availability of the Operator ?(at the site) 1

Clearly, the engine specific operation has been the most problematic in comparison to the
remaining issues followed up closely by social issues.

Project performance indicators

Jamera has suddenly transitioned from being a sleepy village to that buzzing with full
scale activity during the evenings. Prior to the installation of the system here, the
evenings used to be quite dull and boring. Community interaction of a desired measure is
now quite visible due to presence of both the indoor and outdoor lighting systems. The
school going students now enjoy reading under the bright light. The drudgery of tribal

13
housewives earlier cooking under the dimly lit smoky oil lamps is finally over. That is
not all, as they need not take to cooking soon after returning from a tiring day’s work
outside their homes. Street lighting has now made the corner side gatherings more
happening, as a good number of village youth in particular like to spend their evening
hours discussing everything under the sun. However, there is a limited spread of such
lights within the village, which means any emergency visit outside the immediate
periphery of the village is incomplete without carrying an oil wick lamp. This still means
a dependence of the villagers on the kerosene oil.

System operation
The system is rated at 10 kWe of power and has been functioning at the site since
February 13, 2005. It is switched on by the operator at about 5 p.m. daily for initialization
purposes. The supply of power to the village community begins from 6 p.m. every
evening. Power is normally switched off at around 10 p.m. excepting when it is needed
for some social gatherings within this closely knit village. The system operator adheres
strictly to the switching ON and OFF operations on a daily basis. Figure 3 showcases the
illuminated areas of the village during the evening hours

Site Management
The day to day care of the system is being taken by the two operators specially trained for
the purpose. However, supervisory control is with the Village Energy Committee (VEC)
namely Mahamaya Urja Utpadan Sahakari Samiti. This society was registered and
brought into the forefront during the implementation stages of the project itself. It
comprises of about 7-8 members from the user community itself. Incidentally, the
committee seems to wield little or no influence at all over those members, who refuse to
either pay up or cooperate with the smooth functioning of this distributed generation
facility.

The committee is duly entrusted with the collection of monthly electricity charges from
the user community. The money stands deposited in a VEC account, which is used to pay
monthly emoluments to the operators apart from meeting the day to day maintenance

14
expenses. An exclusive account in the name of VEC was opened at the District
Cooperative bank at Pali.

The VEC meeting is held at regular intervals to take stock of all matters related to overall
sustainability of the plant from a variety of end use considerations. One of the very
important initiatives has been the energy plantation in a 5 acre forest land in Jemara
village so as to ensure a regular supply of the raw feedstock material i.e. biomass for the
plant operation as well for ecological balance.

System maintenance

The Village Energy Committee (VEC) nominated two unemployed boys from the
community itself. There were given practical training by TERI in assembly, testing and
routine maintenance of the biomass power system. The operators specially trained for the
purpose were found to be equipped with proper skills to ensure a proper upkeep of the
system. Any problems with regard to the system operation are properly recorded by these
operators in a notebook specially maintained for the purpose. Majority of the routinely
occurring problems are redressed at the site itself without any external support.

However, in case of any further malfunctioning of the system beyond the operators
ability, the skills of TERI resource person namely Mr. Vishnu Sharma come handy. He is
able to resolve such problems to the best possible extent. The types of commonly
observed problems relate to the tar specific choking, which needs cleaning. The end users
too face some problems though not frequently, which are immediately reported to the
operators at the site. In practice, most of the complaints made note of at the site are
satisfactorily attended to during the day.

As per the agreement arrived at between NTPC and TERI, the monthly salaries for two
operators along with the supervisor were met by TERI for a period of two years. Lately,
NTPC has awarded a 3-year plant maintenance contract to TERI, which is going to last
uptill 2010. In turn, TERI has given an engine specific Annual Maintenance Contract
(AMC) to a local company. Its technicians rectify the defects within no time as and when

15
these happen thus ensuring a reasonably good field performance reliability of the biomass
gasifier system as a whole.

