New Delhi: ABB (India Limited) has signed a memorandum of understanding with IIT Roorkee (The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee) for technical cooperation to construct an operational smart electricity distribution network and management system (SDNMS) in its campus.
This will serve as a pilot project for the Government of India’s Smart Cities Mission. The agreement also includes the creation of a Smart Grids Resource Centre and joint R&D facilities in the field of efficient power generation and distribution with a focus on clean energy over the next five years.
India, the world’s third largest consumer of electricity, is working to transform its urban energy infrastructure to make it more citizen friendly and sustainable. A cost-effective smart distribution system has the potential to significantly reduce India’s carbon footprint.
“ABB has a strong relationship with India, having collaborated on several projects over many decades. Our agreement with IIT Roorkee strengthens ABB’s mission to nurture innovative thinking that helps people lead better lives,” said Sanjeev Sharma, Managing Director, ABB India.
“The project signed today serves as a proof of concept of using smart grids and intelligent automation to efficiently manage power distribution. It would make India’s vision of power to all a reality and ultimately realize ABB’s goal of building technology that runs the world without consuming the earth,” he further added.
MoU to Generate Power Efficiently
IIT Roorkee has been doing pioneering work in recent years to build a more eco-friendly campus using renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind and biomass for power generation and utilization. ABB has a strong portfolio of products for the integration, distribution and automation of interconnected renewable energy sources that form local distribution grids.
Speaking about the MoU, Prof. Ajit Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee, said, “Concern for sustainability has always driven all major campus development related activities of IIT Roorkee, making us one of the pioneers in this space. IIT Roorkee has been harnessing solar energy not only for electricity generation but also for providing direct hot water to all its hostels and residences in the campus, and also carries out solar based cooking in the hostels.”
Further, Prof Ajit Chaturvedi said, “The smart energy management and distribution agreement with ABB takes us many steps closer to creating a 100 percent green campus and achieving zero carbon dioxide emission in the long run.”
IIT Roorkee and ABB will collaborate in assimilating various supply and demand side equipments, devices and systems into an automated and hybrid energy distribution and management system for the campus. ABB will also provide design, engineering, procurement, testing and other services for the SDNMS project, expected to be operational in 2018-19.
ABB to Provide Inputs to Create SDNMS
ABB’s equipment, such as the ring main unit upgrade, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, micro-grids and energy management systems will be installed to automate and remotely monitor, control and measure the campus grid. The integrated system will offer more power resilience, lower costs due to reduced dependency on electricity sourced from the government utility and diesel generators.
ABB experts will provide inputs for the creation of an SDNMS simulation at the SGRC which will serve as a platform for testing new ideas and techniques for field trials before deployment. A joint R&D facility on campus, supported by ABB, will be created to tighten collaboration between academia and industry and nurture talent through ABB-sponsored scholarships.
ABB technology has had significant impact on India’s energy infrastructure. Its electrification and automation systems power the world’s largest single-location solar project in Tamil Nadu and its network management solutions ensure 60 million people in Karnataka receive reliable power.
ABB Ability-enabled technology will support a digital substation in Mumbai, Maharashtra, which will be instrumental in transmitting clean energy from nearby solar plants to the rest of the state.
