Carpooling at Cognizant in Siruseri, Chennai on August 29, 2018. IT majors lead the way in carpooling. sRide and Quick Ride among several carpooling apps cater to the corporate sector in India.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Economic Survey 2024-2025 tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday (January 31, 2025), stated that carpooling could reduce 380 million litres of fuel in India. Listing several lifestyle changes like — carpooling, recycling newspaper, finishing food on one’s plate, the Survey extolled the ‘power of collective action’ which could contribute to climate change mitigation. 

Under the chapter titled ‘Climate and Environment’, the Survey extolled India’s Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) Mission which led a ‘widespread public movement to encourage low-carbon lifestyles and energy conservation behaviours’. Based on the NITI Aayog report on the LiFE mission, the Survey estimated that lifestyle change by 13% of global population can reduce carbon emission by 20%. 

“Encouraging citizen participation in sustainability decision-making at local and national levels is crucial for effective policymaking. Challenging existing habits and creating new norms around sustainability — such as promoting cycling or local food initiatives — can drive significant behavioural change over time,” stated the Survey.

Suggested collective actions

Small changes to public actions such as finishing food on plate, carpooling, recycling newspaper, composting waste food at home, using a cloth bag instead of a plastic bag, recycling non-functioning gadgets, switching off vehicle engines at traffic stops and turning off running taps are analysed in the Survey. Savings in fuel, wastes, water and food found by the Survey are substantial as shown in the tables below. 

Talking about the Centre’s LiFE mission, the Survey stated, “The goal is for at least 80 per cent of all villages and urban local bodies to become environmentally friendly by 2028”. It added that apart from environmental benefits, these public measures would reduce inequalities in energy consumption, save costs, enhance overall well-being and health. “By 2030, it is estimated that these measures could save consumers around $440 billion globally through reduced consumption and lower prices,” stated the Survey.

The NITI Aayog report, on which the Survey bases its estimations, has several other collective actions listed to conserve energy such as using – public transport, biogas for cooking, energy-saving mode on electronic devices, smart switches, driving in the correct gear in cars and running outdoors instead of a treadmill. These measures fall under the LiFE Mission 2022-23, which aims in nudging individuals, communities and institutions to practice simple environment-friendly actions in daily lives. 

Under the seven categories mentioned in the LiFE Mission, actions are suggested to save water, achieve sustainable food system, reduce waste, reduce single-use plastic, reduce e-waste and adopt a healthy lifestyle. By 2028, the Mission plans to make one billion people ‘pro-planet’ by adopting the above-mentioned measures.

Policy changes to tackle climate change

On a macro-level, the Centre has introduced various measures to promote environmental sustainability such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan (PM KUSUM) and PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana which promote solar power adoption, states the Survey. It also talks about how certification of s eco-friendly household products and the star-labelling scheme helped raise awareness on energy efficiency and electromobility. 

India’s ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 and to become a developed nation by 2047 is on the Centre’s priority while tackling mitigation of climate change. “Given the backdrop of decreasing global financial commitments to support climate action in developing countries, India must increasingly prioritise building resilience to safeguard the benefits of its rapid economic growth against climate-induced setbacks,” concludes the Survey. 

The Union Budget will be presented on February 1, 2025, by the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a joint session of Parliament. She is slated to deliver the Budget speech for the eighth consecutive time.

Sheep walk near solar panels on a solar farm owned by SB Energy
| Photo Credit: AP

On rural Texas farmland, beneath hundreds of rows of solar panels, a troop of stocky sheep rummage through pasture, casually bumping into one another as they remain committed to a single task: chewing grass.

The booming solar industry has found an unlikely mascot in sheep as large-scale solar farms crop up across the U.S. and in the plain fields of Texas. In Milam County, outside Austin, SB Energy operates the fifth-largest solar project in the country, capable of generating 900 megawatts of power across 4,000 acres (1,618 hectares).

How do they manage all that grass? With the help of about 3,000 sheep, which are better suited than lawnmowers to fit between small crevices and chew away rain or shine.

The proliferation of sheep on solar farms is part of a broader trend — solar grazing — that has exploded alongside the solar industry.

Agrivoltaics method

Agrivoltaics, a method using land for both solar energy production and agriculture, is on the rise with more than 60 solar grazing projects in the U.S., according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The American Solar Grazing Association says 27 States engage in the practice.

