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l Solar Energy Technologies for Food Processing l Project SET4food l

l News from Sustainable Energy Review l
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- Dr. Paritosh Nandi
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Dr. Paritosh Nandi
S.E.R News
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 The energy of the mind is the
essence of life
- Aristotle

T he Government of India has set an ambitious target

of achieving 175 GW power capacity from renewable
energy resources by 2022 and out of this 60 GW has
to come from wind power. The Scheme will be implement-
ed for setting up 1000 MW capacity of Central Trans-
mission Utility i.e. CTU-connected Wind Power Projects
by Wind Project Developers on build, own and operate
basis. On the other side Ministry has launched Surya Mi-
tra Mobile App, currently available in Google Play Store,
which can be downloaded and used across India. This
initiative is also a part of Make in India campaign. Surya
Mitra course is a 600 hours (i.e. 3 months) skill develop-
ment program designed to create skilled manpower in in-
stallation, commissioning, and operation & maintenance
of solar power plants and equipment. The challenges lie
in the days ahead in terms of proper skill for such a big
target. The plans and approaches are very encouraging.
In other parts of the world more than 59.5 million peo-
ple have fled their homes and another 97 million people
have been affected by natural disasters. There are places
people can not take three meals due to lack of fuel to cook the food. In SET4food we have outlined the technologies
used in cooking, food preservation and water purification etc. In this issue we have also included an article on industrial
process heat with respect to specific application e.g. sweetmeat industry. The same process heat can also cook for similar
industries. We still look for a process heat solution for household cooking. These distributed smaller sytems need more
modification and user friendliness in order to make inroads to household cooking.

We hope that our readers will enjoy this version of Sustainable Energy Review as much as we have enjoyed putting the
articles and news together. Send us your feedback and comments at [email protected].

Dr. Paritosh Nandi

Vol 4, Issue 3, July - September 2016 SER 1

Article

Introduction: is in the range of 95oC to 100oC while heating oil for preparation of
Jelabi, Amriti etc. the oil temperature is 180oC to 190oC. The field
Small scale food processing units, commonly known as sweetmeat measurements are carried out with an infrared thermometer. Heat
shops are in very large numbers in India and their annual turnover transfer is always better and quicker for higher temperature dif-
is estimated to be more than Rs 25000.00 crore. Most of the food ferential but production of higher temperature with solar thermal
items are based on milk and there are also deep fried varieties. system involves concentration of radiation over a large area and
Concentrated semi-dried milk known as Khoa is a common ingre- the cost of the concentrator increases. At lower temperature differ-
dient and is produced by prolonged boiling of milk to drive out the ential the heat flow rate will be lesser and for the same amount of
water component. It takes time and good amount of energy to energy required in processing the time required will be more. After
remove water which makes nearly nine-tenth of the total volume due assessment of cost-benefit it was decided to develop a system
of the milk. A slow boiling is usually preferred in the production with a temperature differential in the range of 50oC initially and
of Khoa. For deep-frying the temperature again is not very high- a progressive increase with the same with design and operational
around 2000C. This heating can be done by using concentrated experience.
solar radiation which not only keeps the environment clean but it
is totally emission free. Using parabolic concentrator, the aperture Since there has not been any significant work in the field, litera-
required to attain the working temperature of a heat-transfer fluid ture survey did not help much in the system design. Finally it was
can be computed. The required heat flow thereby determines the decided to go for Parabolic Trough Concentrator with the heat col-
overall size of the concentrator. The solar heat is conducted to the lector in the form of a coated copper tube carrying a heat transfer
evaporating container or frying pan with the help of a heat-transfer fluid which imparts heat to the processing container (essentially a
fluid which after transferring the heat returns to the concentrator flat bottom pan) through a heat exchanger. This has the advan-
forming a close heating-loop where contamination can easily be tages of the ability of controlling both temperature and heat flow
prevented. It is of course necessary to have an efficient heat ex- rate and secondly, higher system efficiency. Coated copper tube is
changer but it is required to be shaped in such a way as to accom- provided with a glass jacket to reduce convective heat loss but no
modate the traditional boiling or frying-pan for user friendliness. attempt has been taken for evacuated jacketing to keep the system
cost low.
There has hardly been any attempt in the country to develop this
item and the experience of the previous worker that help consider- On the basis of calculation made, the concentrator and the heat
ably the later one is unfortunately unavailable. The present thrust is exchanger were designed. The concentrator and heat exchanger
on the technical side in making the system functionally acceptable. specifications are given here under:
The design modification for cost reduction has been taken care of.
Concentrator material: Anodized aluminium
Experimental Set up: Concentrator aperture: 120 cm
Reflectivity of the concentrator: 0.85
We carried out an experiment on the utilisation on solar energy Absorber tube material: Copper
technology in the food processing industry and the results were Absorber tube diameter: 40mm
very satisfactory. The R&D programme involves the developments Glass cover diameter: 65mm
of a low cost solar heating system for food processing industry in Amount of thermic fluid (in pipeline): 24 litre
general and sweetmeat industry in particular. Working in associa- Area of Concentrators: 2.97 sq m
tion with local sweetmeat production units it was ascertained that
the operating temperature for preparation of sugar juice and Kheer The arrangements for a single axis manual tracking is required to be
2 SER Vol 4, Issue 3, July - September 2016
 Article
provided to optimize the solar energy collection and the tubes are temperature can be achieved and solar heating system with con-
to be kept at an inclination of local latitude for the same purpose. centrator can be effectively used in the food processing industry.
Four temperature sensors (including one sensor for recording ambi- This basic principle is very simple but the development of such
ent temperature) have been installed to measure the temperature systems has so far been overlooked by the solar energy technolo-
at different points as given in the Fig. 1. gists.

