BK at the UN- Earthrights

RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS

BRAHMA KUMARIS RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
Developed at
THE ACADEMY FOR A BETTER WORLD
Mount Abu, India
Renewable energy with a spiritual foundation

The Academy for a Better World

Government and private-sector partnership

Hybrid Systems and Hot Water

Rural Development and Outreach

Global Hospital and Research Centre

Shantivan – Solar Cooking 38,500 meals a day

Replicating the Technology

Outreach to the public

Current Research

Funding, support and participation

Renewable energy with a spiritual foundation

Photovoltaic, small wind turbine, bi-mass, solar and micor-hydro systems have gained increasing recognition as reliable,cost-effective and non-fossil-fule-dependent alternatives to electricity grid extension and diesel generator sets, especially for villages.

Achieving secure, efficient and clean energy supply is a major cross-cutting issue within the environmental and developmental challenges facing the world community. The growing scarcity and unavailability of fossil and other cooking fuels remains a serious problem for many and the consequential depletion of precious financial, environmental and time resources affects all humanity in one way or another. Renewable energy technologies offer a sustainable solution for bringing power and its educational, economic, developmental, health and quality of life benefits to people without proper energy supply, whether in an urban or rural setting. Photovoltaic, small wind turbine, bio-mass, solar and micro–hydro systems have gained increasing recognition as reliable, cost effective and non-fossil-fuel-dependent alternatives to electricity grid extension and diesel generator sets, especially for villages. Electricity grid extension is generally uneconomical, particularly for relatively small, dispersed and remote populations, while diesel generator sets are expensive to operate and maintain and do not offer a long term environmentally and economically sustainable solution in these situations.

The challenge of securing reliable, cost-effective and clean electricity supply has long been of particular relevance to the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, given the location of its headquarters complex at Mount Abu high in the Aravali Hills in a remote, impoverished and rural area of arid Western Rajasthan, India.

In 1992, under the auspices of the Brahma Kumaris family of organizations, the World Renewal Spiritual Trust (“WRST”) established a Department of Renewable Energy based at the University’s Headquarters in Mount Abu. Having focused almost exclusively on spiritual and moral education since its foundation in 1937, the University and its affiliates wanted to enter the field of renewable energy in order to meet the electricity and other energy requirements of their many residents and visitors. Thinking in this regard, and the decision to enter the field of renewable energy, crystallised as plans developed to found The Academy for a Better World on a 14-hectare plot of barren land in Mount Abu.

The Academy for a Better World

Phtovolaic solar dishes on the roof-top above the Academy's kitchen and dining block

The Academy for a Better World was inspired by a vision of a modern village-style complex in a rural setting. The vision was of a village with a difference – a global village that offered individuals of all walks of life and cultures residential lifelong learning programmes based on human, moral and spiritual values and principles. With a holistic approach firmly in mind, the purpose-built Academy would strive to be eco-friendly while also taking advantage of new developments in energy technology, communication and education. Drawing on the deep reservoir of the teachings and research history of the Brahma Kumaris, the Academy would offer personal self-development programmes, values-based education and conferences and seminars on the building of a better world for all. By 1995, the vision was substantially realised and the Academy’s inaugural conference – on Values-based Education for a Better World – was held in October 1995. By the beginning of the 21st Century, the Academy was drawing about 60,000 visitors a year from all continents of the world.

Initial steps into the field of Renewable Energy by the World Renewable Spiritual Trust were modest and involved the construction of an experimental energy-efficient rural house featuring a vault construction technique for mud-bricks, used internally with a double-wall ventilation system to help maintain a relatively stable year-round temperature. The house, and a nearby meditation pavilion built with a similar technique, are entirely reliant on wind and solar energy for their electricity supply while the street lighting between them is also solar-powered. Believed to be the first hybrid system of its type in India, the buildings were designed by Professor Gernot Minke, director of the Research Laboratory for Experimental Building in Kassel, Germany, while their energy concepts were provided by the Institute of Solar Energy Technologies (ISET) – a semi-governmental renewable energy research and development institute in Kassel. Installed in the Solar House, the Department of Renewable Energy soon got to work and since 1992 has been continuously monitoring solar radiation and wind speed on a computerized data logger. The results soon confirmed that the location is indeed favourable: situated at about 1,300 metres above sea level, Mount Abu enjoys almost continuously clear skies and among the highest levels of solar radiation within the state of Rajasthan.

With conventional commercial electricity supply often unreliable, the renewable energy possibilities were thus indeed appealing. Contact was made with the German Government’s Agency for Technical Operations (GTZ) and, with its support, and under the supervision of Dr. Schott, director of ISET, a research project was launched in December 1992. Its aim was to study and demonstrate the possible use of wind and solar energy for domestic supply purposes, including solar cooking, in a village setting. A small hybrid photovoltaic and wind generator system was set up for operation under constant computer monitoring.

