India’s solar energy projections are beating its forecasts every single time. The target of 20 GigaWatt by 2022, has been completed 4 years ahead of its predictions. This is a giant step for India. The growth in the adoption of renewable energy instils the belief that the world will be powered entirely by renewable energy in the future.
In one of our previous articles, we had discussed the potential impact of the world depending solely on renewable energy, and at the time, it seemed improvident. But now, the disruptive efforts of organisations like Power for All, 350.org, ICLEI, The Solutions Project, and many more; are drastically reducing the dependence on fossil fuels. They are achieving this through the collaborative effort of local communities and policies to help establish micro-grids, by providing funds to leaders in the field of sustainability.
What are these organisations up to?
“Numerous people in the world are connecting to the electrical grid for the first time — and they are leapfrogging the fossil fuels entirely”, says May Boeve of 350.org. The impact created by the local communities in countries like Ukraine and Africa is immense. Zhytomyr, a city in Ukraine, has committed to 100% renewable energy by 2050, in a campaign led by the people of Ukraine, under the Fossil Free project started by May Boeve.
“Green is the prime colour of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.” — Pedro Calderon de la Barca
ICLEI is committed to enabling sustainable urban development in cities all over the world. Their approach of working with the local government is driving a change, which cuts across sectors and jurisdictional boundaries.
Power for All is bent on providing electricity access to 1.1 billion people who are presently living without it, in rural India and Sub-Saharan Africa. This organisation is showing that decentralised renewable energy is the key to a reliable, affordable, and an improved quality of life. Their recent article explored how decentralised energy in rural India is rising by involving the community and empowering them, thus leading to the long-term viability of solar based micro-grids.
Where does India stand in all this?
The awareness is slowly increasing in the communities of urban and rural India. More people now want to adopt solar in their homes than ever before. Selco, Simpa Networks, Gram Oorja, are some of the companies paving the way for solar in the rural communities. As for urban India, the initiative of Green Cities led by the Ministry of New And Renewable Energy (MNRE), is powering fast-paced cities and towns with solar energy.
With the goal of 10% of the total energy demand to be met by solar, every home in urban India could be aesthetically designed to have a solar rooftop system. Across India, 60 cities and towns have been identified as Solar Cities based on their population and energy demand.
What does the future hold?
The total energy demand in India is over 9.5 Lakh GigaWatt Hour, out of which, 9.8% is being generated from renewable energy. Solar energy is currently contributing to 2.5% of the total generation.
The possibility of powering the entire world with renewable energy is bringing communities together, across the world. The dogged determination of the people is pushing the local governments to divest fossil fuels, and actively push for renewable energy.
I believe that Clean Energy For All, is our calling. Let’s drop the mask, and be the generation that took renewable energy to the masses.
“The Good News: Clean Energy is Popular, Feasible and Happening!” — Meredith Whitfield
Written by Apoorva Shah, who works with Solarify in Bangalore, India
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