Government to Replace Diesel by Renewable Energy in Farm Sector by 2024: RK Singh

The Power Ministry said on Friday that India has set an ambitious target of replacing diesel with renewable energy (RE) in the agriculture sector by 2024, as part of the government's commitment to increasing the share of non-fossil fuels by 2030 and becoming a net zero emitter by 2070.

Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh convened a virtual meeting on Thursday with officers from the Ministry of Power and MNRE, as well as Additional Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries of Power/Energy Departments of States and Union Territories, to discuss their roles in India's energy transition goals.

"Singh emphasized that India will replace diesel with renewables in order to meet the target of zero diesel use in agriculture by 2024," the Power Ministry said in a statement.

COP26 Commitment

The meeting was organized in accordance with the Prime Minister's commitment at COP26 to reduce India's carbon intensity. The goal of this meeting was to ensure the state's participation in meeting India's climate commitments, and each state and UT can be assigned energy-saving targets, according to the statement.

Singh emphasized the importance of collaboration between the Central and State governments in the large-scale deployment of energy efficiency measures in potential sectors of the economy. He emphasized the importance of establishing a state-specific agency dedicated to energy efficiency and conservation.

He also urged the states to create an action plan to meet the assigned targets. "We are working for a new and modern India, which cannot happen without modern power systems. We look forward to working with all States and UTs to achieve this," the Minister said.

Power Secretary Alok Kumar emphasized the importance of states' and UTs' support and cooperation in facilitating the development of the State Energy Efficiency Action Plan, as well as its adoption and implementation to achieve the states'/UTs' goals.

The meeting was concluded with an interactive session with State/UT officials, who also highlighted state-level activities completed in recent years. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) will assist states in developing action plans to achieve specific goals.

Under the Off-grid and Decentralized Solar PV Applications programme and the Rooftop Solar programme, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has provided financial support for the electrification of various public service institutions in rural areas of the country, including anganwadis, health centres, schools, panchayat offices, railways, and bus stations.

As of December 31, 2021, 216.88 MW had been installed under the off-grid and decentralized solar PV applications programme, while 2504.07 MW had been installed under the grid-connected rooftop solar programme.

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) aims to de-dieselize the farm sector, provide farmers with water and energy security, increase farmers' income, and reduce environmental pollution. So far, solar power plants with a total capacity of 4,909 MW have been approved under the scheme's Component-A. To date, 3.59 lakh standalone solar pumps have been sanctioned under Component-B, and over 10 lakh existing agricultural pumps have been solarized under Component-C. The scheme is demand-driven, with demand coming from states and union territories.

Up to March 31, 2021, 2.817 crore households were electrified under the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya), including 4.16 lakh through solar-based standalone systems.

The government has approved the electrification of an additional 11.83 lakh households, including 1.35 lakh households through solar-based standalone systems, based on state requests under the Deen Dayal Upadhya Gram Jyoti Yojana.