Diagram of 5 Kw Solar System

Government and private-sector partnership

The vision of Shantivan was of a village with a difference --
a global village that offerd individuals of all walks of life
and cultures residential lifelong learning programmes based
on human, moral and spiritual values and principles

The solar cooker system at Shantivan.

A second project involved the supply of two wind battery chargers, one of 3 kw and the other 1kw capacity, which were installed in spring 1995. Part of a programme on wind energy utilization for rural and remote areas, the projected was supported by the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES) of the Government of India which tested and certified the chargers.

In 1996, two 7.5 square metre parabolic solar dishes were installed on the ample roof-top above the Academy’s kitchen and dining block. Each one focuses, at a distance of three metres, on a 40 cm by 40 cm heat exchanger, generates about 3 kw (at 1,050 watts radiation per square metre) and produces heat up to 650 degrees C at the focal point. After successfully using them to cook about 150 meals a day, it was decided to develop a complete system of 24 dishes and in 1997 the first prototype of a new modular solar steam cooking system for 2,000 meals per day was completed. The cooking system was jointly designed by Wolfgang Scheffler (of Switzerland), the Brahma Kumaris, Eco Centre (of Gujarat, India) and Hoch Temperatur Technik (HTT), one of the leading German companies in heat transfer technology. The design is such that one mirror reflects from a higher position to the front side of each receiver and another mirror reflects from a lower position to the reverse side of the receiver. The mirrors are positioned in an east-west alignment and follow the sun with a central, electronically-timed tracking system that is manually reset each evening. The parabolic concentrators are made in India and the system has a total surface area of 190 square metres.

While the tracking system ensures optimum performance, the system’s solar energy supply is integrated with a back-up oil-based steam-generator that cuts in automatically to provide support on days of low solar radiation. With a maximum output of 650 kg steam per day (transferred through steam pipes and a pressure reducer station to the steam kitchen) the cooker is a fine example of the successful use of cost efficient solar thermal energy on a large scale while making use of relatively simple technology and low-maintenance equipment that is locally manufactured from local materials.

Hybrid Systems and Hot Water

Maintenance of the battery bank at the Academy

In March 1996 a 10 kw hybrid wind-solar-diesel system was installed to charge a battery bank in order to ensure constant electricity supply to the Academy’s telephone and audiovisual systems.

The system is typical of a hybrid energy system in that it makes use of both wind and solar sources of energy for electrical generation and is configured so that either source can be used. While the wind generator has a maximum output of 2.5 kw at a rated wind speed of 10 metres per second, wind speed and availability is variable in Mount Abu and the generator is mainly of use as a secondary additional charging source. In contrast, solar radiation is a reliable source of energy for most of the year, except in monsoon times. The system’s power conditioner, or inverter, is able to smooth out short-term overload – when excessive power is supplied – and, when the supply is weak or unavailable, power is drawn from the batteries which can in turn be re-charged from the grid or with small diesel generators. The overall outcome is a reliable 24-hour power supply that takes account of both environmental and cost concerns.

Solar hot water collectors were installed at the Academy between 1996 and 1998 and generate approximately 40,000 litres per day of solar hot water, mainly for bathroom use. Collectors to generate a further 20,000 litres of solar hot water per day were subsequently installed at the Brahma Kumaris’ Pandav Bhawan complex at Mount Abu.

During 1997–98, the Brahma Kumaris and WRST installed 100 solar-powered water-pumping systems at the Academy and other Brahma Kumaris complexes.

In 2000, three 50 kw solar photovoltaic power plants with inverters made by Sunpower of Germany were installed by the WRST at the Academy, Pandav Bhawan and Shantivan (described below) and are used to supply a UPS facility for basic needs such as pumping drinking water, emergency lighting, communication equipment and kitchen facilities with a back-up time of eight hours. In addition to ensuring a continuous electricity supply, other benefits include eliminating costly short on-off back-up generator cycles.

Other features of the desire to preserve the surrounding environment at the Academy include maintaining the existing topography, preserving rock formations, limiting the height of buildings and restricting building to only 12% of the total land. The WRST also installed a waste-water treatment plant for the Academy. The only one of its kind in Western Rajasthan, the plant can treat about 200,000 litres of waste-water a day and make nearly 80% of it available for re-use. Treated water is pumped up to large storage tanks and then used for the irrigation of the Academy’s gardens.

Rural Development and Outreach

Rajasthan is one of the least economically developed states of India; illiteracy is high, work opportunities are limited and the mainly rural population affected by widespread income poverty. Recognising the overall needs of the rural community, the 1,000-year old village of Salgaon, which is adjacent to the Academy for a Better World, was selected as the pioneer of a broader development programme. In 1999 the village was equipped with solar street light systems, solar lanterns and solar cooking boxes as part of a project executed and run by the Brahma Kumaris. The success of the project has led to the plan to extend it to other neighbouring villages.

