Discussion on Draft Standard part A & B 'Selection of Stand-Alone Lighting Kits for Rural Electrification'

TERI organised a discussion forum on Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) 'Draft Standard for Solar Lighting Systems, Part A & B, Selection of Stand-Alone Lighting Kits for Rural Electrification' at TERI University on May 25, 2015.

The main objective of the discussion forum was to bring together solar lighting manufactures, test labs, and solar PV consultants to collect their feedback on the existing draft standard and forward it to the BIS for wider circulation and finalization. The welcome address was given by Mr Shirish Garud, Associate Director TERI. Post this, 'Test Standards and Importance of Testing' was address by Dr Ahmar Raza, Former Director, MNRE and the Chairman of the Solar PV Committee at BIS. Then, Dr T C Tripathi, Former Director, NISE talked about the significance of stand-alone lighting kits for rural electrification. A presentation on 'Selection of Stand-Alone Lighting Kits for Rural Electrification: Specifications and Methods of Test' was presented by Mr Brendon Mendonca, Schatz Energy Research Center, USA. This was followed by a presentation on 'Importance of Test lab and Test Standards' Mr Arvind Sharma, TERI". A visit was made to the test facility at Solar Lighting Laboratory, and the steps needed to conduct testing on various parameters of a solar lighting system were demonstrated.