“The industry tends to rely on gas-powered mowers, which kind of contradicts the purpose of renewables,” SB Energy asset manager James Hawkins said.

Putting the animals to work on solar fields also helps the sheep and wool market, which has struggled in recent years. The inventory of sheep and lamb in Texas fell to 6,55,000 in January 2024, a 4% drop from the previous year, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Because solar fields use sunny, flat land that is often ideal for livestock grazing, the power plants have been used in coordination with farmers rather than against them.

Sheepherder JR Howard accidentally found himself in the middle of Texas’ burgeoning clean energy transition. In 2021, he and his family began contracting with solar farms — sites with hundreds of thousands of solar modules — to use his sheep to eat the grass. What was once a small business has turned into a full-scale operation with more than 8,000 sheep and 26 employees. “Just the growth has been kind of crazy for us,” said Mr. Howard, who named his company Texas Solar Sheep.

Positive response

Some agriculture experts say Mr. Howard’s success reflects how solar farms have become a boon for some ranchers.

Reid Redden, a sheep farmer and solar vegetation manager in San Angelo, said a successful sheep business requires agricultural land that has become increasingly scarce. “Solar grazing is probably the biggest opportunity that the sheep industry had in the U.S. in several generations,” he said. The response to solar grazing has been overwhelmingly positive in rural communities near South Texas solar farms where Redden raises sheep for sites to use, Mr. Redden said.

“I think it softens the blow of the big shock and awe of a big solar farm coming in,” he added.

Agrivoltaics itself is not new. Solar farms are land-intensive and require a lot of space that could be used for food production. Agrivoltaics compensates by allowing the two to coexist, whether growing food or caring for livestock.

There is a lot still unknown about the full effects of solar grazing, said Nuria Gomez-Casanovas, an assistant professor in regenerative system ecology at Texas A&M University.

Not enough studies have been done to know the long-term environmental impacts, such as how viable the soil will be for future agriculture, although Ms. Gomez-Casanovas suspects solar grazing may improve sheep productivity because the panels provide shade and can be more cost-efficient than mowing.

“We really have more questions than answers,” she said. “There are studies that show that the land productivity is not higher versus solar alone or agriculture alone, so it is context-dependent.”

Only houses with a suitable roof and an existing connection to the grid will be eligible for the scheme and consumers will still have to pay for all the net power supplied and consumed via the grid. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget address gave a fillip to several commitments made in the interim Budget in February to incentivise clean energy but stopped short of announcing new schemes.

The Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojna, which aims at providing subsidised rooftop solar installations to one crore households, has been allocated nearly ₹10,000 crore this year. This is more than twice the ₹4,970 crore that was spent, as part of the solar power (grid), last year.

Follow live updates from the Union Budget 2024 on July 23, 2024

The scheme offers 300 units of free electricity and, as The Hindu reported, households interested in availing the scheme’s benefits will have to pay a minimum of ₹20,000 depending on the power capacity of the installed system though this could be defrayed by a low-interest, collateral-free loan.

Only houses with a suitable roof and an existing connection to the grid will be eligible for the scheme and consumers will still have to pay for all the net power supplied and consumed via the grid.

Ms. Sitharaman said the scheme has so far generated a “remarkable response” with more than 1.28 crore registrations and 14 lakh applications.

The Minister underlined investment in constructing small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), a proposal India has been considering for a few years. “Nuclear energy is expected to form a very significant part of the energy mix for Viksit (developed) Bharat. Towards that pursuit, our government will partner with the private sector for setting up Bharat Small Reactors, research and development of Bharat Small Modular Reactor, and research and development of newer technologies for nuclear energy. The R&D funding announced in the interim budget will be made available for this sector,” she said.

SMRs, as the name suggests, are compact versions of nuclear reactors and provide up to 300MW of power. In 2022, Atomic Energy Minister Jitendra Singh had said that these reactors, “less expensive and safer”, would be important to India’s energy security.

The Finance Minister also restated a proposal from 2018 to develop an advanced ultra supercritical (AUSC) thermal power plant via a collaboration involving the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). However, no specific budgetary allocations were mentioned.

