MCET NETWORK

Training Programs

• February 21, 2023. Training session on an open-source energy modelling tool – "Indian Zero Carbon Energy Pathways (IDEEA)" [Training program]. Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, India.

• August 22, 2023. Application of open-source IDEEA model for Karnataka electricity system [Training program]. GNEC-IIT Roorkee, Roorkee, India.

• March 15–16, 2024. Application of open-source energy model: To develop Indian zero carbon pathway [Upskilling program]. Global Center of Excellence in Affordable and Clean Energy (GCoE-ACE), IIT Dharwad, India, in collaboration with Lowe’s Indian Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore. 

• September 2–3, 2024. Open-energy system analysis [Training cum workshop]. Department of Management Studies, IIT Roorkee, Roorkee, India.

PHD Thesis

• Integrating supply-side management (SSM) and demand-side management (DSM) as potential solutions for managing the uncertainties and intermittencies in the transitional electricity systems.

Demand-side management (DSM) involves planning and monitoring utility activities to influence electricity consumption patterns, adjusting the time and magnitude of demand to match supply. DSM encourages higher consumption during high-supply periods and reduces usage during low-supply times, offering an alternative to costly storage. This study's integrated model balances supply and demand dynamically, tracking Karnataka’s decarbonization from 2019 to 2040 at an hourly resolution. It optimizes generation based on economic cost and maximizes renewable energy use while managing consumer demand patterns.

• Study the “Temporal Complementarity” and “Geographical Endowment” of Solar and Wind Energy Resources for Deep Decarbonisation of Electricity Systems of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.

This study examines the complementarity of load curves and resources across geospatial locations and time intervals to address the intermittency of solar and wind power. The focus is on evaluating potential benefits from complementary trading scenarios between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, compared to non-trading approaches. By exploring these trading strategies, the study aims to enhance the integration of renewable energy, ensuring a more stable and reliable electricity supply across regions, while reducing the reliance on conventional backup power sources.

• Social and Economic Impact of Decarbonisation of Indian Electricity System on Coal Power Value-chain: A Mathematical Model-based Assessment.

This research aims to assess the social and economic impacts of low-carbon or zero-carbon electricity transitions on the coal-based thermal generation value chain in India. It examines impacts on thermal plants and stakeholders across coal mining, preparation, transportation, and conversion. A novel framework will quantify ‘capital’ stranding (GW) and ‘operational’ stranding (GWh). The IDEEA model will be expanded to incorporate these impacts, guiding an optimal transition by balancing renewable energy addition with the interests of all stakeholders and the costs involved.

• Integrate Demand-side flexibility (in electricity consumption sectors) for Zero-Carbon Transition planning.

The major electricity consuming sectors such agricultural (current), industries (current and future) and transportation (future) exhibit flexible patterns of electricity usage. These aspects are proposed to be integrated into a mathematical model to plan for an all-inclusive, electricity dominated energy system that entirely depends on renewable energy sources. It is proposed to develop and implement such an integrated model for planning transition of Karnataka’s electricity system. Once developed and validated, the model can be easily implementable to other states of India and other regions of the world.

• Study on Integration of Virtual Power Plants in the Transition Planning of the Indian Power System.

Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) aggregate decentralized generation, demand resources, and storage into a single entity, enhancing grid flexibility, reducing peak demand, and limiting capacity expansion needs. This research aims to develop a Capacity Expansion model integrating Demand Response (DR), controllable Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), and storage through VPPs. Applied to Karnataka’s electricity system with potential scalability to India’s grid, the study will assess VPPs' impact on resource adequacy and improvements in grid flexibility.

Journal Publication 

• Lugovoy, O., Jyothiprakash, V., Chatterjee, S., Sharma, S., Mukherjee, A., Das, A., Some, S., Dinesha, D.L., Das, N., Bosu, P., Dasgupta, S., Padhi, L., Roy, B., Thakur, B., Debsarkar, A., Balachandra, P. and Roy, J. “Towards a Zero-Carbon Electricity System for India in 2050: IDEEA Model-Based Scenarios Integrating Wind and Solar Complementarity and Geospatial Endowments”, Energies, 14(21), 7063, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14217063.

• Jyothiprakash, V., Balachandra, P. and Das, A., “A mathematical model for electricity system transition tracking, planning and resource assessment: Validation with an Indian case study”, Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 2024. (under review).

• Das, A. and Balachandra, P. “Implications of Electricity System Transition on Employment; The Gainers and the Losers: A Systematic Literature Review, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2024. (under review).

