Roadmap of renewable energy goals

India achieving its renewable energy (RE) goals is critical to the country’s climate goals of increasing the share of non-fossil fuel-based electricity in the overall energy mix. The country has achieved a significant milestone of increasing its non-fossil fuel-based capacity to 217 gigawatts. Without scaling up annual RE production capacity over the next five years, achieving the goal of generating 500 GW of non-fossil fuel by 2030 will remain a distant dream. The year 2024 witnessed a record-breaking addition of 24.5 GW of solar power-generating capacity and 3.4 GW of wind capacity. This calculates to a two-fold increase in solar installations and a 21% rise in wind installations compared to 2023. The central government attributes the achievement to government incentives, policy reforms, and increased investments in domestic solar and wind turbine manufacturing. There is, however, little room for complacency as the country needs to add on an average of more than 56 GW of RE capacity annually over the next five years, which is nearly double the capacity added last year. Solar energy accounts for 47% of the total RE capacity of the country, and adding more solar parks and expeditious implementation of the rooftop solar installations across the country is crucial to achieving the target. Official data highlights that driven by the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, launched in 2024, the rooftop solar sector experienced significant growth of 53% from the year 2023 with installations of 7 lakh rooftop solar within ten months. The popularity of the scheme can be attributed to the subsidy provided by the government, bringing down installation costs and substantially reducing the household electricity bill. The solar panels have an operational lifespan of 25 years, which makes it a sustainable alternative for consumers with no uncertainty in the energy source. The thermal power stations are dependent on the import of coal for blending, which is dependent on global demand supply dynamics. The energy charges are also rising with more electricity demand requiring more coal transportation to the thermal stations. Rapid urbanisation and large-scale migration of rural people to cities have fuelled electricity demand in the country. Electricity demand is also rising in rural areas with the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission of providing safe drinking water to rural households and irrigation demand for boosting agricultural production. Rooftop solar and solar-powered irrigation facilities play the most critical role in meeting additional energy requirements for the flagship schemes in both sectors and, at the same time generating clean energy to meet the country’s goal of decarbonising the energy sector. The delay in the implementation of key renewable energy schemes for rooftop solarisation or installations of solar irrigation systems will only end up increasing fossil fuel-based electricity generation. For the country cannot slow down its development priorities, such as providing safe drinking water and increasing irrigation coverage for increasing food grain and other agricultural production. Assam needs more irrigation coverage to overcome the challenges of drastic changes in rainfall patterns due to climate change’s impact on sustainable agriculture. As 60% of its cropped area is rainfed and small and marginal farmers account for about 85% of agricultural holdings, prioritising the installation of solar pumps under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme can help the dual goal of increasing irrigation coverage and increasing solar power generation capacity in the state. As the scheme is demand-driven, the farmers must find the scheme components attractive to place their demand, but low demand for it is reflective of inherent gaps that need to be bridged. For small and marginal farmers, bearing their share of the installation of solar pumps even after payment of the subsidy amount by the government is burdensome, which explains the very low demand for the installation of solar pumps under the scheme. States providing additional subsidies and mobilising small and marginal farmers under the Primary Agriculture Credit Society or Farmer Producer Society will bring down installation costs for individual farmers. This needs to be spelt out in the policy framework for prioritised implementation by implementing agencies. Cost-effectively boosting agricultural production is essential to farmers getting remunerative returns on their investment in agriculture. When the farmer fails to get a remunerative price for his produce, he chooses to withdraw from agriculture and migrate to cities in search of alternative livelihoods and ends up becoming an unskilled worker with low wage income. The rooftop solar installation and solar irrigation system must be viewed from the perspective of augmenting farmers’ income and strengthening the rural economy in addition to decarbonising the energy sector. When the financial condition of a farm household improves, the consumption of industrial goods can increase with an increase in household savings. This, in turn, can strengthen the overall economy of a state and the country. Aligning the roadmap of renewable energy production, with special focus on solar power, with the farm household economy is a must for achieving the country’s RE goals.