Why India’s green transition must move beyond large-scale renewable projects

India's renewable energy journey over many years has been assessed using metrics such as installed capacity, solar parks, grid development, national targets, and policy commitments. While these markers are still significant, they don't entirely encompass the upcoming challenges in the nation's clean energy transition. With India's expanding economy and pressing climate goals, the focus shifts beyond just renewable energy generation capacity. The effectiveness of energy distribution to the most deserving populations, industries, and areas is also a key aspect.

This is especially crucial for rural and agricultural regions of India, as energy access significantly impacts productivity, income stability, and resilience. While vast renewable energy initiatives will bolster India's national capabilities, achieving the nation's sustainability targets will also hinge on localized solutions deployed at the farm, village, household, and community levels.

In a conversation with ET Digital on the role of decentralised renewable energy systems in India’s climate journey, Gopal Kabra, Founder and CMD of GK Energy Limited, says the shift is both practical and necessary. Kabra here explains that decentralised renewable energy serves as a rural development necessity, particularly for farmers and remote communities, beyond merely being an energy transition strategy.


The Economic Times (ET): What role do you see decentralised renewable energy systems playing in helping the country achieve its climate and sustainability goals?
Gopal Kabra (GK): Decentralised renewable energy systems play a crucial role in India’s climate journey because they bring clean energy directly to the point of consumption. For a country as vast and diverse as India, sustainability cannot be achieved solely through large power plants and transmission networks. Alongside this, we need solutions that can be deployed faster, more economically, and closer to communities at the village, farm and household level.

This is where decentralised renewable energy systems, particularly solar-powered agricultural infrastructure, become highly effective. Decentralised renewable energy enables affordable, rapid electrification of remote locations without costly transmission infrastructure. Decentralised solar pumping systems have demonstrated how clean energy can reach rural India quickly while creating environmental and economic value.

In agriculture, decentralised solar infrastructure reduces dependence on diesel and conventional grid power, lowers emissions, and improves energy access for farmers. It also supports inclusive development because the benefits of clean energy reach the last mile. In my view, decentralised renewable energy is not just an environmental solution; it is one of the most practical and economically sustainable development models for rural India.

ET: India has set ambitious renewable energy targets for 2030. What are the key enablers required to accelerate adoption at the grassroots level, particularly in rural and agricultural communities?
GK: The key enablers are policy continuity, affordable pricing, strong implementation capacity, quality equipment, after-sales service and end-user awareness. At the grassroots level, adoption depends not only on technology but also on trust. End-users need to see that the system is reliable, easy to maintain and economically beneficial.

Schemes such as PM-KUSUM, Magel Tyala Saur Krushi Pump Yojana and PM-SURYAGHAR have created a strong framework for solar adoption in agriculture and households. The next step is to strengthen execution at scale through timely subsidies, efficient approvals, skilled local technicians and better awareness campaigns. When policy support, financing and on-ground execution come together, adoption accelerates significantly.

ET: Agriculture remains one of the largest consumers of energy and groundwater in India. How can solar-powered infrastructure contribute to building a more sustainable agricultural ecosystem?
GK: To do this, we will need a combination of solar pumps and effective water management. Of India’s over 11 crore farmers, only 2.2 crore have farm-level electricity access, and nearly 80 lakh depend on costly diesel pumps. Even connected farms face erratic power supply, often available only at night, making irrigation difficult and inefficient. Solar pumps provide farmers with clean and reliable daytime energy, helping them plan irrigation more effectively while reducing operating costs.

At the same time, solarization, once combined with responsible water management, can do wonders. Technologies such as efficient pumps, smart controllers, remote monitoring through mobile app, micro-irrigation systems and groundwater monitoring can help ensure that clean energy does not lead to excessive water extraction. The future of sustainable agriculture will require both energy efficiency and water discipline working together.

ET: Beyond reducing carbon emissions, what broader socio-economic impact can renewable energy solutions create for rural India?
GK: Renewable energy can create a profound socio-economic impact across rural India. For farmers, reliable solar energy reduces recurring input costs, improves irrigation reliability and supports higher agricultural productivity thereby increasing income. It also reduces dependence on diesel, protecting farmers from fuel price volatility and improving profitability.

