The first Smart Nanogrid™ Village has been implemented at Chhotkei village in Angul, Odisha – the first such smart microgrid and smart village implementation in India. Chhotkei is a small remote village inside the hilly and scenic terrain of Satkosia Tiger Reserve, about 160km from the state capital, Bhubaneswar. While Angul is the Powerhouse of the state lighting the country, it fails to expel the darkness underneath. Chhotkei is one such village in Angul, where grid electricity is yet to reach. Approximately 600 villagers, living in 140 households spread over 235Ha of land, continued to live in darkness, until the arrival of Smart Nanogrid™.
The village has been supplied with a 30kWp Solar-powered Smart NanogridTM to meet the energy demands of 140 households, 20 streetlights, a temple, and three community centres consuming about 20kWp. The rest 10kWp has been set aside for day-time use by irrigation pumps and microenterprises such as stitching, rice-puff machines, provision stores, poultry, refrigerators, oil mill, welding, cold-rooms, etc. to improve agricultural output, enable value-addition to agriculture, and generate employment. Motivated local youth have been hired and trained for project implementation and O&M of the system post commissioning. This ensures sustainability of the project.
Significant changes have taken place at Chhotkei, within a year of project implementation. Children have started to study in the evening, women and adults have access to light and entertainment, and the youth have access to opportunities. A youth returned from the nearby town to set up own business. Another youth started a printing-cum-photo-studio business. Farmers are acquiring irrigation pumps to increase crops. Street lights enabled social interactions and fearless stroll through the village streets and pathways. The transformation is a journey and the long-term impact will be seen over the months and years to come. A mother in the village aptly summarized this as “Now, we have hope for the future!”
Note: The power plant at Chhotkei has been shut down as the villagers expect grid electricity to arrive.