Renewable Energy Focus
Volume 38
September 2021 www.renewableenergyfocus.

com

Renewable energy for electricity use in

RESEARCH PAPER

India: Evidence from India’s smart cities

mission
Govindarajan Hari Krishnan * and Ganesh L.S.

Department of Management Studies (DoMS), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, IIT P.O, Chennai 600036, Tamil Nadu, India

Cities influence climate change since they consume large amounts of energy leading to higher carbon
dioxide (CO2) emissions and environmental degradation. The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC)
hypothesis establishes that renewable energy consumption in India can significantly offset CO2
emissions. The application of the ‘‘Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF)’’ on the use of
renewable energy (RE) for electricity in 45 Indian cities under smart city mission and its results are
presented here. The analysis show that the penetration of RE in cities is low. Apart from electricity
generation within cities, the best performing ones could successfully harness RE from outside city limits
through regulatory incentives. The potential and strategies to harness more RE in cities is presented. The
challenges in higher RE adoption in cities and required policy recommendations are also discussed.

1. Introduction At the beginning of 2013, there were approximately 143 ongo-

Industrialization and better livability drive people to migrate to ing or completed self-designated smart city projects across the
urban areas. Morikawa [1] defined urbanization as a transforma- world: North America had 35 projects; Europe, 47; Asia 50; South
tion of the rural lifestyle and expansion of urban built-up area. America 10; and the Middle East and Africa 10 [4]. These numbers
Governments across the world are concerned with various issues of increased to over 250 projects across 178 cities in the world [5].
urbanization. The meta-level term ‘‘smart city’’ is complex and This increase in the smart city phenomenon, including India, is
evolving for cities to tackle modern urbanization challenges. Till due to rising urbanization challenges, innovation in technological
today, smart cities lack a widely acceptable definition in the interventions combined with advancements in infrastructure.
researcher and practitioner community. In the past, smart cities As per the World Bank, India’s urbanization rate stood at 34.5%
have largely been recognized in terms of establishing Information in 2019. Historic urbanization rates of India as per the World Bank
and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure and appli- estimates is presented in Figure 1. This was lower than the world
cations in communities in the 1990s. However, this has been average of about 55.7% [6]. However, the absolute number of 450
extended to include the governance, managerial and behavioral million or more people living in Indian cities poses various chal-
domains as well. For example, as per Albino et al. [2], the label lenges, particularly those concerning energy, for policy makers.
‘‘smart city’’ indicates the capacity of clever people to generate Through an empirical study, Ghosh and Kanjilal [7] highlighted
clever solutions to urban problems. Neirotti et al. [3] emphasized the unidirectional causality running from energy consumption to
upon greater research attention to physical, chemical, biological economic growth and further to urbanization in India. According
and human systems for the very purpose of social and environ- to the United Nations (UN), cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata
mental sustainability of cities towards realizing improvements in feature in the list of mega cities having populations more than 10
the quality of life and livability of citizens in cities. million, and have registered the fastest growth of urbanization.
Further, it is expected that Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and
Ahmadabad will feature in this list by 2030 [8]. Due to this rapid
urbanization and the associated challenges, India declared 100
*Corresponding author. Govindarajan, H.K. ([email protected]), L.S., G. ([email protected])

1755-0084/ã 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ref.2021.05.005

36
Renewable Energy Focus
Volume 38
September 2021 RESEARCH PAPER

cities to be covered under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM). It is urban density higher the energy consumed for transportation,
estimated that Indian cities alone consume more than 70% of total as proved by the fact that CO2 emissions per capita drop with
primary energy supply in the country. In order to tackle urban the increase of urban population densities [11–13]. Similarly,
challenges in India, the National Mission on Sustainable Habitat through a city clustering algorithm, Gudipudi et al. [14] found
has been formed under the National Action Plan for Climate that by doubling the city density, the CO2 emission per capita due
Change (NAPCC) to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals to transportation and buildings’ energy use can be brought down
(SDGs). In part, the SCM under the Ministry of Housing and Urban by at least 42%. However, the literature points to less significant
Affairs (MoHUA) has been conceptualized and implemented in results between the two considering the relationship between
India. It serves to promote economic, social and environmental electricity consumption and urbanization. Lariviere and Lafrance
sustainability in Indian cities. This paper discusses ‘‘Climate Smart [15] studied Canadian cities’ electricity consumption per capita

