Joint Workshop on 'Microgrid's Interconnection Issues and Recycling of Solar PV Modules and Batteries'

As we know, India's commitment under INDC is to achieve 40 per cent electric power from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030. As part of the mitigation efforts, India's National Solar Mission has aimed to achieve a renewable energy capacity of 175 GW by 2022 including 100 GW from solar power, 60 GW from wind power, 10 GW from bio power, and 5 GW from small hydro power. So far, installations of 5,415 MW of grid interactive RE systems and 142 MW of off-grid systems have been achieved (as of February 2017).

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems offer unique benefits in distributed power applications and a promising approach is to increase the deployment of decentralized energy generation through the use of microgrid for rural and urban applications. There is a need to understand the challenges related to technical, regulatory framework, control mechanism, communications, business model, etc., associated with microgrids integration.

In the same time there are large numbers of rural consumers as well as in semi/peri-urban areas where solar PV and battery technology are being used extensively. But there are no programmes in India that employ a strategy for recycling of solar PV module and new battery technology. There is a need to develop guidelines and plan for recycling of solar PV modules and new battery technologies.

As a part of Norwegian Frame Work Agreement part-2, TERI and University of Agder, Norway organized a workshop on 'Microgrid's Interconnection issues and Recycling of Solar PV Modules and Batteries'. The objective of the workshop was to bring key stakeholders, such as industry partners, and research and academic institutes, to discuss latest technology development, key technical issues and best practices, and suggest solutions to address the challenges associated with microgrid deployment and recycling of PV module and batteries.