.Project financing

Various schemes of the Government are available to fund the entire cost of village based
electrification projects. The biomass gasifier facility at Jamera has matured due to total
fund availability from the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). The key
components on which such funds have been utilized are as under:
• formulation of Detailed Project Report (DPR)

• civil works

• plant equipment & auxiliary systems

• transmission and distribution (T&D) network (house wiring included)

• annual maintenance contract (AMC) for a period of 5 years

• energy plantation (paid by TERI ) to ensure un-interrupted biomass supply

• payment of insurance premium for plant machinery to cover natural calamity and
fire (after 5 years)

• professional charges of a consultant engaged for social engineering (during the

stages of project implementation)

• project management

Electricity Charges
Prior to the installation of a DG biomass gasifier system at the site, an average village
household used to spend a princely sum of Rs. 30 on buying of kerosene. It served to
light up the oil based lamps during the evenings. Taking this into account, a monthly sum
of Rs. 30 was fixed as the electricity consumption charges for availing of the domestic
lighting facility. However, this sum was later reduced to just Rs. 25/ after due
deliberations between the VEC and village community.

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Operation and maintenance expenses
A feature unique to this type of system in Jamera is that Operation and Maintenance
(O&M) expenses are to met out of the monthly collections by VEC. This makes the
community responsible for a proper upkeep of the system at least in terms of avoiding its
misuse in any manner. Here too, a fixed amount has been specially provisioned to take
care of the monthly average maintenance expenditure. This amount is a small part of the
revenue collected month after month from the end users.

Revenue generation
It has not been possible to set up an income generating facility at Jamera so far. Though
in the initial stages of the project, some thought had been accorded to setting up a few
small scale units directed at income generation for the village community as a whole. As
of now, there is no commercial activity present at the site, which is facilitated by the
power delivered from the biomass energy route. These could normally have been in the
form of a flour mill, rice mill or an oil deriving unit etc.

The preliminary idea of obtaining bio-fuel for income supplementation purpose in the
form of multi-purpose energy plantations has failed to take off for one reason or the other.
Needless to say, the financial model in operation at Jamera does not rely on any return on
investment for want of any solid resources with the village community.

Payment terms

The beneficiaries of two lighting points in each household shell out Rs. 25 on a monthly
basis. Around 75% of them show their readiness to pay such charges on time. However,
there is no denial of lighting facility to those defaulting month after month or in limited
periods in-between. The operator and resource person are generally responsible for the
monthly collection of electricity charges. Users have paid a one time deposit of Rs. 250
to get a lighting connection in their modest dwellings. Following two options are in
operation at the site
• Pay less and get more wood
• Pay more and get no wood

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Revenue collection
Around 79 connections existed in the month of February 2005, which dropped to mere 71
by June 2005 An amount of Rs. 6575 was collected in lieu of the first installment of one
time project contribution @ Rs. 125 per household from 53 consumers. Additionally, a
sum of Rs. 3425 was collected towards the second installment of one time project
contribution @ Rs. 125 per household from 28 consumers.

Capacity building and training

TERI extended its role in the present project beyond the customary role of an equipment
supplier. It put in place a set of administrative guidelines to ensure a smooth run of the
project. Jemara being as it is located distantly; it was all the more necessary to impart
desired set of skills and training to the members of the village community itself. VEC
recommended the names of two unemployed youth from Jemara, who were given
extensive hands on training supplemented by the classroom training too on diverse
aspects of plant operation and importantly, routine maintenance. In fact, these operators
were co-opted into the installation cum commissioning phase of the system. In all, TERI
team organized about six training programmes vis-à-vis the following few aspects for an
immediate benefit of consumers as well as the VEC members:
• accounting & book keeping

• management system

• safe practices in electricity use

• banking transactions

• sheer importance of income generating activities at the site

Scope assessment for income generating activities at Jemara

NTPC has lived up to its social responsibility charter by illuminating the otherwise
desolate surroundings of a village like Jemara. However, that alone does not seem to be
enough when making a fair assessment of this novel concept. The genesis lies in the fact
that almost all the beneficiaries of such a facility are poverty ridden and need some

18
supplementary source of income. Having so is bound to give them a high sense of
belonging with the power system put up for them. Taking a cue from this growing
realization, TERI team has identified the below mentioned set of activities (in
coordination with the villagers) with a definite scope of income generation for the village
community as a whole.

