Govt to support solar products’ adoption

Source: The post is based on the article “Govt to support solar products’ adoption” published in Livemint on 22nd March 2023

What is the News?

The government is likely to extend the scope of its ‘Off-grid Solar PV Applications’ programme to encourage small businesses in semi-urban and rural areas to go solar.

What is the Off-grid Solar PV Applications programme?

‘Off-grid’ refers to using solar power from sources other than the power grid. 

The scheme is aimed at providing solar PV-based applications in areas where grid power is either not available or is unreliable. 

Under the programme, the Centre provides financial support to help set up solar-powered street lights, study lamps and water pumps among others.

What is the government planning to do now?

Under the Off-grid Solar PV Applications’ programme, applications such as home lighting, street lighting, power plants, water pumps, lanterns and study lamps are currently covered.

Government is now likely to extend the scope of this programme to encourage small businesses in semi-urban and rural areas to go solar. It is looking to include solar looms, solar dryers and solar ‘charkha’ (spinning wheel) under the programme.

What are the other steps taken by the government to promote renewable energy?

The Government of India in 2022 has released a framework for promoting decentralized renewable energy (DRE) livelihood applications.

​​The framework defines DRE livelihood applications as applications powered by renewable energy – solar, wind, micro-hydro, and biomass. Their combinations are used for earning livelihoods directly such as solar dryers, solar mills, solar or biomass-powered cold storage/chiller, solar charkha and small-scale biomass pellet-making machines.

According to the framework, DRE-powered livelihood solutions have the potential to reduce and eventually eliminate the reliance of livelihood on diesel, particularly in rural settings, and can supplement power supply from the grid.

The framework stresses the scaling up of the currently available DRE livelihood applications and supports the development of such new applications.