RK Singh Announces Government’s New Scheme for Distributed Renewable Energy Applications
Union Power Minister RK Singh announced on Wednesday that the government will introduce a program to promote distributed solar and wind energy applications.
Distributed solar or wind energy is not connected to the grid and provides power generated in a specific area using these clean sources. Solar and wind energy on the grid is linked to the interstate power transmission system.
“We came out with a scheme for solar street lights, and rooftop solar. We need to expand this scheme. We are coming out with a new scheme for distributed (solar, wind) applications. That means we want to expand this,” Singh said.
while speaking at the National Summit on Powering Sustainable Livelihoods hosted by the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW) and the Villgro Innovations Foundation’s Powering Livelihoods initiative.
According to the minister, there is already a lot of work being done on the ground, and the new scheme could benefit thousands of families across the country.
“To lower prices and expand the sector, however, large-scale manufacturing and standardization of distributed renewable energy applications will be required. We’ve seen grid-scale solar power’s potential. India will expand distributed renewable energy applications for livelihoods,” he stated.
The minister explained that, just as India has a large program for rooftop solar and solar irrigation, the country will create a large program for DRE (distributed renewable energy) livelihoods.
The minister also stated that peak power demand reached a new high of 221 GW on Wednesday.
The minister said that “today, the power demand touched 221 GW. That is the largest level (of power demand). The power demand has been growing at 10 percent. Last year, it was eight percent. This year, it is 10 percent. No other country has electricity demand growing at such a rate”.
He stated that 82,000 MW of renewable energy capacity and 50,000 MW of thermal power generation capacity are being built.
In addition, he stated that India is building 14,000 MW of hydropower generation capacity.
“The government plans to make DRE livelihood equipment affordable. One aspect of this will be tying up with banks. If a family wants to own a solar dryer, they should be able to get financing from the banks; we will work towards it. Manufacturers and users of DRE for livelihoods are pioneers, and now the government will scale it up to the next level,” the minister said.
Singh announced the release of two new reports by CEEW and Villgro, which show that clean technologies have the potential to affect 37 million livelihoods in India’s agriculture and textile sectors, translating into a market opportunity worth nearly Rs four lakh crore.
Furthermore, 70% of women and farmers who used clean technology reported an increase in income, typically by 35%. To supplement and diversify their income, they use clean-energy powered products such as solar-powered silk reeling machines, multi-food processors, micro solar pumps, and solar vertical fodder grow units, among others.
Singh also debuted ‘Suraj ka Gola’ a solar anthem co-created by CEEW and Villgro.
According to the reports, Uttar Pradesh has the greatest impact opportunity for clean-tech-powered technologies, followed by West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka.
However, the relative market for each type of livelihood technology varies by state. Microsolar pumps, for example, have the largest market in West Bengal, while solar dryers have the largest market in Maharashtra.
Furthermore, the CEEW-Villgro analysis revealed that women currently make up the majority of these clean tech users.
Seventy-four percent of the 767 users polled across 19 states were women. The deployment of clean technologies had a number of social consequences.
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Content Credit: THE ECONOMIC TIMES