Oil expeller

Inhabitants of Jamera village are somewhat lucky to find mahua seed in the adjoining
forest. It is rich in edible oil content, which is derived manually. Women in particular are
engaged in this activity. Any excess quantity of this oil is put up for sale in the nearby
market. Nothing wrong in that excepting for the low productivity of oil from the seed.
The gains can be manifold by extracting the oil via an oil expeller in return for a small
amount. Additional advantage could be by way of reducing the physical drudgery for the
village womenfolk and raising of some nominal income for the gasifier plant

Making of leaf cup (dhona patha)

There is nothing unusual in collecting the fallen leaves from a forest area. However,
when the same leaves are a saleable commodity, a proper marketing approach is needed.
At the moment, the villagers make leaf cups by hand for an open market sale. Here too,
women undertake this activity partially supported by the young children. The volume of
cups turned up this way is small, which can surely be enhanced many times by a machine
based operation. The objective is to engage the services of the biomass gasifier based
plant operator for large scale cup making on payment of nominal charges. The charges
payable vis-à-vis the oil seed extraction and cup making may be decided in consultation
with the Village Energy Committee or VEC.

The above said activities if, initiated could lead to a long term sustainability of distributed
generation based power systems like a biomass gasifier system in the present case.

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The Business Model for Jamera system

It is quite apt to enunciate a properly functional business model for this specific mode of
power generation, which can translate into significant gains for all possible stakeholders.
Following three of models make good business sense:
• technical
• financial
• social
Technical Model
Seemingly, it is the most vital component of a decentralized distributed generation
system. Any inexactness in devising a site specific technical model can lead to plethora
of operational problems. In the present case, a properly formulated technical model was
put into action, the immediate consequence of which is a smoothly functioning biomass
power system at Jamera. Following few are the key linkages of a successful technical
model:
identification of village (s)
feasibility study
choice of technology
constitution of a VEC
land allocation by VEC
award of annual maintenance contract
raising dedicated plantation
upgradation of technology
Social Model
The empowerment of the village community is quite crucial to an overall success of a
power system like at Jamera. It instills in them a sense of purpose and belonging to care
for the system upkeep in no uncertain terms. Of special significance is the role
intended/played by a designated body better known as the Village Energy Committee
(VEC). VEC is as good as a cooperative society and exercises control over the following
few parameters of immediate relevance to the community and system operation as a
whole:
• monthly electricity charges

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 • initial contribution from the beneficiaries

• fuel supply arrangement

• security of the plant

Following few are the major linkages of a social model, which transforms a technical
model into a feasible power solution alternative for the remote rural areas of the country:
collective decision making (resting with the village community)
overall charge of the system with the VEC
Social engineering (via a qualified professional)
Capacity building of the VEC
Scope for income generation activities
Monetary contributions by the end users
Checks and balances
Funding Model
Jemara is a example of peoples’ participation of a different kind. They are quite receptive
to the idea of continuing with the system use for extended durations, but plead
helplessness to pool together any substantial resources either for system purchase or any
capacity augmentation as such. In this case, the capital costs have been entirely funded
via GOI grants as available under various schemes. The running cost for the Operation
and Maintenance (O&M) is being met by the Village Energy Committee (VEC) and a
monthly payable electricity charge of Rs. 25 is being collected per household in this
village. It is near equal to the amount spent by each family on the purchase of kerosene
oil for lighting purpose. The self sustainability of a financial model rests on the need to
create a commercial entity alongside. However, it has not largely happened in the case of
Jamera. The principal linkages associated with such a model are given as under:
• capital cost via grant