Results: There are undoubtedly many problems in the utilization of solar

heating principally because of the hygienic conditions required
In this study the data obtained from the experimentation with the to be maintained in processing. In this typical low temperature
Solar Parabolic Trough Concentrator and the data supplied by a processing, heat exchangers are considered to be the most criti-
local manufacturer of sweetmeat products give us the following cal component of the solar thermal system because the heat
results. exchanger that is responsible for the easy transfer of heat is to
be a very special one allowing efficient heat transfer and also in
1. Analysis: order to allow the use of traditional containers used in this in-
dustry. Post heating cleaning and easy removal of the container
Four LPG cylinders, each cylinder containing 17 kg of LPG, are re- after the heating cycles are the important requirements of the
quired daily for production of heating system. As a result
ten thousand of sweets cost- the heat exchanger should
ing Rupees twenty thousand preferably allow heat-
of different varieties. For this ing from the bottom and
specific case study 250 days in there should not be any
a year is taken considering the direct contact of the heat
rests are below the standard exchanger with the liquid
radiation level. Each Kg of LPG under process (which has
emits 3.20 kg of CO2 in the been taken as milk in this
atmosphere, therefore 54.4 case) in order to avoid
tons of CO2 emission could be contamination. However,
prevented yearly by the intro- such heat exchangers will
duction of the single system. be of lower efficiency.
As it has been observed from The temperature differ-
the case study that a annual ential also being low, the
turnover of Rupees seventy amount of heat finally
two lakhs on projection to Rupees fifteen thousand crore gives an transferred to the milk will be at a very slow rate.
total amount GHGs of 1130000 tons which could be mitigated
using this solar option.

2. Benefits:

The payback period for system is calculated to be 3 years and the

temperatures obtained in different months has been given in Fig.
2, Fig.3, Fig.4, Fig.5

Conclusion:

Solar energy available abundantly in the country can be used to a

good benefit in sweetmeat production. Ordinarily, the insolation of
around 600 W/m2 is not considered to be sufficient for attaining
the required temperature. With the help of concentrators higher

About the author

Dr. Paritosh Nandi, a Ph.D. on Solar Energy Engineering, is currently working with the Kolkata based EnVERT Group of companies
as Director – Strategy & Technology. He has previously worked for leading solar energy companies in India and abroad in the field of
design development of MW level solar plants, both Solar Photovoltaic and Concentrated Solar Power. He is also a Certified Energy
Auditor by the Ministry of Power, Government of India. He is a regular writer in international magazines and journals and also a
reviewer for various international Journals in the field of energy, especially on solar energy devices and systems.

Vol 4, Issue 3, July - September 2016 SER 3

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4 SER Vol 4, Issue 3, July - September 2016

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Vol 4, Issue 3, July - September 2016 SER 5

6 SER Vol 4, Issue 3, July - September 2016
 News

New solar absorber could improve efficiency of solar thermal losses. As the solar absorber takes in more energy, its temperature in-
technology creases, causing it to lose energy in the form of thermal radiation.

