Mysuru: Creating microgrids at education campuses and using them for teaching, training and research can make microgrids more effective. Planned Indian Institute of Technologies (IIT) in Karnataka could be more effective to work on such frontier areas, opined S S Murthy former professor at IIT Delhi.
After inaugurating two day international symposium on ‘Microgrid’ organized by National Institute of Engineering (NIE) Centre for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies (CREST) at college, Murthy said the grid power has often become inadequate or not available to several remote locations in the country. Nearly 75 million rural households, 6.5 milion urban households are without connectivity in the nation, he said.
“Use grid energy as standby with renewable energy as main source. Make it smart using storage, online monitoring and balancing demand and supply”, he added.
Renewable energy sources like wind, bio fuels, solar energy and others also play a major role in producing and supplying power to rural consumers. “Bulk population in the country is deprived of proper electricity due to scarcity caused by certain issues,” the professor said, adding, government must support and provide for microgrid units.
Further stressing on Engineering Institutions, prof. Murthy said, many institutions in the country are not providing education but providing only examinations, mark cards and grades. “We must create global level education.
Speaking on IIT in Karnataka, Murthy said as per the media reports, Mysuru is one of the strong contenders for the state IIT. Mysureans should raise their voice effectively. He said that establishment of IIT should be as per the ideas of expert group purely on academic and professional considerations and any other factor that drives the decision could be a disaster.
“IITs were set up to produce world class technocrats, it is not an employment exchange meant to give good jobs”, he said.
Giri Venkataraman, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA said “we need to promote microgrids in highly populated country like India to ensure that electricity is properly distributed among citizens. Electricity through micro grids is sustainable and promotes sustainable life in the country, he added.