• operation and maintenance cost by VEC

• payment of bare minimum monthly electricity charges

• provision of penalties (for any defaulters)

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 • income generating activities

Segmentation of Project Cost

The biomass gasifier system installed at Jamera comes much cheaper in comparison to
the solar PV system for example. An indicative breakup of the project cost is tabulated
below:

Detailed Project Report

Cost of Equipment
Distribution Network
Civil Works
Project Management cost (for 5 years)
AMC (for 5 years)
Social Engineering

Key benefits of the DG system at Jemara

The inhabitants of Jemara village are visibly happy with the change the biomass energy
based lighting has brought forward in their day to day lives. Simultaneously though, they
also admit that they could have very well lived without electricity as before. This is
mainly due to the fact that a tribal community of this kind finds itself in close harmony
with nature and thus far removed from the impact that electricity otherwise generates
elsewhere.

However, a small percentage of people openly seemed to disagree with their contention.
The fact is that Jemara is gradually going through the transformation phase and soon
enough they would ask for additional supply of power. Few most important benefits that
have accrued to the community as a whole are given as under:
• power availability for indoor lighting, street lighting and community lighting

• extended daily schedule with evening activity having picked up

• organisation of community functions like marriages and religious gatherings

under the beaming light bulbs in the evenings

• reduced use of kerosene oil leading to less pollution and diminished threat of fire
etc.

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In essence, Jamera has gained prominence amongst the several clusters of villages around
it. A positive fallout of this has been the painstaking initiative of the local authorities,
who constructed a pucca road from Pali to Jamera thus leading to its extended outreach.
However, a few more initiatives that are yet to see the light of the day are as follows:

• Change of diesel engine driven rice huller into an electrically operated engine
with obvious savings for the villagers

• Installation of an oil expeller as an income generating mechanism

• Handing over of two desktop computers to the Village Energy Committee for
creating a business hub-mainly to know the best attainable prices for the
agriculture produce of the villagers

Adequacy of lighting needs

Most of the households in Jamera feel satisfied with the number of indoor lighting points
at present. However, there is more need felt for having an additional number of
streetlights. There is no demand on the part of village community for running fans etc.
The thatched roofs on the mud houses provide the desired cooling effect during the hot
days of summer. Indeed a time tested traditional building architecture with no use of
electricity for heating or cooling needs.

Summary observations & results

Routine activities

users pay a monthly amount of Rs.25 only in lieu of the electricity supplied to
them each month

operators are being paid a sum of Rs. 900 each as monthly remuneration by
VEC from revenue collected for the purpose

VEC has collected full one time connection charges of Rs. 250 as on
31.3.2006

VEC has engaged a locally available tractor-trolley @ Rs. 250 per trip per
month to collect about 25 quintals of fuel wood owing to reluctance of
consumers to fetch wood individually (as kind)

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 user community has expressed the need for a second connection

Operation and maintenance

system is being run for about 4 hours on a daily basis
operators log in the system operation in a notebook kept for the purpose
annual maintenance contract (AMC) awarded to m/s pawan automobiles at Pali

Few most recent developments

the rice huller owned by a member from village community was recently
retrofitted with electrical motor given on a rental and returnable basis

the state nodal agency i.e. chhattisgarh renewable energy development agency
(CREDA) has approved a financial outlay of Rs. 2.5 lakhs to set up one oil
expeller of 50kl/hr capacity at Jamera

near to medium term provision is being made for setting up one dona patta
making machine to switch from the existing manual operation to machine based

The path forward

The impact assessment studies carried out at Jamera brings out a clear need for initiating
a few more steps (as given below) to make system installation of this kind more
beneficial for the village community at large:

• system should be more resistant to the vagaries of nature and site specific
conditions in particular

• system must be operational for longer durations than what was witnessed in the
present case

• project management issues should be handled more skillfully

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