A team of researchers at MIT and the Masdar Institute of Science The sweet spot of a solar absorber then, is that point when op-
and Technology has discovered a low cost solar absorber. Solar timal levels of sunlight are absorbed with the least amount of
Absorbers are typically used to convert solar energy into heat and energy escaping back into the atmosphere through radiation. Ex-
the generated heat is used to heat up the media of application. perts believe they may have found this sweet spot.
This advancement should help make sustainable technologies that
rely on solar heat more efficient and affordable. The idea was to increase the absorption spectrum and to reduce
the emission loss from the absorber. The research team is work-
The MIT and Masdar Institute Cooperative Program helped launch ing hard to test with materials like copper, silver etc so that cost
the Masdar Institute in 2007. Research collaborations between can be reduced to certain extent in order to make the thermal
the two institutes address global energy and sustainability issues, technology cost effective in many ways.
and seek to develop research and development capabilities in Abu
Dhabi. Nicholas X. Fang, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Investment in Solar doubles by 2040
MIT and co-principal investigator of the project said that his team
was very excited at this MIT-Masdar Institute collaboration which The wind and solar industry are set to attract substantially higher in-
has led to new insights in the emerging field of plasmonics which vestment than fossil fuels over the next several decades, according
quantifies the interactions between the electromagnetic field and to a new assessment from Bloomberg New Energy Finance ( BNEF).
free electrons in a metal by trapping sunlight with plasmonics.
When the news was published, testing of the conversion efficiency Between now and 2040, an estimated $7.8 trillion in investment
was not yet performed and that is why final conversion efficiency will pour into the renewable energy industry, more than double
was not reported. The team’s novel fabrication technique involves the $3.2 trillion that BNEF expects to be invested into the coal,
patterning a solar absorber with tiny holes with diameters less natural gas and oil industries.
than 400 nanometers — roughly 1/200 the width of a human
hair — cut into the absorber at regular intervals.The tiny holes Individual renewable energy technologies will garner as much or
penetrate the entire absorber, greatly enhancing the range of solar more investment dollars than the entire fossil fuel industry. For ex-
energy that can be absorbed. Approximately 90 percent of all the ample, onshore and offshore wind will see $3.1 trillion in invest-
wavelengths of light that reach Earth’s surface are absorbed by the ment, whereas rooftop and utility-scale solar alone will see $3.4
device. Unlike traditional solar absorbers, this absorber requires trillion in investment, more money than all the oil wells, natural
very little material and consists of only two layers: a semiconduc- gas wells and coal mines – combined. Wind and solar capture 64
tor film and a reflective metallic layer, with a total thickness of 170 percent of the 8.6 terawatts of new power capacity expected to
nanometers. Since it can absorb most of the radiation these might be installed over the next 25 years.
be game changers in the field of solar thermal techonolgy.
BNEF forecasts a steady rise in renewable energy around the globe.
To optimize a solar absorber’s efficiency, it is desirable to maximize the In Europe, renewables account for 70 percent of electricity gener-
solar absorption and reduce the thermal radiation of heat from the ation in 2040, a sharp increase from 32 percent in 2015. The U.S.
absorber. However, it is challenging to create a solar absorber that can will lag a bit behind, but renewables will jump from a 14 percent
absorb a high level of sunlight while maintaining low thermal radiation share in 2015 to 44 percent in 2040. Even China, which has always

Vol 4, Issue 3, July - September 2016 SER 7

 News
been held up as an unending source of demand, is shifting rapidly pumps. The price of traditional pump is Rs 45,000 to supply water
to renewables. Through 2040, 73 percent of the new electricity to a few households whereas the solar variant costs Rs 65,000. In
capacity additions will be renewable. Coal capacity in China will Chennai, the company runs an assembling plant of water pumps.
peak in 2020 and will then begin to decline. The components for water pumps in this plant are imported. The
company has sold 43,144 pumps altogether in India in 2015, out
Globally, 60 percent of electricity generation will come from zero- of which agriculture contributes 55 per cent, commercial is 23-24
emission sources in 2040. While the exact market share figures per cent and the rest is domestic pumps. Solar pumps require very
are obviously moving targets, the direction, at least, is very clear. little maintenance or no maintenance.

