Rajasthan plans to go all out on solar, shun coal, to meet power demand

The Rajasthan government is looking to increase dependence on solar energy from the current 12-14 per cent to over 40 per cent of consumption by 2030 to bridge the power gap.

If this happens, the state will not need to purchase electricity from other states at expensive rates, an official said. 

With urbanisation and industrial growth, electricity demand in the state may increase by 8 to 10 per cent every year.

“In the next five years, the scheme for promoting solar production centres among the government and private sector and the rooftop solar plants scheme will be promoted,” he added.

These efforts will also reduce dependence on coal-based plants.

According to the plan, subsidised rooftop systems are to be installed at 500,000 houses in the first phase of PM Suryaghar Yojana in the state.

“In the upcoming phase, other consumers will be brought under the ambit of this scheme. Plans like increasing subsidies and providing other benefits are also being considered to make people aware of rooftop solar plants,” the official said.

“Due to shortage of water (in the state), new hydroelectric projects cannot be considered. In such a situation, the focus is now on solar energy to meet the increasing electricity demand,” he added.

In 2023-24, Rajasthan’s commissioned solar capacity was over 1,296 megawatt (Mw), according to the state’s renewable energy website, with the best year being 2021-2022 when the commissioned solar energy was over 5,398 Mw. The state had over 15,195 Mw of aggregate solar capacity till December 2023.

Rajasthan’s solar energy generation potential has been assessed at 142 Gw. The state has vast untapped potential in terms of intense solar radiation with one of the highest number of sunny days in a year and availability of vast unutilised government and private land. This has the potential to make Rajasthan a highly preferred destination for solar energy production.