RESEARCH PAPER
Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF)’’ established under SCM and urban densities and found a less significant relationship
and implemented by National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), between them when compared to urban densities and gasoline
and analyzes renewable energy (RE) data of 45 cities for electricity use per capita. They concluded that local socio-economic factors
use in Indian cities and possible strategies to harness more RE in play a critical role in electricity consumption in cities.
the wider context of national and international co-operation and Urbanization in India has driven demand for modern fuels such
greater attention from researchers, urban planners, energy policy as LPG and electricity replacing inefficient and more polluting
and decision makers, smart city functionaries and private sector. kerosene and traditional fuels such as wood through consistent
policy actions. While urban and rural electrification is close to
2. Literature review 100% in India, per capita electricity consumption for better living
The literature is broadly reviewed for understanding the relation- standards is still a concern in urban areas. Considering urban load
ships among the urbanization phenomenon, urban energy use centers are away from centralized power plants, the electricity
particularly electricity and the associated carbon dioxide (CO2) needs get accentuated due to associated transmission and distri-
emissions, the role of RE in reducing CO2 emissions across differ- bution (T&D) losses.
ent nations including India and theoretical concepts and solutions
that are available for overcoming RE-grid integration challenges 2.2. Urbanization and CO2 emissions
that can result in higher RE for electricity use in cities. Literature points to mixed effects of urbanization and associated
carbon, particulate emissions. For example, there are inconclusive
2.1. Urbanization and energy use findings in literature about the CO2 emissions and urbanization
Govindarajan and Ganesh [9] through a morphological represen- relationship in the short and long runs as highlighted by Rahman
tation listed different energies that are demanded for various and Vu [16]. However, Pata [17] had earlier found a positive
applications by end users. For example, electricity is one of the relationship between urbanization and CO2 emissions in Turkey.
major energy requirements for urban centers due to its multiple Similarly, Liu and Bae [18] found a positive relationship between
degrees of freedom from running household mixers to industrial CO2 emissions per capita and urbanization in the long run for
furnaces. Globally, buildings are responsible for one-third of the China. However, Hossain [19] established that urbanization in the
energy related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and hence the long run had significant negative impacts on carbon emissions for
residential sector in cities has a crucial role to play in energy related certain countries like Philippines, South Africa and Thailand,
CO2 and other GHG emissions. According to United Nations (UN) positive significant relationship for Brazil, China, Turkey and
Habitat, cities consume 75 percent of energy worldwide and are India, and negative but not significant for Mexico. Similarly,
responsible for more than 70% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions Gasimli et al. [20] found negative significant impact in the long
now [10]. run for Sri Lanka. Studies focused on urbanization and CO2 emis-
It is also widely accepted in the literature that economic activi- sions are limited in the Indian context in literature.
ties drive urbanization and energy demand. It is well established in
literature that there exists a relationship between urban densities 2.3. Urbanization, RE and CO2 emission
and energy consumed for transportation purposes: lower the While examining the data from five countries, viz., Argentina,
Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela, Koengkan et al. [21]
% population living in urban areas in India found a unidirectional relationship running from consumption of
40 RE and urbanization. The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC)
35 34 (Figure 2) hypothesis evaluates economic growth expressed in per
30 31.16
28.53 capita income and environmental pollution in per capita CO2
25 emissions [22]. EKC follows an inverted U-shape depicting the
20
increase in per capita income as per capita CO2 emissions increase
15
upto a maximum point after which the former starts to drop. The
10 11.4
relationship between RE consumption and CO2 emissions has
5
been studied in the context of the EKC hypothesis. Sulaiman
0
et al. [23] found that increase in RE consumption reduces per
1901 2001 2011 2017
capita CO2 emissions in the short and long run in Malaysia. Al-
FIGURE 1 Mulali et al. [24] studied Vietnam and found no significant effect
Urban Population as % of total population (India). of electricity consumption from RE on per capita CO2 emissions.

37
 RESEARCH PAPER Renewable Energy Focus
Volume 38
September 2021

period. In addition, grid level energy storage systems such as

pumped hydro, compressed air systems and batteries are also
considered for this purpose. Similarly on the demand side,
demand response programs to control highly flexible loads such
as HVAC, heat pumps, lighting, etc., are also being studied and
tried out [35]. In between the spectrum of conventional energy
supply and demand side flexibility offerings and options for RE-
grid integration, other potential technological solutions such as
microgrids, distributed energy storage, vehicle to grid and
dynamic pricing models to manage the RE supply variability are
RESEARCH PAPER

under various stages of development across cities [36,37]. One

such microgrid model to circumvent the challenges was proposed
by Alagoz et al. [38] who presented a smart grid architecture to
FIGURE 2
integrate and manage a network of distributed RE generation,
Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC).
energy storages for various load consumption scenarios and pre-
serving energy balance of individual systems and the system as a
whole. Further, Alagoz et al. [39] have proposed an autonomous
For Indonesia [25], South East Asian nations such as Malaysia, dynamic demand responsiveness program through real time pric-
Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand [26], 25 African countries [27] ing signal in a PID (proportion-integral-derivative) controller
and 40 countries [28], increase in per capita RE consumption was using game theoretic models to achieve energy balance of the
associated with reduced per capita CO2 emissions. However, Bölük system. Maddouri et al. [40] extended this work and simulated a
and Mert [29] examined 16 EU countries and found that per capita microgrid system that has been found to reduce energy cost by
RE consumption increased per capita CO2 emissions. Farhani and 20% and cut down technical line losses by 50% in Tunisia. Simi-
Shahbaz [30] studied 10 MENA countries and concluded that per larly, Yuan et al. [41] integrated various distributed RE sources with
capita consumption of electricity from RE sources increased per grid under multiple microgrids and uncertain loads through effec-
capita CO2 emissions. Hence, the results in the literature about the tive real time pricing signals obtained from a bi-level programming
relationship between RE and CO2 emissions on per capita basis are method. With increase in residential loads globally [42], studied
inconclusive. This may be due to the cities that lie at different the integration of RE in the residential sector. Apart from the
points in the EKC and the relationship is required to be studied in energy reliability issue due to intermittent nature of RE, integrat-
the context of a geographical location, the EKC and time period. ing a higher amount of RE can potentially result in serious power
The application of the EKC for urbanization and RE has been quality issues that require greater attention in grid management [
studied in the Indian context as well. The literature establishes 43]. In this paper, we aim to discuss the applicability of such RE-
that cities in India require a significant portion of RE to offset CO2 grid integration challenges, theoretical concepts and solutions in
emissions. Sinha and Shahbaz [31] have tested the EKC hypothesis order to increase RE’s contribution in electricity use in Indian
and found it to be valid in the Indian Context. The results of the cities. In this direction, a study of Indian cities for RE for electricity
study showed that India currently lies on the positive slope of the use will be useful for policy makers, urban planners and city
curve. Hence, increases in per capita income are associated with functionaries to evaluate the present state and progressively plan
CO2 emissions increase, and RE consumption was found to have a for the future through appropriate policies and programs includ-
significant, negative effect on CO2 emissions. Similarly, Kanjilal ing applicability of latest technological concepts and solutions,
and Ghosh [32] recommended low carbon technologies for sus- capacity building and institutional strengthening in cities. The
tainable growth after validating the EKC hypothesis using thresh- research questions addressed in this paper are (a) What is the level
old co-integration tests between carbon emissions, energy use, of RE generated electric power supply and consumption in Indian
economic activity and trade in India. Hence, use of RE will reduce cities?’’, (b) What are the best practices of cities in India that could
CO2 emissions in India in the short and long run. This is well supply and consume higher amounts of RE in the overall electric-
supported by literature through empirical studies and data. ity supply?’’ and (c) ‘‘What are the new potential technological
solutions for higher RE penetration that can be considered in the
2.4. RE-grid integration concepts and solution Indian Context’’?
While it is established that RE will reduce CO2 emissions in India,
the related challenges in integrating large scale RE into grid 3. Method
systems for achieving high RE penetration and related investment The literature points to various methodologies used in the assess-
decisions remains a challenge in India and worldwide [33]. Bird ment of smart cities and many researchers have considered energy
et al. [34] highlighted that integrating a higher amount of RE into use as one performance criterion among them. For example, a
the grid requires significant supply and demand side flexibility fuzzy logic methodology based on 5 judges and 4 criteria (smart
options in order to accommodate the intermittent nature of RE economy, smart environment, smart energy and mobility, smart
and preserve energy balance. On the supply side, conventional governance) to assess smart cities was proposed by Lazaroiu and
generation via fossil fuels, large-hydro and nuclear are being Roscia [44]. Girardi and Temporelli [45] considered seamless inte-
studied for offering reserve potential and their associated costs gration of RE use as a key performance indicator in evaluating
for providing multiple power ramp ups and downs in a given cities through environmental, economical, energetic and social