The oft-cited Achilles heel of renewable energy – its intermittency Solar System and Crops : A Japanese Experiment
– becomes less of a problem as time goes on. That is because
batteries will also see steady reductions in cost. BNEF sees battery Solar sharing in Japan refers to the practice of using the same plot
storage rising from just 400 megawatt-hours today to a stagger- of land to simultaneously grow crops and generate solar power.
ing 760 gigawatt-hours in 2040. Also, as wind and solar technolo- In such cases, solar panels are installed high above the crops and
gies improve, their capacity factors are expected to rise. spaced farther apart than usual, enabling sufficient sunlight to pass
through and farmers to work below. Solar Frontier, a Japan-based
The shift to cleaner energy in the electric power sector is already manufacturer of copper, indium and selenium (CIS) solar modules,
underway, but for transportation sector (oil vs electric vehicles), has provided its panels for a “solar sharing” experiment on Sado
the transition will be slower. Nevertheless, the end result is the Island, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Solar Frontier says this business
same: EVs will increasingly take up market share at the expense model has been gradually spreading across Japan, helping farmers
of oil. earn additional income by selling electricity. University of Tokyo’s
IR3S (Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science) is carry-
For incumbent utilities, already under serious pressure from distrib- ing out the research. It aims to evaluate the potential economic im-
uted sources of renewable energy, the future is not necessarily as pact of solar sharing on Sado Island, where the population is both
grim as for fossil fuel producers. So long as utilities shift towards declining and aging. It is doing so as part of a broader project that
cheaper renewable energy, they will not be left behind. And the looks at using renewable energy and maximizing natural resources
rise of EVs provide them with a rare source of growth. BNEF says to achieve a low-carbon society and help revitalize communities.
that by 2040, the dramatic rise of EV adoption will make up 8 Solar Frontier has provided 10 kW of its Solacis neo CIS solar panels
percent of global electricity demand. for the experiment. The panels have been installed facing south
at a low inclination angle of 13.5 degrees and are 2 meters high,
This epochal shift from fossil fuels to clean energy will result in a enabling the farmer to tend to his crop. In this particular case, the
dark future for companies producing oil, gas and coal. As demand experiment had started with a round of broccoli, and it will be fol-
peaks and declines, prices will never come back, particularly for lowed by a range of seasonal vegetables as the year progresses.
coal. Short-term price bumps are likely, but the trend over the next As a result, the test will provide data on light-shielding rates and
several decades is clear – flat or declining demand will lead to a crop yield for the Washizaki district, an area with relatively difficult
glut in supply, keeping prices depressed. farming conditions. This solution might improve the condition of
the farmers with dual-farming opportunities. The installation and
The above figures will result in a world that falls short of the crops are being managed by the Association for Developing Sado.
2-degree Celsius climate target that the international community Taro Honma, president of the association, is the producer of Umi
is hoping to stay under. That means that more climate policies are no Kome (Rice of the Sea), a brand of rice that won the Sushi Rice
likely to be made as time goes on, which will only accelerate the Special Award at the Sushi Rice Contest International Tournament
shift away from fossil fuels. in 2015. He is also a practitioner of a completely organic farming
method that helps protect the Japanese crested ibis, a rare species
Grundfos Pump Solution in India of bird in the region. Solar Frontier says it will continue to focus
on collaborating with industry, academia and government, utilizing
Providing clean drinking water and improving the quality of life of its CIS thin-film modules to promote distributed energy generation
the commoners are the pertinent issues challenged by Grundfos initiatives rooted in local regions.
Pump. Grundfos Holdings in Denmark is one of the world’s lead-
ing pump manufacturers with an annual production of more than 750 MW Solar Park agreement by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
16 million pump units. Its wholly-owned India arm was estab-
lished in 1998 in Chennai. It is responsible for sales of products in Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has signed a power purchase agree-
India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Maldives. Grundfos India is doing ment with one of the largest solar projects planned in the country.
substantial research funding and an annual growth rate of about Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has signed an agreement to
10% ensures that substantial profit can be utilised in the R&D. So- purchase electricity generated from the planned 750 MW Solar
lar pumps contribute 8 per cent of the total sales of the company. Power Park in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Power generated from
The company has installed 17,500 solar pumps in the country since the Rewa-based solar park will be transmitted to Delhi, around
2009. The cost of a solar pump is slightly higher than convention 800 kms away. The 750 MW solar park will be one of the biggest

