Ghoramara
Location: Ghoramara Island is located approx. 92 km south of Kolkata, in the Sundarban of the Bay of Bengal.
Area: Approximately 5 Km2
Number of inhabitants: 3,000 residents
Climate: The area is prone to cyclonic storm. It faces extreme weather condition in every 2-3 years.
Pilot led by: IIT KGP
Energy Mix & Infrastructure
The following infrastructures are available at Ghoramara island.
- A few panels are mounted on the roof-top of some individual houses to provide power to one/two LED lamp and mobile charging. In some cases, battery is damaged, and replacement is not yet done.
- A few discrete solar panels are found on the roof-top of individual houses and shops which are mostly used for mobile charging and glowing of LED lamp (one/two in numbers using home lighting solution).
A 3-kW wind turbine was installed near Ghoramara school, but the system is damaged during cyclone AMFAN which makes it inoperative. The island does not have any utility owned grid.
Energy Agenda
No other projects are running now. RE-EMPOWERED offers a unique challenge and opportunity for community electrification and enhanced livelihood.
Relative Activities
An isolated DC/AC microgrid will be built to electrify several houses of the island. At the initial stage, it is estimated that around 300 houses will be supplied by electricity. A similar model will be utilized for future upgrade to provide electricity to the rest of the houses. Both single-phase and three-phase options will be provided to the end-users. There will be a total of four ac microgrids each of which provides power to ¼ th of the houses, which is approximately 75 houses. Two PV-arrays, 50kWp each, will be installed for power generation. A small wind turbine (3 kWp) will also be installed. Power electronic converters (ecoConverter) will be used for the PV integration, while smart meters will be deployed in each house and other important locations. The smart metering technique (ecoDR) will be coordinated with protection technique for reliable operation of the grid. App based GUI enabled payment gateway system will be established not only to serve customers to pay bills, but also to allow them to choose various options related to dynamic pricing (ecoCommunity). Electric four-wheeler and electric boat (ecoVehicle) will be developed with indigenous electric motor and associated control system to provide easy mobility on and around the island. A PV based charging station will be installed at some convenient locations within the island from where both electric boat and electric four-wheeler can charge their own storage systems. Energy from RES will be used to electrify water purification system (ecoMonitor) which is very important for the drinking needs of the residents. Moreover, fishing is one of society’s main business activities and part of their daily diet, making cold storage another important energy carrier to exploit for synergy.