38
Renewable Energy Focus
Volume 38
September 2021 RESEARCH PAPER

fields. There are research papers whose methodologies focus only TABLE 2
on the energy or single other component and sub-component of Number of cities for final evaluation.
smart cities’ performance. For example, Calvillo et al. [46] stressed Tiers Number of cities for final evaluation
upon multiple elements while modeling urban energy systems,
Tier-1 15
including grid infrastructure. Arora [47] analyzed the financial Tier-2 13
sector development and financial services access in 18 cities Tier-3 17
named under SCM that addresses economical aspects of cities. Total 45
In this paper, the methodology adopted to assess the use of RE
under the CSCAF project is to evaluate the city’s electricity supply
and consumption data since a large part of the RE potential is

RESEARCH PAPER
harnessed for generation of electricity in India. 2 Total energy consumption (KWH) in the city during the six-
For evaluation, the cities were divided into three tiers based on month assessment period.
population. The criteria for the tier classification and the number This measures the total electrical energy consumption in the
of cities that participated in each tier are as follows (Table 1). city for all type of loads such as residential, industrial, com-
The CSCAF’s objective was to build and analyze baseline data of mercial, municipal, etc.
cities and suggest suitable RE recommendations for the 96 cities 3 Total energy supplied (KWH) to the city from all grid connected
that participated in the evaluation process. The entire process RE sources during the six-month assessment period.
spanned over six months and involved more than 27 government Apart from generating and supplying RE within their city lim-
departments/organizations at the national, state and city levels. To its, cities can also supply such green power from outside city
facilitate cities to participate in the assessment, 8 cluster and 4 limits through transmission, wheeling and banking arrange-
regional workshops were conducted by the sector experts to build ments permitted under regulations issued by the respective
capacity in more than 300 state and city officials. Data collection state electricity regulatory commissions in the cities.
was done in a rigorous and time-bound manner to ensure that only 4 Total number of units (KWH) lost due to Aggregated Technical
relevant data and evidence were collected in order to avoid noise and Commercial (AT&C) losses during the six-month assess-
in the data set. The data from the cities were checked for com- ment period.
pleteness and relevance. If any additional data or evidence was AT&C loss reduction through government programs and
required for the purpose of evaluation, the same was sought from advanced technologies is becoming quite common in cities.
the cities in the interim phase of the project. An online portal was It is also an energy efficient way of delivering electric services by
designed for cities to collect data that was systematically checked utilities.
for correctness through timely feedback and knowledge support 5 Cumulative installed capacity (KW) from RE sources for self-
from sector experts. consumption during the six-month assessment period.
Finally, only those cities with relevant data and evidence avail- This measures the total off-grid and on-grid RE captive capaci-
able were considered for final evaluation. The breakup of the ties in the city for self-consumption at the end of the assess-
number of cities where data and evidence were available and ment period.
found to be satisfactory for assessment of RE for electricity use 6 Total connected load (KW) in the city during the six-month
in cities is found in Table 2. assessment period.
The cities were asked to provide data for the following. This measures the total connected load (KW) for different
1 Total energy generated (KWH) from all grid connected RE customer segments in the city at the end of the assessment
sources within the city during the six-month assessment period.
period. These data points were analyzed based on three composite
This indicates the total electrical energy generated from grid indicators and one RE index designed for this purpose.
connected solar systems and ‘‘other’’ RE on-grid systems such Composite Indicator 1 (CI1): This measures the ratio of total
as windmills, biogas, combined heat and power (CHP) plants electrical energy generated (KWH) from all grid connected renew-
etc within the city for this purpose. However the ‘‘other’’ able sources in the city to total electrical energy consumption in
contribution is found to be less significant when compared the city (KWH) during the assessment period.
to solar systems in cities. Total energy generated ðin KwHÞ from all grid connected
renewable energy sources within the city
Total energy consumption ðin KwHÞ in the city

