Diesel Generators: Improving Efficiency and Emission Performance in India Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation Website-

Diesel Generators for Home Power or Off- Grid Electricity Diesel generators are a major source of generating power in India. These generators are used by small commercial enterprises as well as large private and public buildings for generating electricity during grid outage. However, use of diesel generators for producing electricity causes high pollution levels and is thus not sustainable and environmentally-friendly. In order to meet its green energy objectives, India’s energy policy is also focusing on diesel generator efficiency as well as vehicle and fuel efficiency.

Importance of Diesel Generators In India, there are large areas and remote corners that are still struggling to get enough electricity. In several such areas either grid extension is not possible or done yet or these areas are facing problems of interrupted and unreliable grid supply. In such a scenario, people are largely relying on off-grid electricity using diesel generators. Households, agriculture, construction, small commercial entities, and industries are the largest consumers of these generators to meet their power requirements.

Inclusion of Vehicle and Fuel Efficiency The problem associated with diesel generators is their adverse impact on environment through emission of a mixture of gases – carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, and unburned hydrocarbons and soot particles. In fact, growing vehicular and fuel emissions in India, is a major concern and this has led to inclusion of vehicle and fuel efficiency in national energy policy.

Used as Home Power and Commercial Applications They are easy to install and operate. They have low space requirements and can easily fit into a corner of a home or small property. They are widely available in the market in both organized and unorganized sectors. There are large reputed domestic/ international brands as well as small and local manufacturers of diesel generators in India.

Diesel Generator Efficiency The importance of diesel generators for meeting home power and off-grid electricity needs cannot be denied. However, in order to make this practice more sustainable, it is important to have measures that can promote higher efficiency and lower emissions in diesel generators.

Our Vision Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation recently conducted a study to assess existing regulatory framework of diesel generator efficiency and emission standards in India as well as globally, and identify the gaps and areas of opportunities in this sector.

Our Analysis Efficiency of diesel generator sets depends on both their design and operation. The design, size/capacity, material used, operating speed, mechanism for fuel control and cooling are some design related attributes. Load, ambient conditions and operation and maintenance (O&M) practices are important operation related factors. Efficiency of these sets increase with size. Emissions can be controlled by improving the combustion process inside the engines, deployment of emission control techniques, and ensure proper O&M practices by users.

Conclusion These measures can go a long way in making diesel generators both fuel efficient and low on emissions, thus ensuring that these sets continue to offer solution to India’s power shortage, but in an environmentally sustainable manner.

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