Guide to Global Energy: Clean and Effective Solutions
In a recent conference at MIT, Ratan Tata, the chairman emeritus of India's Tata Group, highlighted the importance of providing reliable electricity to rural India. Tata, who served as chairman of Tata Sons for 21 years, oversees one of India's largest industrial conglomerates.
The Tata Center, a research hub at MIT, is at the forefront of this mission. The Centre is working on various projects to address the energy needs of rural India, with a focus on developing village-scale microgrids, solar-powered pumps for small farms, and inexpensive medical devices for rural healthcare.
Tata emphasised that each home in rural India needs enough electricity to power a few lights for schoolchildren to study after dark and small pumps to support agriculture. Tests of the system in a rural village last summer have given confidence that it can have a significant impact.
One such project aims to enable village-scale microgrids, allowing residents to sell excess power from solar panels or diesel generators to neighbours. The power controllers for this system need to deliver power to devices and monitor usage for billing purposes.
Another project focuses on developing solar-powered pumps suitable for small farms, smaller than previous models designed for larger agricultural operations. This is crucial as India aims to electrify the entire country, but progress has been slow, with some villages only having one bulb of electricity in the middle.
The Tata Center's work is intended to develop solutions useful throughout the developing world, with initial focus in India and recently expanding to Rwanda. Solutions must be tailored to local needs and conditions, as demonstrated by the different electrical handling methods in Rwanda.
Tata is also excited about the Tata Center's work on medical devices and diagnostics, believing that simple and inexpensive diagnostic tools could improve rural healthcare. He noted a growing culture of entrepreneurship in India, similar to the U.S. in the 1970s, with a focus on profit rather than charity.
Robert Armstrong, director of the MIT Energy Initiative and the Chevron Professor in Chemical Engineering, stated that delivering clean energy in South America, Africa, and India carries great challenges but also great opportunities. The conference Solve, taking place at MIT this week, focuses on providing clean, reliable energy, water, and food to people worldwide, especially in the developing world.
The Tata Center has collaborated with local Indian organisations and students from MIT to implement projects improving electricity access and developing solar-powered pumps for small farms. The Centre is also sponsoring a project to chemically modify boiler ash into bricks and other building materials.
Stoner, the executive director of the Tata Center, expresses optimism about the potential for the Tata Center, stating that there's no end to what can be achieved with the ingenuity of its students and faculty. This optimism is shared by Tata, who served as chairman of Tata Sons for 21 years and understands the potential impact that sustainable energy solutions can have on rural India's development.