Composite Indicator 2 (CI2): This measures the ratio of total

TABLE 1
electrical energy supplied (KWH) from all grid connected renew-
Criteria for Tier classification and number of cities participated. able sources to the city to total electrical energy consumption
Tiers Criteria Number of cities (KWH) in the city adjusted for city’s AT&C loss (KWH) during the
participated assessment period.
Tier 1 Population greater than 10 Lacs 31
Total energy supplied ðin KwHÞ from all grid connected
Tier 2 Population between 5 Lakhs and 30
renewable energy sources to the city
less than 10 Lacs
Tier 3 Population less than 5 Lacs 35 Total energy consumption ðin KwHÞ in the city
Total 96 þ total number of units ðin kWhÞ lost due to AT&C loss

39
 RESEARCH PAPER Renewable Energy Focus
Volume 38
September 2021

Composite Indicator 3 (CI3): This measures the ratio of RE TABLE 4

installed capacity (KW) for self-consumption to total connected Summary of results (all cities).
load (KW)in the city at the end of the assessment period. CI1 (%) 0.24
Cumulative installed capacityðin KW Þ from renewable CI2 (%) 2.97
energy sources for self consumption CI3 (%) 0.51
REI 1.38
Total connected load ðin KWÞ in the city
Total electrical energy (KWH) derived from RE sources (%)
Renewable Energy Index (REI) for Cities: With the help of
above composite indicators, an index (expressed in percentage)
was designed in consultation with the experts in the area for the
electrical energy from RE sources primarily from capacities
RESEARCH PAPER

total electrical energy in the city derived from RE sources. The

installed outside city limits. While Namchi derives about 50%
weights for each CI were discussed in detail by the experts and
of its electrical energy (about 4.2 million units) from hydro power
stakeholders to reflect the priorities of the government and cities
sources, Bengaluru supplies about 1291 million units of RE, major-
in the adoption of RE. An equal weight was given to CI1 and CI2 as
ity of which is from sources installed outside city limits through
it was felt that RE supply from outside city limits is as important as
wheeling and banking arrangements. However Diu, the third best
RE generation within the cities, considering space availability and
performing city, has 26.5% of total connected load (KW) as RE
electricity consumption. However, the expert committee also felt
installed capacity (KW) within the city. Hence, the best perform-
that CI1 and CI3 combined should exceed CI2 since supply from
ing cities have followed different strategies depending upon
outside city limits has implications on T&D losses. Hence, weights
income, land/space availability, population, population density
of 0.4, 0.4 and 0.2 were decided for CI1, CI2 and CI3 respectively
and industrial/commercial activities. On an average, about 1.38%
while designing the index. Although the weights for an index were
of the total electrical energy (KWH) is derived from RE sources for
subjected to decision makers’ discretion, researchers have accepted
all the evaluated cities. The net composite scores and renewable
them in general Lazaroiu and Roscia [44].
energy index for all cities considered together are tabulated (Table
REI ¼ ð0:4  CI1 þ 0:4  CI2 þ 0:2  CI3Þ  100 4).
This indicates potential for study of challenges and further
policy research for adoption of RE in Indian cities. With the
4. Results and discussion
adoption of electric vehicles in India, the electricity requirement
This Section consists of two sub-sections: sub section 4.1 discusses
is bound to increase. This will present a challenge as well as an
the analysis of city data and the results based on the methodology
opportunity for cities to transition to RE sources.
discussed in section 3 to answer research questions 1 and 2,
following which we discuss the future prospects and solutions
applicable for higher RE integration and penetration for cities
4.2. Possible solutions and strategies in Indian context
This sub-section 4.2 discusses the RE-grid integration challenges,
under study in sub section 4.2 for addressing research question 3.
potential technological advances, solutions and concepts for over-
coming such integration challenges in order to improve RE pene-
4.1. Analysis and results of the evaluation framework
tration for electricity use in Indian cities. In this context, the
The composite indicators and renewable energy index for each city
progressive strategies for decarbonization of cities and meeting
and the cities in total were calculated and analyzed. The results
SDG7 goals are also discussed with reference to the results obtained
indicate that majority of cities (33 out of 45 cities) meet less than
from subsection 4.1.
1% of their electrical energy demand from RE sources (Table 3).
Historically, India has been promoting renewable energy
Overall, CI2 scores are better than CI1 and CI3 for all cities
through renewable energy purchase obligations, renewable energy
implying that cities not only rely on harnessing RE within the
certificates, accelerated depreciation of renewable technologies,
cities but also look at supplying them from outside city limits to
provision for capital and interest subsidies, feed-in-tariffs and
maximize the use of RE, reduce pollution and contribute positively
tweaking of transmission and wheeling charges for bridging via-
to climate change issues. For example, the top two performing
bility gaps. While this has delivered results to a certain extent to
cities, Namchi and Bengaluru supply 40.12% and 16.77% of
the government as shown in results under sub-section 4.1 on the
issue of deployment of RE for electricity use, decarbonization of
TABLE 3
cities and meeting the country’s overall NDC under SDG7 goals.
Summary of results (individual cities).
The interventions stated above are considered to be largely regu-
Renewable energy index (REI) Number of cities latory in nature thus strictly not addressing the technical problems
25% and above of electrical energy 0 associated with RE-grid integration such as preservation of energy
derived from RE sources balance in the renewable energy grids, power quality and reliabil-
10% - <25% of electrical energy 1
ity issues, optimal energy pricing solutions that were directly
derived from RE sources (Namchi)
5% - <10% of electrical energy 2 related to the solutions for increasing RE penetration in India.
derived from RE sources (Bengaluru and Diu) Meanwhile, RE related off grid applications continue to attract
1% - <5% of electrical energy 9 wider research attention in applications such as industrial pro-
derived from RE sources cesses (heating, drying, cooling etc.), domestic water heating and
Less than 1% of electrical energy 33
rural/remote usage for cooking, mini grids for meeting community
derived from RE sources
electricity requirements through building hybrid RE systems in