Global Hospital and Research Centre

As one of the least privileged areas of India, the majority of Western Rajasthan’s population are deprived of basic health care measures and, helping to remedy the situation, the Brahma Kumaris initiated the 120-bed Global Hospital and Research Centre in Mount Abu in 1990. While the Hospital’s opening thus predated the launch of the University’s substantive involvement in the field of renewable energy, in early 2002 plans were formulated for an MNES-supported solar steam system, based on 20 parabolic mirrors, to provide low-pressure steam for cooking food, sterilizers and laundry. The work was successfully completed and the system became operational in 2003, using an increased receiver-dish size of 12.6 square metres and an improved layout.

Shantivan – Solar Cooking 38,500 meals a day

Close-up of Shantivan system

The system, through all six of its modules, can generate 3,500 kg of steam per day, which is used ofr cooking water sterilization and preparing hot dirnks. Although originally designed to cater for 20,000 meals per day, during periods of peak solar radiation the system's output has been sufficient to cook a maximum of 38,500 meals per day.

By the early 1990s, students and teachers from over 60 countries were regularly visiting Mount Abu to take benefit from the University’s spiritual education and it was clear that further facilities were required to accommodate all those wishing to attend. In 1995 the WRST started work at a 25-hectare plot of land named Shantivan just outside Abu Road, the town at the base of the Aravali Hills, at the top of which Mount Abu is located, for building a 20,000 seat auditorium, dining facilities and simple accommodation for 15,000 people. Taking advantage of the experience and expertise in renewable energy systems developed over the previous years, the planning process include proposals for a major solar steam cooking facility.

In order to maximise output, a new design concept was developed jointly by Wolfgang Scheffler and ECO Centre, both of whom had also worked on the first system at the Academy, together with the WRST’s Department of Renewable Energy. The system comprises 84 improved parabolic concentrators, shell type receivers and large diameter header pipes which serve the dual purpose of treated water storage as well as steam reservoirs.

The improved parabolic concentrators are oval in shape and each has a reflective surface area of 9.2 square metres. The dish is fitted to a rotating support which itself rests on a stand, all built of mild steel and locally made in WRST workshops. Each concentrator reflects sunlight by means of 260 pieces of special white glass, 165 x 200 mm in size and imported from Germany, with an optical reflection rate close to 93%. Each disc has a maximum output of 4 kw solar radiation reaches temperatures up to 800 degrees Celsius at the focal point. The system’s concentrators are arranged in pairs, with one in a higher position and one lower, and their reflected sunlight is focused on 42 shell type receivers each of 350 mm diameter and made of boiler-grade steel, situated three metres from the centre of the concentrator. Tracking of each module is controlled by a semi-automatic centralised system comprising a winch, steel wires, a photovoltaic-powered DC motor and an electronic timer; each evening the system is reset to its morning position. Steam gathers in six independent header-pipes, each with a diameter of 35 cm and 24 metres long, from where it is concentrated to a common steam drum and then fed through insulated pipes directly to cooking vessels in the kitchens.

The system works on the thermo-siphon principle so that each concentrator’s well-insulated header pipe itself acts as a steam reservoir, obviating the need for a separate steam generator, heat exchanger or electrical back-up for circulation pumps, and thereby increasing efficiency and preventing disruption by power cuts. The day-to-day operation and maintenance of the system is easily handled by a team of three local residents.

Features incorporated in the system include a water-softening system to prevent salt formation in the header pipes and receivers, a pressure reducer station to maintain consistent steam flow and a high-efficiency diesel-fuelled back-up system for days of low solar radiation or extra demand to ensure round the clock steam availability. The only time that the back-up is put to full use is during the monsoon season when, for a period of about ten weeks, it is not practicable to rely on solar functionality. The system is protected against excessive pressure by safety valves and an automatic shutdown mechanism while temperature and pressure metres and a computerised six-channel data logger monitor the status of the system as a whole.

Installation was completed in January 1998 and the system, through all six of its modules, can generate 3,500 kg of steam per day, which is used for cooking, water sterilization and preparing hot drinks. Although originally designed to cater for 20,000 meals per day, during periods of peak solar radiation the system’s output has been sufficient to cook a maximum of 38,500 meals per day. Supported and approved by the MNES, the system attracts considerable attention and was described in a BBC World Service TV programme as the largest solar cooker in the world.

