The draft policy framework circulated by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) highlights the importance and relevance of Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) powered livelihoods in rejuvenating the rural economy. It is well known that DRE has the potential to reduce and eventually eliminate the reliance of energy linked livelihoods on diesel as well as supplement the conventional grid supply. The purpose of this in-person workshop on ‘Advancing Agriculture, Dairy, and Fishery sectors with Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) powered Sustainable and Scalable Solutions’ was organized by the Promotion of Solar Water Pumps project is to provide a comprehensive overview of 20 identified DRE applications across various stages of Agriculture, Dairy, and Fishery sectors which have the potential to be scaled in India. The study was carried out by the consortium of and SRIJAN.
The workshop covered the technical aspects, operational mechanisms, financial numbers including estimated payback, and comparative analysis with fossil fuel-based models. The workshop helped to discuss and find ways to leverage the opportunities offered by DRE applications and address the challenges through collaborative efforts, unlocking the potential for sustainable growth, improved clean energy access, and enhanced productivity across the agriculture, dairy, and fishery sectors.
Key partners comprising of UNDP, Agriculture Skill Council of India, FWWB, Oorja Gram, PWC, Sammunati, Dey Haat Energy, SIDBI etc participated in the workshop and provided their valuable inputs. The Technology, Financing and Market aspects were discussed. It was highlighted by the attendees that how the narratives around the DRE sector needs to be shifted from subsidies to incentives and how the connotations can be changed for the sector to be the focus areas of various other stakeholders and flourish an eco-systemic model around the sector. The participants also discussed the market readiness of the industry based on the calculated payback period of the DRE applications but questioned if enterprises would agree to adopt the identified applications. The emphasis was given on the importance of the entire value chain, from suppliers of DRE applications to financing bodies to end-users should be involved and considered for the project in terms of scalability and visibility.
The project is intended to disseminate communication materials to cater stakeholders at all level from the agriculture, dairy and fishery value chain. The project team appreciated the participants for joining and sharing their views and suggestions on the project outcomes and expressed his gratitude for their valuable contributions. Their feedback would be carefully considered and incorporated into the final project deliverables.
Link to Further Materials
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Contact Person
Anuj Hemant Xess
Key Buzzwords
Decentralized renewable energy, Clean Energy