40
Renewable Energy Focus
Volume 38
September 2021 RESEARCH PAPER

India [48,49]. These systems are relatively less complex, easy to and hence face severe criticism by policymakers and utilities in
design and require limited policy and regulatory foresight. With India. Hence, suitable technology, pricing, correction in electrical
the recent achievement of about 100% electricity connections for circuits and, necessary process checks and balance through reg-
households in India through expansion of T&D network over the ulations to accommodate these phenomena are required. More-
years, RE-grid integration is becoming necessary from energy over, historically time of use and critical peak pricing are imple-
security standpoint as well as its contribution to lessen carbon mented for industrial and commercial segments for peak load
emissions to atmosphere and meeting NDC commitments of management in certain Indian cities. With large RE-Grid integra-
India. In this context, the role of Indian cities in harnessing more tion, the load curves can be smoothened through technological
RE through latest available technological concepts and solutions and energy pricing strategies with the objective of maximizing
becomes imperative. social welfare and RE penetration in India. In this regard, the

RESEARCH PAPER
In the past few years, new technological advances in the elec- energy business models, regulatory mechanism, terms of energy
tricity sector such as smart metering for harnessing RE through performance contracts and, economic and financial returns of
smart grid across cities are being tried out. They have delivered such grid tied assets require research attention in Indian context.
varied results across the cities due to policy, regulatory, technical In India, the net-metering mechanism is widely used to promote
and financial gaps and constraints. With their better socio-eco- distributed generation [58]. Due to the absence of both, energy
nomic conditions, Indian cities are better positioned for harnes- storage and islanding property of the system, net-metering of large
sing new technological advances in renewable energy, informa- scale distributed generation serves the potential to become virtual
tion and communication technologies (ICT), digital and control power plants (VPPs) for distribution utilities in India. With the
mechanisms. However due to their large high population and adoption of electric vehicles in Indian cities, vehicle to grid
density, this presents with Indian cities a unique combination technologies allow certain level of flexibility for RE-Grid integra-
of both, opportunities and challenges. Historically Indian cities tion to city utilities [59]. This can also potentially limit the need for
have been the largest consumers of electricity. This demand is external energy storage and thus avoiding associated costs. Apart
largely met by conventional generation sources which are away from providing certain amount of flexibility, the electric vehicles
from city centers. While there is steady increase in electricity under VPP mode can also lend support during peak clipping and
demand from Indian cities, the addition of conventional genera- valley filling interventions in peak load management and thus
tion capacities slowed down due to natural resource and environ- contribute to demand side management programs of utilities.
mental constraints, and simultaneous increase in RE. This phe- Unlike microgrids, VPPs cannot be islanded and have no physical
nomenon calls for the adoption of new concepts and technologies electrical boundaries and hence scaleable from city utilities per-
facilitating RE-grid integration such as smart metering [50], spective. Contextually, VPPs are planned, implemented and con-
demand response [51,52], grid level energy storage [53], microgrids trolled by utilities while microgrids by end consumers. In future,
[54], virtual power plants [55] and energy pricing models [56] for both have a role to play a role in RE-grid integration in Indian cities
higher renewable energy penetration in India now. with proper regulatory framework creating a win-win situation.
Out of the total 375GW installed generation capacity in India, Apart from the technological challenges, RE financing costs is one
bulk of the power is consumed in cities for various end-use of the highest in India when compared globally and hence acts a
purposes. India follows the global trend of adopting pumped deterrent for promoting RE investment [60].
hydro energy storage for large scale energy storage for power Hence, urban electricity policies in India require a mix of
system operation in offering the generation reserve and supply innovative technical, financing, regulatory and policy interven-
flexibility of about 96GW [57]. While this will help India to a tions for overcoming RE-grid integration challenges and promot-
certain extent, the gestation period and environmental con- ing higher RE adoption for electricity use in Indian cities. In the
straints in developing such pumped hydro energy storage are large next section, we present general policy recommendations for
and complex. Cities and local energy utilities are also required to increasing RE in cities, reducing AT&C losses and conclude with
build a certain amount of supply and demand flexibility through our study findings.
demand response and dynamic energy pricing programs and
allowing distributed RE generation with checks and balances in 5. Recommendations and conclusion
the cities. In this regard, there is a conceptual shift from ‘‘con- India has diverse geographical and agro-climatic regions. Franco
sumer’’ to ‘‘prosumer’’ with the intervention of latest technologies et al. [61] observed that urbanization in India is due to a ‘‘rural
such as micro grids that enable a conventional consumer to play push’’ rather than an ‘‘urban pull’’, resulting in a combination of
both, energy consumer as well as producer roles in Indian cities. unemployment, growth of slums and degraded quality of urban
These modern distributed generation systems have the character- life. He studied the effect of energy consumption due to urbaniza-
istics of virtual power plants where the prosumer could export in tion in the Indian context and found that reduction in energy
case of excess energy generation within and outside the micro grid intensity and emission intensity requires continuous monitoring,
network. However, such grid tied assets involving combinations of information feedback systems, introduction of energy quota man-
RE sources and energy storages sometimes are charged from the agement, incentives for energy efficient facilities, shutting down
grid powered by fossil fuel sources. Also, micro-grid owners enjoy of inefficient facilities, setting up of smart residential buildings,
energy price arbitrage and the potential of trading profits by and reduction of T&D losses. Additionally, high population den-
charging their storages during low grid price scenarios and dis- sity presents lesser roof space per capita in Indian cities. For
charging when higher prices prevail. Such happenings dilute the assessing the building roof and available space in urban areas, a
basic conceptual premises underlying RE and dynamic pricing, GIS based modeling for RE installation will be useful for cities [62].