Supercritical plants vapourise water by heating it to a minimum of 300 degrees Celsius and pressurising it to 220 bars. This state, when used to run a turbine for electricity, burns coal more efficiently than in conventional plants. Ultra and advanced supercritical technology is a variation of this and while energy efficient, it requires sustained long-term investment.

In 2018, the government had officially announced that India’s first AUSC-based technology developed by the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research and manufactured by the BHEL for NTPC would be set up at the Sipat station in Chhattisgarh.

A policy for promoting pumped storage projects would be brought out for electricity storage and facilitating smooth integration of the growing share of renewable energy, the Ms. Sitharaman said. Pumped storage is a kind of hydroelectric power project in which water is stored at two different elevations, released and pumped back in a coordinated manner to run an electric turbine.

“This year’s budget has a lot in store for the energy sector. It is in line with the interim budget and with major investments in renewable energy will give a shot in the arm to clean energy companies. It underscores a move towards more holistic energy transition pathway, considering energy security, economic growth, employment generation, and environmental sustainability,” said Neshwin Rodrigues, electricity policy analyst, Ember-India, said in a statement. “India now needs to find ways to reduce reliance on thermal power and with battery costs expected to further fall sharply in the coming years, can plan phasing down this reliance,” he said.

People watch the sun rise, as they take part in the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, Friday, June 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

The world has enough solar power capacity to generate a fifth of its midday peak electricity needs on the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, up from 16% last year, a report by thinktank Ember showed on Friday.

Why it’s important

Solar power is currently the fastest growing source of electricity due to falling technology costs, and is expected to become the biggest source of electricity before 2050, some researchers have said.

Last year, solar generated a record 5.5% of global electricity, the Ember report added, and 34 economies in the world are now generating over 10% of their electricity from solar power.

Context

The northern hemisphere’s summer solstice on June 21 is the longest day of the year, but all days in June are similar enough in length that solar generation on that day will be close to the monthly average, based on calculations of the weighted average of hourly solar generation data.

Ember estimates 89% of the world’s solar panels are installed in the northern hemisphere.

By the numbers

Based on a 24-hour average, solar can provide 8.2% of global total electricity on June 21.

For June as a whole, Ember expects the share of solar in total electricity generation to reach 9.6% in China, which is the largest solar market in the world.

In the European Union, solar’s share is set to be 20% in June, while the United States’ and India’s shares are expected to be 6.9% and 7.1% respectively.

Key quote

“At 20% share, solar is now a serious global electricity source,” said Kostantsa Rangelova, electricity analyst at Ember.

“Battery costs have collapsed, meaning solar power is already being used in the evening, not just in the daytime.” (Reporting by Nina Chestney)

Guwahati:

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday announced plans to bolster the state’s solar power infrastructure. Mr Sarma said solar energy is a key sector in India’s quest to become a global powerhouse in green energy.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed on solar power. Under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijlee Yojna, the Central government will provide subsidy to everyone who applies for solar panels,” Chief Minister Sarma said.

The Assam Chief Minister said that for every 1 KW of solar panel installation, the Central government will provide a subsidy of Rs 30,000, supplemented by an additional Rs 15,000 subsidy from the Assam government, while the applicant contributes Rs 5,000. Scaling up, for 2 KW and 3 KW installations, the subsidies rise correspondingly, making solar power accessible and affordable for citizens across income brackets, he added.

Currently, Assam requires 2,200 MW of power to meet household electricity needs, a challenge that solar energy initiatives aim to address.

The groundwork for Assam’s solar revolution was laid in 2017 with the formulation of a solar policy, setting ambitious targets for energy generation within a timeframe. This policy gave birth to the region’s first floating solar power plant in Thanagarh village in Morigaon district, boasting a capacity of 10.50 JW. 

The Assam government plans to replicate such initiatives across multiple wetlands, capitalising on Assam’s natural resources to enhance electricity generation capacity.

The inauguration of the largest solar power plant in the region, with a capacity of 70 MW and located in Amguri town in Sivsagar district is another milestone. 

Workers of Solar Square place a panel on the rooftop of a residence in Gurugram on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. India is renewing its push to add rooftop solar to meet the needs of a fast-growing nation that’s hungry for energy.
| Photo Credit: AP

Just a few years ago, someone who wanted to install a rooftop solar connection in India faced getting multiple approvals, finding a reliable company to install the panels and spending heavily before seeing the first surge of clean energy.

