Govt to launch new scheme for distributed renewable energy

Union Minister for Power, and New & Renewable Energy, RK Singh rolled out a new scheme in the renewable energy sector at the National Summit on Powering Sustainable Livelihoods.

The summit was organised recently by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) and Villgro Innovations Foundation's Powering Livelihoods initiative.

“Our government is coming out with a new scheme for distributed applications of renewable energy (RE). There is already a lot of work happening on the ground and our scheme could benefit lakhs of families across the country," he said.

He also outlined the need for large scale-manufacturing and standardising of distributed applications of RE to lower prices and expand the sector.

“We have seen the potential of grid-scale solar power; India will scale up distributed applications of renewable energy for livelihoods. Just like we have a large programme on rooftop solar and solar irrigation, we will create a large programme for DRE livelihoods,” he added.

He also outlined the government’s plans to make DRE livelihood equipment affordable. This will be done through tie-ups 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,” he added.

The minister released two new reports by CEEW and Villgro, that point out that clean technologies have the potential to impact 37 million livelihoods in India's agriculture and textile sectors and translate into a market opportunity worth almost Rs 4 lakh crore (about $50 billion).

The report also highlights that 70% of women and farmers using clean technology reported a typical 35% increase in income. The women use clean-energy powered products such as solar-powered silk reeling machines, multi-food processors, micro solar pumps, solar vertical fodder grow units, among others, to enhance and diversify their income.

Further, the CEEW-Villgro analysis highlighted that women form the majority of these clean tech users currently. Out of the 767 users surveyed across 19 states, 74% of respondents were women. The clean technologies deployed brought out several social impacts as well.