41
 RESEARCH PAPER Renewable Energy Focus
Volume 38
September 2021

Similarly IoT based solutions can improve RE adoption in cities [ year. India’s electric power T&D losses were 19.3% compared to
63]. Since electricity distribution is a state subject in India, various the world average of 8.3% [65]. This is in contrast to developed
state governments have different policies for adopting RE in their countries where T&D losses are low, typically in the range of 7%
cities. The cities that have higher RE supply have not only relied on and below [66]. A staggered plan for reducing AT&C losses, with
capacities within them but also from those outside city limits. It is and without investment, is available for cities through various
also observed that high hydro potential harnessing states could government programs in India. In order to reduce losses, the
successfully supply higher amounts of RE to their cities. However, following recommendations concerning technological advance-
this may be practically difficult for some states and cities. Only a ments are made:(a) advanced metering infrastructure to improve
few states and cities are able to successfully devise policies to metering, billing and collection (MBC), (b) high voltage distribu-
supply RE from outside city limits by drafting transmission and tion system (HVDS), (c) system strengthening through new and
RESEARCH PAPER

wheeling regulations and policies. The net-metering and other RE up-gradation projects, (d) deployment of IT technologies, (e)
policies at a state-level also deter consumers to take a stable view proper operation and maintenance practices of electrical infra-
on project returns resulting in low adoption of RE. structure, (f) reactive power compensation, (g) electronic payment
Due to limitations of installing wind technologies within cities, collection to improve collection and reduce commercial losses, (h)
only solar photovoltaic (PV) is currently harnessed through roof- usage of aerial bunched cables/underground cabling for reducing
tops largely. However, policies promoting solar PV are limited by thefts, (i) distribution automation, and (j) regular system level
effective rooftop area availability, technological and technical energy audits enabled by digitalization to arrest system leakages.
constraints related to the grid. A large part of the solar photovol- Thus, this paper has highlighted SCM and CSCAF partnership
taic value chain, such as poly-silicon, ingot and wafer manufactur- methodology and results in assessing cities on RE adoption. The
ing, happens outside India, which has relatively less value adding results of the framework indicate that the adoption of RE in Indian
midstream and upstream manufacturing facilities such as cell and cities is low. This is due to the past efforts of the governments
module manufacturing, project development and operation and which have largely been regulatory in nature. The technical chal-
maintenance of solar projects. Hence, this raises customer doubts lenges involving RE-grid integration such as preservation of energy
on technology, quality and serviceability incase of fault or poor balance in RE grids, power quality and reliability issues requires to
performance. Also, the entry of private utility companies into the be tackled through modern technological solutions along with
local RE market requires regulatory provisions to preserve compe- energy pricing. In this paper, these were presented and discussed in
tition and monitor fairness of electricity prices for distributed the context of Indian cities. The assessment also helps each city to
generation to be successful. In addition, there is a dearth of have benchmarks with other Indian cities on RE for electricity use
insufficient interconnection rules and technical feasibility for grid performance. Also, the cities were provided with recommenda-
operations for any large-scale distribution generation (DG) scenar- tions for suitable policy measures to transition to higher levels of
ios for managing variability of RE. In some cases, policies add up RE along with reduction in AT&C losses to mitigate climate change
energy storage costs for arriving at a final RE price, which then effects.
becomes substantially high. Also, RE prices affected by a global fall
in photovoltaic module prices create doubts in the minds of Funding
customers. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding
By overcoming the above challenges and taking advantages agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
from latest technologies discussed in sub-section 4.2 through
appropriate technical, policy and regulatory framework, Indian Declaration of interest
cities can substantially attract domestic and foreign investments We declare that this manuscript is original, has not been published
for RE and its integration with the grid. For example, if the cities before and is not currently being considered for publication else-
target 10% electrical demand to be met through RE based on the where. We know of no conflicts of interest associated with this
designed renewable energy index criteria, a conservative estimate publication, and there has been no significant financial support for
of $2 to $3 bn investment, corresponding to about 5–6 GW of this work that could have influenced its outcome. As the corre-
power generation capacity will be required only in the evaluated sponding author, I confirm that the manuscript has been read and
cities in India. Alternatively, cities can also plan large scale solar approved for submission by all the named authors.
and wind energy projects such as solar parks and wind farms
outside city limits and benefit from high yields to be supplied CRediT authorship contribution statement
through successful banking, transmission and wheeling arrange- The entire work involving conceptualization, methodology, data
ments. The necessary policies and regulations are required to be sources & collection, validation, formal analysis, investigation,
drafted to permit such successful banking of green energy at resources, data curation, writing-original draft and writing- review
attractive tariffs for industrial consumers. In this regard, proper & editing was performed by Hari Krishnan Govindarajan (Primary
tariff designs and regulatory approvals embedding energy equity and Corresponding Author) under the supervision of Prof. L. S
and justice principles are required for successful transition to a low Ganesh (Second Author).
carbon economy in cities. Also clean energy policies inviting
investments will drive local green jobs [64] related to clean energy References
adoption. [1] Hiroshi Morikawa, Urbanization and Urban System, Damingtang Press, 1989.
The evaluated cities are losing considerable value (conservative [2] V. Albino, U. Berardi, R.M. Dangelico, J. Urban Technol. 22 (1) (2015) 3–21. ,
estimate of more than $1bn) in AT&C losses on the average every http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2014.942092.

