Hybridisation of an Existing Micro Hydro Plant with Solar PV and Integration with the Grid

India’s north eastern region has the largest share of the country’s CO₂ absorption sink. It also has a huge potential for clean micro hydro power. Various attempts have been made to establish micro Hydel based renewable energy projects in the region, but most of these have been abandoned due to availability of conventional grid at later stage.. The Ashden India Renewable Energy Collective in association with aims to optimise resource use by tapping the full potential of solar and hydro power. The project site is the Upper Killing village in the Kamrup District of Assam, India. A micro hydro plant is already in existence and has been operated by the local tribal community since 2007, but may soon become defunct as a result of the village’s connection to the national grid in 2014.

The specific objectives of the project are:

• To connect the micro hydro plant to the grid to keep it operational
• To inject the energy produced into the grid through a power purchase agreement
• To install a 5 KW solar photovoltaic plant near the existing plant, thereby setting up a pilot project for a solar hydro hybrid system
• To establish training and capacity building, especially for the local communities
• To monitor the activities and develop replication plans

The project should be implemented within two years.