Schematic Drwawing of Solar Cooker in Teleti

Replicating the Technology

Solar Lantern for domestic use

Considerable efforts have been made in recent years to make some of the above technological expertise available to other large residential complexes within the Brahma Kumaris’ network in India as well as to the public at large. For example, between 1998 and 2000, some 60 Brahma Kumaris centres across India were each equipped by the Brahma Kumaris and WRST with a specially designed and standardized 5 kw solar photovoltaic system. The WRST was involved in the technical design and installation and maintenance of the systems which are primarily used for water pumping, computers and emergency lighting and fans. In 2000 a ten-parabolic-concentrator steam cooking system for 1,200 meals per day was set up at the WRST’s Training Campus at Yellapur, Hubli.

In late 2001, construction began at a new residential complex for the Brahma Kumaris Education Society at Manesar, near New Delhi. Named the Om Shanti Retreat Centre, the complex will provide accommodation and modern facilities for about 1,000 people. With regard to renewable energy systems, an improved solar steam cooking system with 24 parabolic dishes was set up in early 2002. As of mid-2002, a 200 kw photovoltaic power plant for the complex was in the planning stage and research being undertaken on the development of a 1 kw standardised solar power system for domestic home use with the idea of setting up 300 such units for use at Brahma Kumaris centres around India.

Outreach to the Public

Construction of the Shantivan system

As an educational and charitable organization, a key objective of the Department of Renewable Energy is to facilitate improvements in living standards in underprivileged remote villages by increasing the uptake of alternative energy technology in Rajasthan, and elsewhere. A variety of steps are being taken towards this objective and otherwise in furtherance of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University’s quest for a harmonious relationship between humanity and the natural environment.

The University receives many visitors to Mount Abu every month and thousands of these are introduced to its renewable energy systems either as incidental to the main purpose of their visit or as participants in one of the seminars, workshops or presentations on Renewable Energy which the University holds, often in conjunction with interested institutions or government agencies. Planning is under way to establish at the popular Peace Park in Mount Abu a Solar Demonstration Area that will boost public awareness of solar hot water and home lighting systems, cooking boxes and other renewable energy possibilities.

The Department of Renewable Energy began selling solar lanterns in 1997 and in early 2001 opened an “Aditya” (solar) Shop at its Shantivan complex in order to promote renewable energy technology and make it available to the public at affordable prices. The shop provides information on and sells renewable energy products such as solar cooking boxes, lanterns and home lighting kits. All of these have proved to be very popular and between 1997 and mid-2002 nearly 15,000 solar lanterns, 500 home-light systems and 400 solar cooking boxes were distributed by the Department.

Although the costs involved in renewable energy production are increasingly lower, the high initial investment required remains an entry barrier and such subsidies as are generally available are still limited. However greater public awareness of the widespread advantages of renewable energy will, it is hoped, help to stimulate the move towards better quality and more widely distributed energy solutions in the overall context of the world’s development needs, dwindling stocks of fossil fuels and the environmental and other costs associated with their exploitation and use.

Current Reserch

The ten-parabolic-concentrator steam cooking system at Hublis

The research and development programme of the Department of Renewable Energy of the World Renewal Spiritual Trust extends to the following technologies:

Photovoltaic power packs;
Solar steam cooking systems;
Water recycling technologies;
Solar hot water plants; and
Passive solar architecture.

While remaining relatively small scale in comparison to total energy requirements, the results achieved by the University’s initially-experimental renewable energy projects continue to yield very tangible practical benefits. A reliable source of energy is being generated in an effective way and technologically the projects are capable of easy expansion and replication elsewhere. The cooperative ventures undertaken, which involve people of different cultures and at different stages of tackling development issues, are also the basis of mutually beneficial dynamic partnerships that can flourish and serve further shared interests. The Department would be pleased to discuss possible cooperation with others involved or interested in the above technologies and their application or further development.

The World Renewal Spiritual Trust, under the auspices of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, gratefully acknowledges the funding, support, participation or other involvement in its renewable energy work of the following organizations:

The Solar House, Mount Abu

Advanced Energy Systems, Perth, Australia
Brahma Kumaris Educational Society, Mumbai, India
Charitable Trust to promote Social, Medical & Cultural Institutions in India, Bremen, Germany
ECO Centre, Valsad, Gujarat, India
Government of Australia, AusAid, Australian High Commission, New Delhi, India
Government of Germany, The German Agency for Technical Operations (GTZ), Eschborn, Germany
Government of India, Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources, New Delhi, India
Hoch Temperatur Technik/High Temperature Technology (HTT), Herford, Germany
IndiaCare, Berlin, Germany
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi, India
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), India
Institute of Solar Energy Technologies (ISET), Kassel, Germany
Kassel University, Research Laboratory for Experimental Building, Kassel, Germany
Siemens Solar, India
Solar Bruecke, Germany
Sunpower, Bad Vilbel, Germany
The World Bank, Washington, USA
ULOG, Solar Research, Switzerland