42
Renewable Energy Focus
Volume 38
September 2021 RESEARCH PAPER

[3] P. Neirotti, A. De Marco, A.C. Cagliano, G. Mangano, F. Scorrano, Cities 38 (2014) [35] K.O. Aduda, T. Labeodan, W. Zeiler, G. Boxem, Y. Zhao, Sustain. Cities Soc. 22
25–36. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2013.12.010. (2016) 146–163.
[4] J.H. Lee, M.G. Hancock, M.C. Hu, Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change 89 (2014) 80–99. [36] A. Castillo, D.F. Gayme, Energy Convers. Manage. 87 (2014) 885–894. , http://dx.
, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2013.08.033. doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2014.07.063.
[5] T. Yigitcanlar, M. Kamruzzaman, Land Use Policy 73 (2018) 49–58. , http://dx.doi. [37] F.R. Badal, P. Das, S.K. Sarker, S.K. Das, Prot. Control. Mod. Power Syst. 4 (1) (2019)
org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.01.034. 1–27. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s41601-019-0122-8.
[6] World Bank, World Development Indicators, 2019 . (Accessed 14 September _
[38] B.B. Alagoz, A.S.I.M. Kaygusuz, A. Karabiber, Energy 44 (1) (2012) 167–177.
2020) https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators. [39] B.B. Alagoz, A. Kaygusuz, M. Akcin, S. Alagoz, Energy 59 (2013) 95–104.
[7] S. Ghosh, K. Kanjilal, Energy 66 (2014) 324–331. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. [40] M. Maddouri, H. Elkhorchani, K. Grayaa, Int. J. Green Energy 17 (12) (2020) 816–
energy.2013.12.052. 826. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15435075.2020.1798772.
[8] United Nations, The World’s Cities in 2016, 2016 . (Accessed 14 October 2020) [41] G. Yuan, Y. Gao, B. Ye, R. Huang, Int. J. Electr. Power Energy Syst. 123 (2020)
https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/ 106206, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2020.106206.
urbanization/the_worlds_cities_in_2016_data_booklet.pdf. [42] S. Javaid, Towards Green World: Renewable Energy Source Based Energy

