Myth and reality of Govt of India's renewal energy talk: Solar rooftops, parks

By Shankar Sharma*

Whereas, the recent announcement about 1 crore households to be fitted with rooftop SPV systems is a great step in the right direction, questions are being raised as to why such a target could not have been much more ambitious, such as 15- 20 crore houses by 2035-40, along with some financial contribution by the house owners, which could also have reduced the financial burden of the state.

If most of this large number of houses are also equipped with suitably sized energy storage battery systems and interactive gadgets to effectively interact with the state/ national grids, the electricity demand/ supply scenario in the country will undergo a transformatively positive change for the future.

Humongous amounts of money could be saved in this approach in the form of saved land diversion, dedicated power lines and substations, the need for pumped storage plants/ large size energy storage facilities etc.

At the same time the massive size of a solar park in Gujarat (final capacity of 30,000 MW), even though it is in the Kutch area, should also have evoked multiple concerns; especially from the ecological and operational perspectives.

A land based solar power park, with a capacity of 30,000 MW, may need a permanent diversion of more than 150,000 acres of land (@ 5 acres per MW) plus for all other supporting infrastructure such as scores of dedicated power lines to evacuate the generated power (for only 8-10 hours a day), and roads, substations, township etc.

The destruction of habitat for various kinds of creatures in such a vast area, even though it is not deemed as a fertile land, will have long term implications to the region and the country. Sudden loss of power due to multiple tripping of lines, or due to solar storms, or due to quick appearance of cloud cover, or due to some kind of terrorsit attack can make this power source of some concern to the grid operators.

It is in this context that the desirability of seeking to have roof top SPV systems on most of the households and other kinds of buildings in the country, should be diligently addressed. Have we diligently considered all the costs & benefits to the larger society of the two technological options even within this RE sector? Can the distributed kind of REsources, such as solar rooftops on most buildings, be the best possible option for the country?

Can our country afford to divert such large tracts of land, however arid or infertile land it may be, to the power/ energy sector in addition to multiple demands for such land diversions from other sectors of the economy; especially when there are better options such as distributed kinds of REsources?

Such a diligent approach to our power sector scenario should be carefully adopted now so as to minimise the overall cost to the society in the long term.

---

*Power & Climate Policy Analyst. This article is based on the author's representation to the Secretary, Power & NRE, and Secretary, MoEF&CC

Comments

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Beyond sattvik: Purity, caste and the politics of the Indian kitchen

By Rajiv Shah A few week ago, I was forwarded an article that appeared in the British weekly The Economist . Titled “Caste and cuisine: From honeycomb curry to blood fry: India’s ‘untouchable’ cooking”, it took me back to what I had blogged about what was called a “ sattvik food festival”, an annual event organised by former Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad professor Anil Gupta.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Search This Blog