This presentation explores the food-energy-water nexus in light of renewable energy for food preservation. It provides information on projects taken up by TERI for commercialising renewable powered small scale cold storages

1. RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR
PRESERVATION OF FRESH FOOD
Anand Upadhyay, Associate Fellow
The Energy and Resources Institute

2. 1.
2.
3.
4.
The Nexus
The problems
RE as a soln.
TERI projects
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3. Background
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4. The Good
• India is the 2nd largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the
world.
• Horticulture provides 6.5% of the countries GDP, 13% of
employment and accounts for more than 9% of Indian exports
with only 9% crop acreage.
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5. The Bad
Harvested fruits and vegetables, worth
USD 12 billion
are lost due to lack of post harvest handling and storage
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6. and The Ugly…
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7. • Short fall of 10 million tones storage capacity
• Energy costs account for about 30% of operating
costs.
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8. Energy and Food production balance
• Solar-energy-powered traditional agriculture can
produce 1100 kg of food grain/hectare
• This balance has been violated by two groups
– Affluent group: used fossil fuel to increase yield
– Other group: Needs beyond 1100 kg/hectare !!!
• Key to balance
– Stopping population growth
– Renewable powered agriculture
Source: Balancing energy and food production, 1975—2000; Gross, Chancellor; Science (1976)
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9. Energy for Food
• ‘Focused’ data hardly available
• India – 14%; USA – 7% (Agriculture energy
consumption in resp. country)
Source: http://www.postcarbon.org/articles/where-energy-goes.png
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10. Water for Food
• Irrigation water ≥ 70% of freshwater (higher in
some countries e.g. India, Vietnam)
• Upto 80% of water bills = energy costs
1987
1994
2001
2007
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11. BUT WHAT WENT WRONG ?!!
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12. Some of the issues
• Centralization of resource supply – losing the
collective knowledge
• Incoherent policies
• Compartmentalized efficiencies
• Not paying the right price
AND…
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13. The big issue
Not a surprise !!!
It’s a RESOURCE CRUNCH
We don’t have enough fossil resource
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14. Most of the Indian landscape is
blessed with
perennial solar energy
+
biomass in villages
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15. In 2006, TERI started working on a concept
whereby indigenously available biomass and
solar resources could be used to operate small,
decentralized cold storage right at the village
level
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16. Interactions…
Consultations with
• National Horticulture Board
• District Horticulture Offices
• Central Food Technological
Research Institute
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17. … Elaborate exercise to understand the field
requirements.
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18. The System
• A 15 kW Vapor Absorption Machine (VAM) coupled with
a 50 kWe Biomass Gasifier system and a field of solar
collectors.
• Locally available biomass is used in the Biomass Gasifier
to produce synthesis gas, which will then be used to run
an engine to produce electricity.
• Additionally the heat energy from the sun and gasifier is
being utilized by the VAM to produce cooling effect in the
cold storage.
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19. The System
Solar Dishes
Cold Storage
Ammonia VAM
Biomass Gasifier
Gas Engine
Electrical Power
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20. The System
Cold storage
Solar dishes
Gasifier
system
VAM
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21. To provide
• 50 kW clean grid quality power
• Cold storage facility for about 20 tonnes of
fruits or vegetables.
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22. TRNSYS simulation results
Initial cooling load profile after product
has been loaded in cold chamber
TRNSYS
model
Cooling load over next 30 days after
product has been brought to storage
temperature
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23. Project Site
N
Located in SEC campus,
Gurgaon, near solar
parabolic trough collector
field
The Beginning…
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24. Setting up of system
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25. Complete system
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26. Technological USPs
• First of a kind in World
State of the ART
• Ammonia based VAM – GAX cycle – built for sub
zero temperature
Renewable
Energy
• Biomass – TERI’s Advanced Gasification System
• Solar –Fixed focus concentrating dish
Grid
Independent
• Electricity generated from gasifier & gas engine
System
Integration
• Integration of Biomass gasifier, Solar dishes and
Ammonia VAM with Cold storage
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27. Specifications
Cold Storage capacity
: 20 MT
Cooling Capacity
: 15 kW
Cold storage Temperature
: 0 to 5°C
Gas Engine capacity
: 50 kWe
Biomass consumption
: 60 kg/hr
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28. Deliverables = Needs
Power
Generation
Size
Fruits
Grid quality
power for
domestic,
community,
and
productive
loads
Cold Storage
Cooling Duty
Vegetables
Energy
Requirement
(15 to 50
kW)
Self
Sufficient
Dairy & Milk
Flowers*
Fish & Meat*
Capacity
(20 to 100
MT)

29. Derivative schemes
Energy side
variations
Biomass
Technology
Application
Absorption
technology for
positive temperatures
Horticultural
Absorption
technology for sub
zero temperatures
Solar
Vapor compression
technology for all
temperatures
Non horticultural
Food processing
Deep Freezing
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30. Mix ‘n’ match
Scheme A
• Biomass coupled with absorption
Technology
Scheme B
• Solar & Biomass Hybrid Coupled
with Absorption Technology
Scheme C
• Biomass coupled with vapor
compression Technology
Scheme D
• Solar PV powered
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31. First Field System :)
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32. Salient features of the field system
50kWe advanced biomass gasifier power generation system
Cold Storage of 15 MT storage capacity
Advanced prepaid metering system and safety features
Operated by village community
Designed and commissioned by TERI

33. Overview
• Project partners – TERI, CSIRO (Australia)
• Project funded by - AusAID
• Location - District Sitapur, State – Uttar Pradesh
• Villages covered - 2

34. Coverage
• Cold Storage – 15 MT
• 140 households (to start with)each with 100 W load
• Productive loads - Irrigation pumps, Flour mills,
Battery charging
• Community - Street lights, School, Local Office

35. Project highlights
 140 households spread over two villages are being provided 100 W each
 Technical specifications and safety features conforming to REC standards
 Power monitoring at generation and load centres to prevent pilferage
 Smart metering
o Differential prepaid electricity billing for all consumers
o Display of balance money for individual houses/load centres
o Over consumption isolates the household/load centre automatically, requiring manual
intervention to restart
 LED streetlights with efficient features, dimming, and movement actuated
 Productive loads to be covered – irrigation pumps, flour mills and battery charging.

38. Site Layout

40. Electricity distribution system, along with Cold store in inset (right)

41. 41

42. Thank you for your patience !!!
Thank You!!!
anand.upadhyay@teri.res.in
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