8 SER Vol 4, Issue 3, July - September 2016

 News
in India once fully operational. The project is among the first ultra Tamil Nadu to the national transmission grid. ABB received the
mega solar projects approved by the central government under its project from an independent power producer (IPP) Adani Group
revised solar target of 100 GW by March 2022. The solar park will and has completed it on schedule. Of the 648MW generated,
be developed in 3 phases of 250 MW capacity each, spread over 360MW is currently grid-connected and operational. The facility
a total of 1,500 hectares. Power generation from the first phase is will account for approximately 10% of India’s current solar capac-
expected to start in June 2017, with the entire capacity expected ity. The Kamuthi project features five photovoltaic (PV) plants and
to be fully operational by December 2017. International Finance is the world’s largest of its kind. The project includes the design,
Corporation (IFC) signed an agreement with the government of supply, installation, and commissioning related to the solar plant
the state of Madhya Pradesh in India to provide assistance in the electrification and automation systems. This involves two 230kV
implementation of the solar park. The IFC will extend its global and three 110kV outdoor switchyards, which will be used to con-
expertise to structure and implement the transaction to help at- nect to the local transmission grid and facilitate clean power sup-
tract private investments of about $750 million. IFC’s work on this ply for nearly 150,000 households based on average national per
project will be supported by its partnership with Australia’s De- capita consumption. The project is a part of India’s vision to achieve
partment of Foreign Trade. Delhi Metro has agreed to procure at 100GW of solar power by 2022. The government of Tamil Nadu is
least 121 million kWh of electricity every year from the first phase. pursuing a solar policy, which aims to attain a generation capacity
Once all the phases are operational, Delhi Metro may increase its addition of 3,000MW.
procurement to 363 million kWh per year. The park will generate
around 1350 million units of electricity per year and therefore Self-sailing solar Ship
DMRC will have substantial leverage to withdraw power from its
own utility. Solar Voyager launched from Gloucester, Massachusetts was
headed, very slowly, toward Portugal. It will be the world’s first au-
Solar power home storage systems put to test tonomous surface vessel to cross the ocean, and the first to do it on
solar power. It’s not the first to attempt the crossing and the others
Home storage systems for electricity produced by Solar Photo- have not fared well. Early 400 miles off the Massachusetts coast, a
voltaic System facilities are gaining popularity, as their costs are self-sailing, solar-powered, boat is bobbing along all alone. Look-
declining. However, standardized, verifiable criteria for the end ing like a very lonely, very miniature cargo ship, it’s at the start of a
client to assess their performance are still lacking. Now, scientists voyage that will hopefully take it more than 3,000 miles across the
have launched the largest German study so far to analyze com- Atlantic and into the record books. At 18-feet-long Solar Voyager
mercial systems with respect to safety, quality, and grid suitability is roughly the size of an ocean kayak, and looks reasonably robust
and to derive recommendations for manufacturers, standardiza- until you see it pictured next to another ship. The aluminum shell
tion bodies, and authorities. The SafetyFirst project is funded with is just 2.5 feet across. Early prototypes built from plastic proved
EUR 4 million by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and too fragile for the ocean conditions in the Atlantic, where waves
Energy and scheduled for a duration of three years. can easily reach 30 feet high in a storm, and cause trouble even
for cruise ships. The solar solution for a water transport and for
Colombian cities test solar powered ‘Internet of Bins’ such a long route will pave the ways for boats and cruises towards
a sustainable transport system.
Waste technology is not usually top of the list when it comes
to smart city infrastructure; energy, transportation or water tend MNRE plans 40,000 MW phase II of solar parks
to get more attention. Every city across the world faces a huge
waste disposal problem. Global population increases towards an The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is planning a
estimated 8.6 billion by 2030 and problems will increase manifold second phase of setting up solar parks across the country, twice as
as the low and middle income countries will inhabit most of the ambitious as the first. Unlike the previous one, the new round will
population. Ecube is one of a handful of start-ups trying to tackle set aside a portion where the solar power producer will also have
the issue through technology. Based in South Korea the company to set up facility to store the energy in batteries. In the first phase,
produces solar-powered, smart waste bins which allow cities to formulated in 2014-15, vacant land capable of hosting solar panels
monitor the levels of rubbish in each bin. The technology also to produce 20,000 MW had to be earmarked and acquired, and
compacts the waste. It has established some 2,500 smart waste the necessary infrastructure, such as transmission lines, put in place
networks at cities, campuses, amusement parks and restaurants for developers to set up solar projects. By the end March this year,
worldwide, and expects to double the number by the end of the 33 such areas in 21 states that could house 19,900 MW of projects
year. This will really change the waste disposal system and make had been identified — it takes about 5-6 acres to build 1 MW of
a substantial cost cutting in the process of collection of waste. installed capacity. While infrastructure at these places are at various
stages of completion, some of the parks are ready to be handed
648MW Solar project to Indian Grid by ABB over to project developers. Auctions have been held to allot some
of these. In Phase - II, the ministry wants to identify land capable of
Switzerland-based automation company ABB has commissioned accommodating 40,000 MW in about 25 states. Until now, solar
five substations to connect a 648MW solar project in Kamuthi in developers didn’t bother about storage, promptly transferring the

