4.48 SPV systems are being used to provide power for rural telephones, battery charging, power plants, water supply, road and railway signalling, low power transmitters, cathodic protection, etc. A sizeable portion of the deployment is for non-subsidised applications. So far a total of 61 MW_p aggregate capacity SPV systems (about 10.3 lakh systems)^p and power plants have been deployed for different applications in the country and about 46 MW_p capacity SPV products have been exported. Sector - wise deployment of PV modules is shown in Figure 4.1.

Village Electrification

4.49 There are about 80,000 unelectrified villages in the country. Out of these about 18,000 villages cannot be electrified through extension of the conventional grid. Most of these villages are located in remote, forest, hilly, desert, islands and tribal regions in the country. The Ministry, therefore, initiated a new programme for village electrification in the year 2001-02. The objective of the programme is to electrify all these villages through renewable energy sources by the year 2012. A target for electrifying 5,000 such villages has been fixed for the Tenth Plan period.

4.50 Renewable energy systems like solar photovoltaic systems and power plants, small hydro units and biomass gasifiers, which use locally available renewable energy sources are the most suitable options for electrification of such remote villages.

Displaying the PV module of their Solar Home Lighting System at a remote village in Leh, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir

4.51 During the last one year, MNES held consultations with state renewable energy development agencies, manufacturers, NGOs and the corporate sector and prepared an action plan for the electrification of remote villages. Two important requirements for implementing such a plan were the identification of remote villages and putting in place appropriate financial arrangements.

4.52 The Ministry is implementing the programme based on the lists of un-electrified remote villages furnished to it by the state agencies and confirmation that the villages are not likely to be electrified by conventional means. The Ministry also decided to implement the programme based on the norms of the existing schemes relating to biomass, solar energy and small hydro power, till higher central financial support for the programme is approved by the Government.

4.53 Implementing agencies monitor the implementation of the projects and provide progress reports and other feedback to the Ministry. The Ministry may also carry out monitoring and evaluation studies through its offices and through independent agencies.

4.54 The implementation of the projects sanctioned under village electrification programme during 2001-02 continued during the year 2002-03. Further proposals for electrification of about 1,000 remote villages through SPV systems and power plants have been received for sanctioning under the 2002-03 programme. These projects are likely to be sanctioned during the current year.

4.55 Some of the SPV village electrification projects sanctioned during previous years were completed during 2002-03. These projects include SPV electrification of 200 villages in West Bengal, 57 villages and 27 hamlets in Ladakh in Jammu & Kashmir, 80 villages and 14 hamlets in Uttaranchal (all sanctioned during 2001-02) and the project for SPV electrification of 36 villages in Cachar District in Assam (sanctioned during 2000-01). The project sanctioned by the Ministry during 2000-01 for SPV electrification of 90 tribal villages in the Bhopalpatnam and Usoor Blocks of the Bhopalpatnam Tehsil in Dantewade district of the Bastar tribal region in Chattisgarh State has also been competed. This Ministry and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs funded the project jointly. Under the project 2,921 solar lanterns, 2,921 two light points solar home systems, 589 four light points solar home systems, 183 solar community TV systems and 1,171 solar street lighting systems were installed in these villages. Further, 6 villages in Arunachal Pradesh have been electrified through SHP during the year.