Ranjay Singh

Mahua (Madhuca spp.) is an important tree in India, with high socio-economic, environmental and spiritual values. We carried out this study among the local communities of Azamgarh district (eastern Uttar Pradesh) and with the Gond and Baiga tribes from Raisen and Dindori districts, Madhya Pradesh. Among the five mahua species found in Indian subcontinent, Madhuca latifolia is widely distributed in the north and central plains, the focal area of our study. Mahua has been vital to the survival of these communities, particularly the Gond and Baiga tribes, from the time immemorial. It has been a major source of food energy in the form of sugar, seed oil and alcohol. As well, different parts of the tree are used as ethnomedicine. The tribal people’s high regard for mahua is reflected by its sustainable and regulated use. In this study, we present an in-depth analysis of conservation, management and sustainable use of mahua, and also suggest its role in socio-economic adaptation, with particular reference to climate change.

Traditional communities the world over have been using a variety of indigenous biological resources in farming and life support systems. They are direct stakeholders in the in situ conservation and sustainable management of diverse plant species on their farms and in their home gardens. Location specific needs and ecosystem diversity plays a decisive role in maintaining biocultural resources. The present paper, based on six different case studies, describes the practices of traditional and innovative farmers in conservation of indigenous biodiversity. How farmers explore, domesticate and manage wild plant resources to sustain their livelihoods is the main theme of this study. It represents an explorative and qualitative study, carried out with diverse communities living in central India, Indo-Gangetic plains and mountainous ecosystems of Arunachal Pradesh. The study is based on 7 years of collaborative and participatory research with local and native communities. Data was generated using a combination of conventional (personal interviews with open-ended questions and informal interaction) and participatory methods. We found 108that the local farmers and traditional women are the true custodians of landraces and ethnobotanical species, conserving them for their diverse food and nutritional contributions. Besides playing a crucial role in the conservation of bioresources and related cultures, the ecological knowledge of local farmers and women substantially contributes in sustaining vital ecological processes. Irrespective of socio-ecological systems, the elders and women play a leading role in the conservation and sustainable management of plant genetic resources. The number of species being managed for use in food and ethnomedicine is higher in mountainous ecosystems as compared to lower elevations. This could be attributed to the harsh living conditions in the mountainous ecosystems, forcing traditional communities in remote locations to evolve unique and effective ways of conserving and sustainably utilizing their genetic resources.

Busbars form an integral part of the power system. They act as nodes to which generators, loads, transmission lines, etc., are connected. Therefore, busbar arrangement and its protection are prime concerns for the power system engineer. Chapter 7 aims to highlight the various arrangements in which the busbar can be connected, for example, single busbar arrangement, ring main arrangement, etc. The chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of these arrangements based on prudent decisions to be made by the system designer. The various faults associated with the busbar are also highlighted. The protection of busbars depends on the type of fault and busbar arrangement, and the topic forms an integral part of the chapter. Solved examples make the concept of busbar protection more comprehensible for readers.

This paper presents reformed electric system cascade analysis (RESCA) technique for optimization of hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) comprising of wind energy conversion system (WECS), photo-voltaic system (PV), battery energy storage system (BESS) and non-intermittent source (NIS). Optimization constraints of final excess energy (FEE), energy generation ratio (EGR), cost of energy (COE), net present cost (NPC) and renewable energy fraction (REF) are considered for the optimization of the system. This optimization is realized for an isolated load comprising of the 10 households in Malaysia with a daily consumption of 84.5 kWh. On successful implementation of RESCA with different constraints it is found that the optimum size of energy sources for the HRES varies depending on the chosen constraints. Also, the net present cost (NPC) of the system can be considerably reduced on introduction of NIS to the HRES. RESCA provides the user with better insight into the influence of variation of PV and WECS power generation while identifying the optimal size of energy storage unit. The optimized results obtained are also compared with benchmark HOMER software to validate the methodology.

This paper presents a new methodology of reformed electric system cascade analysis (RESCA) for the optimization of hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) with wind energy conversion system, PV system, battery energy storage system, non-intermittent source, and grid as system components. Four different configurations of HRES in islanding and grid-connected mode is considered for analysis. The four configurations of HRES is optimized using RESCA with constraints, such as final excess energy, renewable energy fraction, energy generation ratio, loss of power supply probability, and annual system cost (ASC). The optimization is realized for a residential load in Newark, USA consisting of 100 households with a daily consumption of 30 kWh for each house. The paper successfully presents the application of the RESCA methodology for the optimization of HRES based on reliability and economic constraints for both isolated and grid connected mode of applications.

The fast‐growing awareness of depleting fossil fuel and the adverse impact of conventional energy generation methods on the environment has brought passionate attention to renewable energy sources (RE source). Owing to stochastic nature of energy production from renewable energy system (RES), two or more sources are combined to form hybrid RE system (HRES). Optimisation of size, cost and reliability of power production of HRES are important factors in the planning of HRES. This study presents a review of optimisation tools and constraints on which HRES system is optimised. The types of storage/backup system available for HRES are also presented in this study.

This paper presents the application of electric system cascade analysis (ESCA) for optimization of a hybrid system consisting of wind energy conversion system (WECS), photo-voltaic generation (PVG), battery energy storage system (BESS) and non-intermittent source like bio-mass generator (BMG). The paper aims to show the application of ESCA for a hybrid system by finding the optimized size of the generating units with final excess energy (FEE) as the optimization constraint and also compare three system configurations, i.e. non-intermittent source only, with intermittent source only and a hybrid system comprising of both these sources with a predefined renewable energy fraction (REF).

An attempt has been made to analyze the methods to improve the electromagnetic properties of a solid-rotor high speed induction motor. The slitting patterns of the solid rotor are examined. It is shown how the slitting parameters affect the produced torque. The paper considered the effect of variation of slit depth and slit width for two materials with different electrical properties, on the performance of 180 kW, 170 Hz 3-phase induction motor using Flux-2D Maxwell software package from ANSYS. It is found that deeper rotor slit gives better and higher starting torqueas well as maximum torque. Also a comparative study with a double cage rotor slot is presented which leads to further improvement of running performance of the high speed induction motor.