Micro-Level Energy Planning for Rural Area of Malnad Region-A Case Study

Optimal allocation of rural energy resources to various energy end users is an important aspect for bridging the energy supply and demand gap in India. This paper deals with the analysis of present energy consumption pattern of a village in the year 2010-11 and projected energy demand for the year 2018-19. It also contains a study on matching the various energy sources to cater to the energy needs of a wide variety of tasks such as cooking, lighting, ploughing, pumping water for irrigation etc. Study has been conducted for a typical village Anjanapura of Malnad region of Shivamogga District, Karnataka state. The data used for the analysis is obtained from detailed survey of various energy resources and demand of the village. The integrated energy plan for selected village is prepared for 100% coverage basis, covering geographic and demographic characteristics, economic activities and general living condition of the people.

A micro level energy planning becomes pragmatic for pursing the goal of sustainable development and efficient use of locally available energy resources. The optimization of energy resources has been done using Linear programming formulation. The linear programming formulation model is prepared and results obtained have been compared with the present energy consumption pattern. The results of the model indicate that use of firewood and agro waste should be promoted for cooking. The use of Kerosene should be limited to 11884 MJ for lighting and its use should be avoided for cooking.