RESEARCH PAPER
[9] H.K. Govindarajan, L.S. Ganesh, A Morphological Analysis Framework Management in Residential Sector Making Appliances, Homes and Buildings
Representation of Energy Policy Analysis Research The Value Chain, Issues and Smart–Final Defense Presentation, 2020.
Concerns, Proceedings of the 15th conference on Sustainable Development of [43] X. Liang, IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl. 53 (2) (2016) 855–866. , http://dx.doi.org/
Energy, Water and Environment Systems, (2020), pp. 1–24, SDEWES2020.0136, 10.1109/TIA.2016.2626253.
(ISSN 1847-7178). [44] G.C. Lazaroiu, M. Roscia, Energy 47 (1) (2012) 326–332. , http://dx.doi.org/
[10] United Nations, Accelerating SDG 7 Achievement, Policy Brief 14, Interlinkages 10.1016/j.energy.2012.09.028.
Between Energy and Sustainable Cities, 2018 . (Accessed 14 October, 2015) [45] P. Girardi, A. Temporelli, Energy Procedia 111 (1) (2017) 810–816. , http://dx.doi.
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/17557PB14.pdf. org/10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.243.
[11] P.W. Newman, J.R. Kenworthy, Transp. Rev. 11 (3) (1991) 249–272. , http://dx.doi. [46] C.F. Calvillo, A. Sánchez-Miralles, Jose Villar, Energy management and planning
org/10.1080/01441649108716787. in smart cities, Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 55 (2016) 273–287.
[12] J. Cooper, T. Ryley, A. Smyth, Urban Stud. 38 (9) (2001) 1573–1588. , http://dx.doi. [47] R.U. Arora, Sustain. Cities Soc. 42 (2018) 52–58. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.
org/10.1080/00420980126673. scs.2018.06.013.
[13] S. Hammer, L. Kamal-Chaoui, A. Robert, M. Plouin, Cities and GreenGrowth: A [48] R. Sen, S.C. Bhattacharyya, Renew. Energy 62 (2014) 388–398. , http://dx.doi.org/
Conceptual Framework OECD Regional Development WorkingPapers 2011/08, 10.1016/j.renene.2013.07.028.
2011. [49] R. Siddaiah, R.P. Saini, Renewable Sustain. Energy Rev. 58 (2016) 376–396. , http://
[14] R. Gudipudi, T. Fluschnik, A.G.C. Ros, C. Walther, J.P. Kropp, Energy Policy 91 dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.281.
(2016) 352–361. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.01.015. [50] M.F. Khan, A. Jain, V. Arunachalam, A. Paventhan, Roadmap for smart metering
[15] I. Lariviere, G. Lafrance, Energy Econ. 21 (1) (1999) 53–66. , http://dx.doi.org/ deployment for Indian smart grid, 2014 IEEE PES General Meeting| Conference &
10.1016/S0140-9883(98)00007-3. Exposition (Pp. 1-5). IEEE. July (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/
[16] M.M. Rahman, X.B. Vu, Renew. Energy (2020), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. PESGM.2014.6939919.
renene.2020.03.135. [51] J. Kumar, B.V. Suryakiran, A. Verma, T.S. Bhatti, Energy 178 (2019) 176–185. ,
[17] U.K. Pata, J. Clean. Prod. 187 (2018) 770–779. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.04.105.
jclepro.2018.03.236. [52] M. McPherson, B. Stoll, Energy 197 (2020)117205, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.
[18] X. Liu, J. Bae, J. Clean. Prod. 172 (2018) 178–186. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. est.2017.07.012.
jclepro.2017.10.156. [53] Rohit Amit Kumar, Saroj Rangnekar, An overview of energy storage and its
[19] M.S. Hossain, Energy Policy 39 (11) (2011) 6991–6999. , http://dx.doi.org/ importance in Indian renewable energy sector: Part II–energy storage applications,
10.1016/j.enpol.2011.07.042. benefits and market potential, J. Energy Storage 13 (2017) 447–456.
[20] O. Gasimli, S.K. Naradda Gamage, F. Shihadeh, P.S.K. Rajapakshe, M. Shafiq, [54] V.M. Balijepalli, S.A. Khaparde, C.V. Dobariya, Deployment of microgrids in India,
Energies 12 (9) (2019) 1655, http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en12091655. in: IEEE PES General Meeting, IEEE, (2010), pp. 1–7, July.
[21] M. Koengkan, J.A. Fuinhas, R. Santiago, J. Environ. Econ. Policy (2019) 1–19. , [55] H. Sharma, S. Mishra, Int. Trans. Electr. Energy Syst. 30 (1) (2020)e12177, http://
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21606544.2019.1702902. dx.doi.org/10.1002/2050-7038.12177.
[22] G.M. Grossman, A.B. Krueger, Environmental Impacts of a North American Free [56] A. Sharma, M. Kolhe, J. Clean. Prod. 264 (2020)121486, http://dx.doi.org/
Trade Agreement (No. w3914), National Bureau of economic research, 1991. 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121486.
[23] J. Sulaiman, A. Azman, B. Saboori, Am. J. Environ. Sci. 9 (2) (2013) 103, http://dx. [57] N. Sivakumar, D. Das, N.P. Padhy, A.S. Kumar, N. Bisoyi, Renewable Sustain.
doi.org/10.3844/ajessp.2013.103.112. Energy Rev. 19 (2013) 208–213. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2012.11.001.
[24] U. Al-Mulali, B. Saboori, I. Ozturk, Energy Policy 76 (2015) 123–131. , http://dx. [58] J. Vishnupriyan, P.S. Manoharan, Renew. Energy 121 (2018) 474–488. , http://dx.
doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2014.11.019. doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.01.008.
[25] Y. Sugiawan, S. Managi, Energy Policy 98 (2016) 187–198. , http://dx.doi.org/ [59] A.F. Raab, M. Ferdowsi, E. Karfopoulos, I.G. Unda, S. Skarvelis-Kazakos, P.
10.1016/j.enpol.2016.08.029. Papadopoulos, K. Strunz, et al., Virtual power plant control concepts with electric
[26] X. Liu, S. Zhang, J. Bae, J. Clean. Prod. 164 (2017) 1239–1247. , http://dx.doi.org/ vehicles, in: 2011 16th International Conference on Intelligent System
10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.07.086. Applications to Power Systems. September, IEEE, (2011), pp. 1–6. , http://dx.doi.
[27] Z. Zoundi, Renewable Sustain. Energy Rev. 72 (2017) 1067–1075. , http://dx.doi. org/10.1109/ISAP.2011.6082214.
org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.10.018. [60] G. Shrimali, D. Nelson, S. Goel, C. Konda, R. Kumar, Energy Policy 62 (2013) 28–
[28] E. Dogan, F. Seker, Renewable Sustain. Energy Rev. 60 (2016) 1074–1085. , http:// 43. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.07.071.
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.02.006. [61] S. Franco, V.R. Mandla, K.R.M. Rao, Renewable Sustain. Energy Rev. 71 (2017)
[29] G. Bölük, M. Mert, Energy 74 (2014) 439–446. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. 898–907. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.12.117.
energy.2014.07.008. [62] S.T. Moghadam, J. Toniolo, G. Mutani, P. Lombardi, Sustain. Cities Soc. 37 (2018)
[30] S. Farhani, M. Shahbaz, Renewable Sustain. Energy Rev. 40 (2014) 80–90. , http:// 70–84. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2017.10.002.
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.170. [63] S. Shapsough, M. Takrouri, R. Dhaouadi, I. Zualkernan, Sustain. Cities Soc. (2020)
[31] A. Sinha, M. Shahbaz, Renew. Energy 119 (2018) 703–711. , http://dx.doi.org/ 102041.
10.1016/j.renene.2017.12.058. [64] H. Yi, Energy Policy 56 (2013) 644–652. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.
[32] K. Kanjilal, S. Ghosh, Energy Policy 56 (2013) 509–515. , http://dx.doi.org/ enpol.2013.01.034.
10.1016/j.enpol.2013.01.015. [65] World Bank, World Development Indicators, 2014 . (Accessed 14 September
[33] J. Hossain, A. Mahmud (Eds.), Renewable Energy Integration: Challenges and 2020) https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators.
Solutions, Springer Science & Business Media, 2014. [66] B. Wilson, S. Shapsough, M. Takrouri, R. Dhaouadi, I. Zualkernan, Sustain. Cities
[34] L. Bird, M. Milligan, D. Lew, Integrating Variable Renewable Energy: Challenges Soc. (2020)102041, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2013.03.011.
and Solutions (No. NREL/TP-6A20-60451), National Renewable Energy Lab.
(NREL), Golden, CO, United States, 2013.

43