But that’s changing. The government has streamlined the approvals process, made it easier for people to claim subsidies and pushed mountains of cash — including $9 billion announced this month — to encourage faster adoption of technology that’s seen as critical for India to reach its clean-energy goals.

“We had to get 45 signatures to set up a small rooftop solar connection in 2021,” said Shreya Mishra, CEO of Mumbai-based Solar Square, one of India’s largest rooftop solar companies. “Today it’s almost instantaneous.”

For this sun-soaked country, growth in rooftop solar can’t come soon enough. India last year became the world’s most populous nation, with 1.4 billion people and a hunger for energy that is rising fast.

Yet India, one of the world’s biggest emitters of planet-warming gases, is also highly vulnerable to climate change. Its people are affected by deadly floods, extreme rainfall, extreme heat, prolonged droughts and cyclones with increasing frequency. A study earlier this year found that nine out of India’s 28 states will be among the world’s hardest-hit regions due to climate change by midcentury.

India has grown its clean power rapidly in recent years and has the fourth-most installed renewable power, trailing only China, the U.S. and Brazil. It had 180 gigawatts as of December, enough to power about 18 million homes, with nearly half from solar.

But most of that solar power comes from numerous football-field-sized solar farms. Less than 15% comes from rooftop arrays, and India has so far managed to set up only 11 gigawatts of rooftop solar. That’s far less than the 40 gigawatts it hoped to have by 2022.

Energy experts say rooftop solar is essential to bring power to remote areas, where it can be installed cheaply where it’s needed and avoid the cost of transmitting the energy over long distances.

India’s latest push was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said the $9 billion would provide “free electricity” for up to 10 million homes.

Neeraj Kuldeep of the New Delhi-based think tank, Council on Energy, Environment and Water, has tracked rooftop solar for nearly a decade. A report from CEEW last year found that only 50% of Indians are likely aware of rooftop solar as an energy solution and most of those who were aware thought it was too expensive. The report released last November recommended subsidies for consumers who can benefit from small rooftop solar arrays but can’t afford them.

Kuldeep said consumer awareness about rooftop solar is one key to driving growth. Others are efficient governments at both the federal and state level, and finding the right “fit” for a particular user’s power needs.

Experts say another is getting buy-in from state-owned electricity companies who sometimes see rooftop solar as a threat to their profits.

Kuldeep said that’s short-sighted. The companies can often actually make more money if they help install rooftop solar in a low-consumption home, he said. That’s because they cut their transmission and distribution costs to carry power to a house with a subsidized bill that already earns them little profit.

Installations have also risen since the government launched a national rooftop solar portal in 2022 that consumers can use to claim and steer government subsidies directly to their bank account, say experts and rooftop solar companies.

Mysun, a rooftop solar company based in New Delhi, offers potential buyers a “solar calculator” on its website where they can enter their location and current electricity costs to see what kind of savings they could expect. CEO Gagan Vermani said it’s about simplifying the process for potential customers.

“We need to start thinking of (rooftop solar) with consumer needs in mind rather than thinking of it as building solar infrastructure,” he said.

Those who are already hooked up with panels on their roofs tout the benefits of cheaper electricity and greater agency over their own power.

“It is a little expensive but it’s totally worth it,” said Ruchika Chahana, who lives in the affluent Greater Kailash neighborhood in New Delhi. Chahana installed rooftop solar in her home nine months ago at a cost of nearly $5,000. She said her summer electricity bills have fallen to about $50 a month, from $200, and her family feels great about “doing something to save the planet.”

In Bengaluru, Satish Mallya saw rooftop solar as essential both to save money and avert carbon emissions. He took the lead in installing 65 kilowatts of solar atop the 120-unit apartment complex he lives in, and the building’s electricity costs have dropped $700 a month.

That 2020 installation was “challenging” because of bureaucratic hurdles, said Mallya, who serves as vice president of a citywide group that represents apartment dwellers and owners. He’s helped many others set up their own rooftop solar connections in the years since, and says the process has gotten easier.

Mishra, of Solar Square, said she’s seeing a big increase in interest in a technology that she calls “a key part of India’s energy future.”

“As an Indian and an entrepreneur, I’m extremely proud of seeing this getting built up,” she said. “I think building energy infrastructure is the greatest nation-building thing we can do.”