180,000 acres may be 'diverted' for proposed 37,490 MW solar power capacity farms

By Shankar Sharma*
This has reference to a recent statement in Rajya Sabha in which RK Singh, Union minister of new and renewable energy, said that the government has “approved 50 solar parks in 12 states till November 30”. Whereas it can be seen as a matter of pride for the government to claim to have approved so many solar power parks, the same should also be a matter of a major societal level concern, when we consider the ecological impacts of such a large number of solar power parks.
The land diversion, whether forest lands or agricultural lands, if continue like this, can pose multiple & serious issues to the society from the perspective of food production capacity and fast shrinking forest cover.
The diversion of land for a total solar power capacity of 37,490 MW could be in excess of 180,000 acres (at the rate of 5 acre per MW). Can the already resource constrained and hugely populous country of ours afford to loose so much of the critical natural resources, just for land based solar power parks, for which we have a much better option in the form of roof-top solar PV systems, which will also come with multiple additional advantages?
Karnataka state is reported to have diverted of about 11,000 acres of semi-arid agricultural land for a single solar park of 2,000 MW capacity in Tumkur district, and there is also a media report that few more thousand acres of land may be diverted to add few hundred MW more capacity for this solar power park.
There are also reports that few more such land based solar power parks are being planned in the state. When we also consider the land diversion required for the associated power transmission lines and sub-stations, along with the forest lands required for pumped storage hydro power plants (which are perceived as needed to back up such large solar power parks), the societal level ecological and social costs can be much higher than the benefits from such projects.
Most of these societal level costs are entirely avoidable through diligent implementation of techno-economically attractive options such as distributed kinds of renewable energy sources, and measures for DSM, efficiency improvement and energy conservation.
It is necessary to undertake serious deliberations on all the associated issues, and endeavor to minimise the overall societal levels costs from the power sector. It would be a great service to the country, if the interested civil society groups and individuals are also effectively involved in such deliberations.
In this regard the efforts to persuade the PMO, NITI Aayog, Power & NRE Ministry, and other relevant agencies of the Union government to come up with a diligently prepared national energy policy can be a great step forward.
---
*Power & Climate Policy Analyst. This article is based on the author’s representation to the secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India

Comments

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

From algorithms to exploitation: New report exposes plight of India's gig workers

By Jag Jivan The recent report, "State of Finance in India Report 2024-25," released by a coalition including the Centre for Financial Accountability, Focus on the Global South, and other organizations, paints a stark picture of India's burgeoning digital economy, particularly highlighting the exploitation faced by gig workers on platform-based services.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria* Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027. However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Gig workers hold online strike on republic day; nationwide protests planned on February 3

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers across the country observed a nationwide online strike on Republic Day, responding to a call given by the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) to protest what it described as exploitation, insecurity and denial of basic worker rights in the platform economy. The union said women gig workers led the January 26 action by switching off their work apps as a mark of protest.

'Condonation of war crimes against women and children’: IPSN on Trump’s Gaza Board

By A Representative The India-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN) has strongly condemned the announcement of a proposed “Board of Peace” for Gaza and Palestine by former US President Donald J. Trump, calling it an initiative that “condones war crimes against children and women” and “rubs salt in Palestinian wounds.”

India’s road to sustainability: Why alternative fuels matter beyond electric vehicles

By Suyash Gupta* India’s worsening air quality makes the shift towards clean mobility urgent. However, while electric vehicles (EVs) are central to India’s strategy, they alone cannot address the country’s diverse pollution and energy challenges.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

With infant mortality rate of 5, better than US, guarantee to live is 'alive' in Kerala

By Nabil Abdul Majeed, Nitheesh Narayanan In 1945, two years prior to India's independence, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was born into a working-class family in northern Kerala. He was his mother’s fourteenth child; of the thirteen siblings born before him, only two survived. His mother was an agricultural labourer and his father a toddy tapper. They belonged to a downtrodden caste, deemed untouchable under the Indian caste system.

MGNREGA: How caste and power hollowed out India’s largest welfare law

By Sudhir Katiyar, Mallica Patel* The sudden dismantling of MGNREGA once again exposes the limits of progressive legislation in the absence of transformation of a casteist, semi-feudal rural society. Over two days in the winter session, the Modi government dismantled one of the most progressive legislations of the UPA regime—the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Search This Blog