Vol 4, Issue 3, July - September 2016 SER 9

 News
power they generated to the grid. Storage is necessary to ensure expanding clean energy deployment in India. The most impor-
continuous solar power supply — since power generation can vary tant component is $60 million in clean energy financing. The
widely depending on the sun’s intensity — but it is also expensive, Indian government will split the costs with U.S. foundations to
almost doubling capital costs. A few pilot projects that consist of help small Indian solar startups get off the ground, especially in
storage are in the pipeline, including 100 MW of storage at a solar rural villages that are not on the country’s electrical grid. These
park in Andhra Pradesh. In the first phase, the MNRE provided subsidies and loan guarantees should help the young companies
financial support through viability gap funding (VGF) of Rs 20 lakh expand to the point where they can attract far greater interna-
per MW, or 30% of the cost of developing the park, whichever tional investment — as much as $1.4 billion, the two governments
was lower. This may be increased in the second phase if storage is estimate. That additional money will mostly come from the private
included. Each park under Phase - I has a solar power park devel- sector, although some may come from other government sources,
oper (SPPD) — usually, a venture between the Solar Corporation such as the U.S. Export-Import bank. These startup companies are
of India and the nodal agency for renewable energy in the state small and need funding to scale up. The hope is that it will raise far
where the project is coming up. In Rajasthan and Maharashtra, more than that seed money. Boosting India’s renewable sector will
private entities have also been roped in. Government is very keen help curb the need for expanded coal power by providing electric-
on strengthening the role of the state nodal agencies in order ity to areas in India that currently lack it. Modi has emphasized in
to reap the benefit out of it. Global developers prefer setting past speeches that 300 million Indians still don’t have access to
up their projects in solar parks because they don’t have to worry electricity. As seriously as India takes climate change, Modi warns,
about acquiring land, which the government takes care of. Solar it won’t keep its people in the literal dark. The new financing deal
rooftop programme is proceeding very slowly. The government is with the U.S. is specifically designed to address that concern. India
likely to achieve only around 20,000 MW by 2022 (from rooftop is the second most populous country in the world, and its enthu-
installations), against the target of 40,000 MW. The effort is to siastic participation is crucial to any global effort to limit climate
make up the shortfall by having more ground projects at solar change. It has poverty that needs to be alleviated through eco-
parks. nomic development and it has large reserves of coal — a poten-
tially lethal combination for the planet. The two countries also
Tamil Nadu bags solar award made plans for a $30 million public-private research program on
smart grids and storage of renewable energy, and agreed to im-
Tamil Nadu has won two National Excellence Awards 2016 for prove cooperation on wildlife conservation and combating wildlife
rooftop solar power projects from the Centre’s New and Renew- trafficking. Before the U.N. climate negotiations in Paris last De-
able Energy Ministry. While the Tamil Nadu Energy Development cember, climate hawks were nervous about whether India would
Agency (TEDA) won the award for rooftop solar power projects cooperate. Efforts to bring the country into a strong deal proved
in the General category, the Tangedco won the award for solar challenging but ultimately successful. India dramatically increases
projects in the DISCOM – Own Installation category. TANGEDCO its renewable energy deployment and to increase its coal use less
has installed 60 kW on top of its headquarters in Chennai in 2013 than previously expected (although still not enough to help the
utilising a shadow-free area of about 440 sqm. It generates and world stay below 2 degrees C of warming). India’s new plans for
injects approximately 1 lakh units a year into the grid.The plant, collaborating with the U.S. won’t just matter in Delhi and D.C.
made up of 219 modules with each containing 72 solar cells, India is the de facto leader of a large block of developing nations
meets partial load of the building during work days. They are also in climate negotiations, so its latest actions will reverberate around
planning another 20 kW addition. TEDA has also been given the the world.
national award for promoting rooftop solar energy. The Off-Grid
SPV Roof Top Projects commissioned by TEDA number around Renewable energy will overtake natural gas by 2027
2.30 lakh and generate 21.465 MW and there are 2,510 Grid
Connected projects which generate 50.752 MW. In total, the By 2040, zero-emission energy sources will make up 60% of in-
rooftop solar power projects generate 72.217 MW at present in stalled capacity. Wind and solar will account for 64% of the 8.6
Tami Nadu. terawatts (trillion watts or TW) of new power capacity. Solar and
wind will account for almost 60% of the $11.4 trillion invested in
Largest CSP Plant in Dubai energy over the next 25 years by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
The New Energy Outlook 2016 forecast charts a significantly lower
They like to do things big in Dubai, including a newly-approved track for global coal, gas and oil prices than it did a year ago.
concentrated solar power (CSP) project that will generate 1,000 It now estimates that $7.8 trillion will be invested in renewables
megawatts of power by 2020 — and a whopping 5,000 mega- over the next quarter century, compared to $1.2 trillion for new
watts by 2030. coal plants -- largely in India and other Asian emerging markets.
Renewables will dominate in Europe, which will overtake the U.S.
Solar Power Startups boosted by Indo-US tie in zero-emission power generation. Wind, solar, hydro and other
renewable energy plants will generate 70% of Europe’s power in
Indian Prime Minister Modi’s state visit to Washington, DC, 2040, up from 32% in 2015.In the U.S., renewable energy’s share
Indian government and the Obama administration issued a will jump from 14% of energy production in 2015 to 44% in 2040.
joint statement on US-India cooperation that led with plans for Energy generated from natural gas will slip from 33% to 31%.
10 SER Vol 4, Issue 3, July - September 2016
 Article

