The SP Team focus will leverage applied research supported by field experts

SP, with eight project partners, will work together to find sustainable alternatives to diesel on the Andamans.

SP Group, a research institute based in Sweden, is one of the first research institutes to become part of the India Sweden Innovations Accelerator under the new Research & Innovation platform. The institute will be undertaking research on micro grids for a pilot project in the Andaman Islands in India.We spoke to Sten Stenbeck, Project Manager at SP Research Institute about the current project and how they plan to take it forward.

What kind of research do you undertake at your institute?

We are primarily an applied research institute, we assist is large research and innovation projects for a variety of products. We also do testing and verification of products from not only Swedish companies but also for global companies. Our work is not limited to a specific sector or area of research, which sets us apart from others since we have an expertise across the board.

What is your role in this specific project?

In this project we will be doing a feasibility study for setting up micro grids in the Andaman Islands. We are working with a consortium of eight other companies all of who have expertise in the fields of renewable energy and sustainability. The project is high priority since it is India and we have not worked here before.

The need is to find a solution for the high consumption of fossil fuel for energy. The island uses a lot of diesel since they are not connected to a grid for electricity. To this effect we are looking at the feasibility of not only a micro grid but also of solar power and bio gas. The size of the grid in terms of power generated would be 20 to 50 kW.

How do you plan to see it through?

We are working in collaboration with eight other companies who have a wide technical approach and bring these different experiences to this project. We are looking at various factors for the feasibility report like – sustainability. Not only from the perspective of the technology but also from a social point of view. Once the grids are installed the community should be able to maintain the infrastructure themselves.

We plan to complete the feasibility study by August 2016

Why solar power and bio gas?

In the Andaman Islands the increasing tourism has put a lot of pressure on the current system of energy generation. It is important to move from the conventional sources of power generation to more sustainable sources. Both solar power and bio gas are easy means to generate power, it is cost effective and sustainable in the long term. Therefore we are doing a feasibility study for these two projects as well.