Power Foundation of India, under the aegis of Ministry of Power, Government of India, along with Climate Policy Initiative, hosted a conference on ‘Distributed Renewable Energy for Sustainable Development’ in New Delhi on 27th February 2024.

India has set an ambitious target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070. In that regard, the country has set a target to achieve 50% of its cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based sources by 2030. This target, a component of India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), demonstrates India’s strong commitment to a low-carbon development strategy.

Rural India, constituting majority of the land area and population, plays a crucial role in India’s decarbonization efforts. Rural areas face unique climate related challenges, such as emissions from use of biomass in cooking, burning of crop residue and community waste, diesel engines/pumps usage and methane emissions from agricultural activities. Decarbonizing rural economy requires distributed, community-driven, localized, and innovative energy solutions. This has significantly increased the importance of Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) solutions.

The aim of the conference was to raise awareness about the benefits of DRE projects in India’s energy transition and sustainable development, as well as facilitate knowledge sharing. The conference featured insightful sessions, covering The Role of DRE in India’s Sustainable Development; Role of DRE in empowering communities; Uptake of DRE solutions for the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector; and Business Models (including Financing DRE). The conference brought together stakeholders from the Government, Private and Public sectors, and policy think tanks. Key attendees included central government officials, policymakers, state utilities, technology providers, financial institutions, MSMEs, international organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), consultants, and academia, contributing valuable insights and enriching the dialogue with diverse perspectives and expertise.

The discussions during the conference highlighted the issues and challenges faced in deploying DRE systems, and proposed solutions and policy actions to exploit DRE potential in the country. This note summarizes the discussions and the key takeaways from the conference sessions.

For a detailed summary, Click Here