• Arvind Singh Bisht, Tarun Sharma, “Indian power sector decarbonization: Net-zero by 2050 or 2070,” Energy for Sustainable Development, 2025, 85, 101637.

• Arvind Singh Bisht, Oleg Lugovoy, Tarun Sharma, “Decarbonizing the Indian Power Sector: Assessing the Impact of a 30-Year Plan to Net Zero,” IEEE Xplore, SEFET, Aug 2024, pp. 1-6.

Recent Publications in Electricity System Transition Models

• Varun Jyothiprakash, “Modelling Approaches for Planning Renewable Energy Transitions and Integrating Demand-Side Interventions in Electricity Systems”, PhD Thesis, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India, 2024. https://etd.iisc.ac.in/handle/2005/6428,

• Anasuya Gangopadhyay, “Model-based Evaluation of Multiple Solutions to Grid Integration Challenges of Large-scale Renewable Power”, PhD Thesis, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India, 2024. https://etd.iisc.ac.in/handle/2005/6408.

• Gangopadhyay, A., Seshadri, A.K., and Balachandra, P., Wind-solar-storage trade-offs in a decarbonizing electricity system, Applied Energy, Vol 353, Part A, 2024, 121994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.121994.

• Balasubramanian, S. and Balachandra, P., “Demand response an effective solution for dynamic balancing of variable supply with variable demand: Evidence from Indian electricity system", Energy & Environment, June 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/0958305X231179908.

• Balasubramanian S. and Balachandra, P., “Indian Electricity System Transition and Its Challenges: A Review”, Journal of Asian Energy Studies, Vol 6, No. 1, 2022, pp 1-24. https://doi.org/10.24112/jaes.060001.

• Lugovoy, O., Jyothiprakash, V., Chatterjee, S., Sharma, S., Mukherjee, A., Das, A., Some, S., Dinesha, D.L., Das, N., Bosu, P., Dasgupta, S., Padhi, L., Roy, B., Thakur, B., Debsarkar, A., Balachandra, P. and Roy, J. “Towards a Zero-Carbon Electricity System for India in 2050: IDEEA Model-Based Scenarios Integrating Wind and Solar Complementarity and Geospatial Endowments”, Energies, 14(21), 7063, 2021.  https://doi.org/10.3390/en14217063.

• Balasubramanian S. and Balachandra, P., “Effectiveness of Demand Response in achieving Supply-Demand Matching in a Renewables dominated Electricity System: A Modelling Approach”, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol 147, 2021, pp 111245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.111245.

• Balasubramanian Sambasivam, “Demand Response Planning in a Transitioning Electricity System”, PhD Thesis, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India, 2020. https://etd.iisc.ac.in/handle/2005/5031.

• Sharma, Tarun and Balachandra, P., “Model based approach for planning dynamic integration of renewable energy in a transitioning electricity system”, International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, Vol 105, 2019, pp 642-659. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2018.09.007.

• Sharma, Tarun and Balachandra, P., “Will the integration of renewable energy enable sustainable transition of Indian electricity system?”, Energy Strategy Reviews, Vol. 21, 2018, pp 137-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2018.06.002.

• Amrutha, A.A., Balachandra, P. and Mathirajan, M., “Model-based approach for planning renewable energy transition in a resource-constrained electricity system – A case study from India”, International Journal of Energy Research, Vol. 42, 2018, pp 1023-1039. https://doi.org/10.1002/er.3892.

• Amrutha, A.A., Balachandra, P. and Mathirajan, M., “Role of targeted policies in mainstreaming renewable energy in a resource constrained electricity system:  A case study of Karnataka electricity system in India”, Energy Policy, Elsevier Science, Vol. 106, 2017, pp 48-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.03.044.

• Amrutha, A., Mathirajan, M. and Balachandra, P., “A mathematical model for supply-demand matching of electricity with low-carbon interventions”, Journal of Information and Optimization Sciences, Vol. 35, No. 5, 2016, pp 763-790. https://doi.org/10.1080/02522667.2016.1191188.

• Tarun Sharma, “Benchmarking and Modelling the Sustainability Transition of National Electricity System: A Case Study of India”, PhD Thesis, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India, 2016. https://etd.iisc.ac.in/handle/2005/3200

• Amrutha A.A., “A Class of Mathematical Models for Low Carbon Electricity Planning”, PhD Thesis, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India, 2016. https://etd.iisc.ac.in/handle/2005/3934.