No More Relying On Non-Renewable Energy Resources?

Cutting down on petroleum imports and rolling out effective eco-friendly policies across industries, especially the agri sector, is the key focus of the government.

- Nitin Konde

Sustainability in agriculture is another mantra that is now a familiar term even in villages and cities in equal measure. Rural parts of India are set to benefit from solar-powered pumps and grid-connected power plants thanks to initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM). The reliance of farmers on diesel and grid electricity is diminished as a result. Additionally, private companies have jumped on the bandwagon; one such company, Ecozen Systems, has created solar-powered cold storage systems for small and marginal farms. Let's explore how the shift from non-renewable to renewable energy is having a transformative effect on Indian agriculture.

India increased its power generation capacity by around 26GW in the fiscal year 2023-24, with 71 per cent of that capacity coming from renewable energy sources, as stated in the most latest edition of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water - Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF) Market Handbook, which was published recently. At 442 GW, the nation's total installed energy capacity is up 33 per cent from 144 GW (renewable energy) and 11 per cent from hydro. Thereby, the proportion of India's installed capacity that comes from coal and lignite fell below 50 per cent for the very first time.

Some new efforts to harness renewable energy sources are cropping up in the agricultural sector.