Sustainable energy technologies for food utilization has strength-

ened the capacity of humanitarian actors in ‘implementation and
management of sustainable and efficient technologies capable of
ensuring the availability of energy for the preparation of food in
refugee camps (temporary, semi-permanent or permanent). SET-
4food focuses in particular on the transfer of technical knowledge
on the study of specific energy technologies - tested through four
pilot projects in Africa, Asia and the Middle East - and the dissemi-
nation of the results by e-learning, training courses and activities
disclosure. The Politecnico di Milano Foundation took part in the
project together with the Politecnico of Milan and the leader COOPI
- International Cooperation (Non-Governmental Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development). SET4food was funded Food utilization directly depends on the access to energy as it is
by the European Commission - DG Humanitarian Aid and Civil Pro- required by the two main phases of the food utilization chain: food
tection - ECHO. processing and food preservation. The first term implies a series of
operations by which unprocessed foods are converted into food-
Definition of SET4food stuffs in order to be eaten, prolong safe storage, and reduce time/
effort spent in cooking procedures. The second term means a set of
The Sustainable Energy Technologies for Food Utilization or SET- treatment processes that are necessary to prolong the life of foods
4food is a project that aims at enhancing humanitarian capacity and retain the features that determine their quality, especially nu-
in identifying, implementing and monitoring sustainable energy tritional value.
technologies for food utilization in informal settlements, more im-
portantly on internal displacements. SET4food focuses primarily on In the framework of SET4food project, the focus is on the connection
food utilization and energy availability. among food, water and energy in the humanitarian contexts. Energy
technology is needed in all the steps along the agro-food chain, the
The main categories and sub-categories of SET4food Guidelines on post-harvest operations, and food preparation and preservation.
sustainable energy technologies for food utilization are shown in
the tables below: The term Energy Technology refers to the means of locating, assess-
ing, harvesting, transporting, processing, and transforming the pri-
mary energy forms present in nature (e.g., sunlight, biomass, crude
petroleum) to produce either direct energy services (e.g., heat from
fuelwood or coal) or secondary forms more convenient for human
use (e.g., charcoal, gasoline, electricity).

Energy technologies have a huge impact on most fundamental hu-

man needs, such as providing heat for cooking and boiling water.
Moreover, to improve energy technology is an opportunity to reduce
the monetary costs of delivering a given energy service, or to improve
the service delivered for a given cost.

