Villages located in remote and inaccessible areas of Jharkhand are now illuminating with the help of solar energy. These are the villages where electrification was not possible through a grid or conventional electrification methods. Ultimately, a total of 7740 un-electrified households have been electrified with solar stand-alone systems and solar power plants.
These villages were identified by Jharkhand BijliVitran Nigam Limited where electricity was still inaccessible. It was not feasible to electrify these villages through conventional methods due to inaccessible hills and forests. In such a situation, such villages have been electrified through solar energy.
The state government aims to electrify every village & town across the state. Due to difficult demography, the conventional power supply was practically not feasible in many villages. In such a situation, the government believes that the renewable energy project can prove to be a better option as per the local needs. Work is being done to electrify such villages or towns through mini-grid or solar stand-alone home lighting systems. Under this scheme, the beneficiaries were provided with a solar power supply at a 100 per cent subsidy.
The electrification of such villages is being done through two means. The first is, through a solar stand-alone system. This system is being utilized for the villages with less than 50 houses or where the expansion of the village is in small clusters. Under this, a module of 200-250 watts is being installed in each house with four 9 watts led bulbs, one DC fan, a mobile charging point and a power socket for LED TV. Apart from the above, community buildings or schools are also being electrified through a solar stand-alone system. Also, for every 10 households, a solar street light is being installed to illuminate streets.
Another means of electrification is mini/micro off-grid solar power plants. This system is being utilized for the electrification of villages with more than 50 households and the actual spread of the village is dense. Under this system, It is proposed to supply electricity to each house through poles and wires, setting an electric load of 200-250 watts for each household.
Chapel Pahar, BascoPahar and TangraPahad villages of Barhait block in Sahebganj have been fully electrified with solar energy. At the same time, the work of electrification in six villages of Patana block is under progress. While the work of covering one village each in Hazaribagh'sIchak, Chatra'sSimaria and four villages of Simdega is in progress.
