Scope of Solar Energy in Nalanda District, Bihar: Roof Top PV for Domestic Electricity and Standalone Systems for Irrigation

For any region, energy is essential and the most important element for its economic and social development. Among daily activities, about 80% of the mechanical work requires electrical energy. Bihar has the lowest per capita energy consumption in all the Indian states whereas it ranks third in the population, clearly showing the energy accessibility and energy crisis problem it is struggling with. Bihar has been on a path of development and has one of the highest transformative potentials among other states. However, one of the biggest challenges for this growth is access to modern energy. RATIONALE 1. Bihar largely depends on central sector allocation and on power trading to meet its present energy requirement. Still, peak electricity demand deficit of about 19.2% and transmission and distribution (T&D) loss of about 38% (Durga, Verma, Gupta, Kiran, & Pathak, 2016). 2. With a generation capacity of 546 MW and the per capita electricity consumption of Bihar was 258 kWh in 2017-18, which is paltry in comparison with the national average of 1149 kWh, it is no surprise that more than 50% of the population lacks access to electricity (Centre for Environment and Energy Development, 2016a). 3. Unreliable supply, poor quality and voltage fluctuations are the main reasons for the dissatisfaction of households and are also reflected in the fact that while 41 per cent of households is connected to the grid, only 21 per cent used it as their primary source of lighting (Centre for Environment and Energy Development, 2016b). 4. In the context of electricity supply in rural India, the positive effect of increasing the number of hours per day is almost as large as that of electrifying a non-electrified household (Aklin, Cheng, Urpelainen, Ganesan, & Jain, 2016). What is required solution and its potential impact? Demand-Driven electrification that can be tailored to the local needs and scalable as per the local requirements, an electrification process that has low gestation periods and provides local employment and enterprise opportunities. Given this, a decentralized way of electrification using renewable, locally available resources is the best way forward, thus ensuring a long- term energy security for the state and contribute for mitigating climate change.