Vol 4, Issue 3, July - September 2016 SER 11

 Article
How did SET4food come about? independent humanitarian foundation established in 1965. During
50 years of activity, it has carried out more than1.400 projects in 59
The SET4food guidelines resulted from the joint effort of Politecnico countries, providing a direct benefit to over 80 millions of people.
di Milano and COOPI-Cooperazione Internazionale. These guidelines Currently it works in 25 countries.
provide a wide range of solutions for cooking, food preservation, wa-
ter pumping and purification and electric power supply. According to The Politecnico di Milano is one of the most outstanding universi-
the “UNHCR 2014 Mid-Year Trends” (UNHCR, 2014), by mid-2014 ties in Europe, ranked 28th in the world and 8th in Europe among
there were 46.3 million refugees compared to 42.9 million by the technical universities, according to the QS World University Ranking
end of 2013, including 13.0 million refugees, the highest since 1996 – Engineering & Technology 2014. Founded in 1863, it is the largest
and almost 1.3 million more than the start of 2014 which was 11.7 school of architecture, design and engineering in Italy, with three
million. In this same period the total number of Internally Displaced main campuses located in Milan, and five more premises around the
Persons (IDPs) protected or assisted by UNHCR reached 26.0 million Lombardy region. The Politecnico di Milano is organized into 12 de-
and the number of asylum-seekers waiting for a decision comes close partments, responsible for planning of the research strategies, and 6
to 1.3 million. The SET4food pilot project aims at both the validation schools, responsible for the organization of education.The European
of the decision support system (DSS) and the testing of innovative en- Union has set a disclaimer that, although humanitarian aids by SET-
ergy technologies for food utilization for refugees and internally dis- 4food were carried out with financial assistance from the European
placed persons (IDPs). Thus a set of camps and informal settlements Union, the official opinion should not be reflected in this regard.
in four countries - Somalia, Central African Republic, Lebanon, Haiti -
were assessed and finally selected to implement short pilot activities. Countries that are benefitted by SET4food
The methodology was defined by the SET4food staff, considering
the inputs coming from the field. Finally an extensive monitoring sys- From a food security perspective, some of the top countries in terms
tem was developed in order to collect data and evaluate the impact of displacement are considered low-income food-deficit countries
of such technologies. As regards the poor living conditions suffered (LIFDCs). Therefore this situation involves the entire population. In
by refugees and IDPs in temporary / quasi permanent / permanent the selection particular attention was paid to Sub-Saharan coun-
camps or informal settlements, a relevant concern is represented by tries, the area with the highest prevalence of undernourishment in
the insufficient food security level. Poor food utilization and the lack the World. As not all the countries are an enabling environment to
of access to energy are important factors leading to food insecurity. test innovative solutions, due to excessive presence of insecurity,
instability or other constraints, the following four countries were
The final decision was taken on the basis of the following guiding chosen by COOPI for the pilot projects:
aspects:
Lebanon - Batroun District, Chekka & Heri, Koura District, Kfar-
• Number of refugees and / or IDPs; saroun, Deddeh, Waha Centre, El Koura district - Ras Masqa –all
• Relevance of the country for International Organizations; informal settlement of Syrian refugees
• Expected evolution of the humanitarian situation;
• Social, political and economic Instability; Somalia - Banadir Region, Hodan district, Mogadishu, 21 October
• Security conditions for NGO staff regarding the implementation of camp, IDP camp
pilot project activities;
• Inputs provided by DG ECHO and other implementing partners; Central African Republic - Zemio, Congolese refugee camp,
• Presence of COOPI; Bambari, Ouaka, Pladama camp, Sudanese refugee camp
• Presence of either formal camps or informal settlements;
• Geographical and linguistic considerations. Haiti - Port-au-Prince, Tabarre, Bigarade Damien, St. Etienne 1 &
2, Informal settlement of IDP, Carradeux, Mega 4 - “plain” block,
The COOPI officers identified camps and informal settlements to as- IDP camp
sess. The following aspects were taken into consideration:
• COOPI knowledge of the camp/settlement; These four countries have been selected for the pilot projects based
• Average residence time of refugees/IDPs (long enough for testing on the conditions cited earlier. Depending on the successful im-
innovative solutions); plementation of the technologies, SET4food can expand to other
• Site accessibility and security conditions; LIFDCs. Hopefully India will also benefit from the technologies and
• Expected needs regarding access to energy for food utilization move toward a better habitat for the malnutrition-stricken popula-
tion that currently persists.
The SET4food project is financed by the European Commission’s
Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) and the M/s. Soliocity Renewable Solutions, a partnership firm based
partners are COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale as leading agen- in Kolkata is a renewable solutions provider with a focus on
cy together with Politecnico di Milano and Fondazione Politecnico manufacturing of solar lights, viz., solar home lighting system,
di Milano. COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale is a secular and solar street lights, solar lanterns and solar distillation systems.

12 SER Vol 4, Issue 3, July - September 2016