One important aspect often overlooked is the multiplier effect of farmer prosperity. Most farmers without pump irrigation, depend on a single rain-fed crop earning around ₹50,000 per year. By providing reliable access to groundwater, a solar pump can enable multiple cropping cycles annually, often doubling or even tripling farm income. Here, A farmer may be looked at as a single beneficiary of a renewable energy intervention, but when that farmer’s income improves, the benefits extend to the entire family, the local community and in turn the overall economy. Better earnings lead to, higher household consumption, improved education, healthcare, livelihoods and economic activity, positively impacting many more lives beyond the individual farmer.

Beyond the farm, decentralised renewable energy creates local jobs in installation, maintenance, servicing, logistics and technical support. It improves energy security, strengthens rural livelihoods and gives communities greater control over their development. It also strengthens national food security by increasing agricultural productivity and enhancing resilience during periods of disruption, including conflicts, natural disasters, and other crises. When deployed effectively, clean energy becomes a powerful tool for income enhancement, rural empowerment and long-term economic resilience.

ET: What lessons has the renewable energy sector learned over the past decade, and what should be the industry’s focus areas for the next phase of growth?
GK: One major lesson is that scale must be supported by quality. India has made remarkable progress in renewable energy deployment, but the next phase must focus on long-term performance, reliability and service delivery. In sectors such as agriculture, where customers are often located in remote areas, after-sales support is just as important as installation.

The industry should now focus on quality manufacturing, skilled manpower, digital monitoring, faster execution, financing innovation and lifecycle service. Developing affordable solar-powered technologies that can be easily deployed in remote locations, while continuously improving existing infrastructure, is crucial to expanding energy access and driving sustainable growth. Renewable energy is no longer only about adding capacity; it is about creating dependable assets that deliver value for the next 20 to 25 years.

ET: How important is energy independence at the farm level, and what impact can it have on both farmer resilience and environmental sustainability?
GK: Energy independence at the farm level is extremely important. When a farmer has reliable access to power, irrigation becomes more predictable and farming decisions become more stable. This directly improves resilience, particularly in regions where grid supply is uncertain or diesel costs are high and increases individual income and improve lifestyle.

From an environmental perspective, farm-level energy independence reduces carbon emissions and supports the transition away from fossil fuels. It also helps create a decentralised energy ecosystem where farmers are not just consumers of energy but active participants in India’s clean energy transition.

ET: How have initiatives such as PM-KUSUM and PM Surya Ghar influenced the pace of renewable energy adoption in India?
GK: Initiatives such as PM-KUSUM and PM Surya Ghar have played a transformative role in making adoption of renewable energy more accessible and aspirational. PM-KUSUM has brought solar energy into the agricultural mainstream through solar pumps, feeder level solarisation and decentralised solar generation. PM Surya Ghar has significantly increased awareness around rooftop solar and household-level energy savings.

The most important contribution of these schemes is that they have transformed solar energy from being viewed as a large-project concept into a people-centric solution. They have enhanced awareness, affordability and confidence among users. Continued simplification of processes, timely subsidy disbursement and quality implementation will further accelerate adoption.

ET: How can India balance the need for rapid economic growth with its environmental commitments, and what role will renewable energy companies play in enabling that transition?
GK: India does not have to choose between growth and sustainability. The real opportunity lies in making clean energy a foundation for economic growth. Renewable energy can power industries, agriculture, homes and mobility while significantly reducing the environmental cost of development.

Renewable energy companies have a critical role to play by building reliable infrastructure, investing in technology, creating local employment and ensuring that clean energy reaches both urban and rural communities. Sustainable growth will require close collaboration between government, industry, financial institutions and local communities.

ET: How do you see India’s renewable energy landscape evolving over the next decade, and where do you think the biggest opportunities lie?
GK: Over the next decade, India’s renewable energy landscape will become increasingly decentralised, digital and integrated. While large solar parks and wind projects will continue to grow, we will also see strong momentum in rooftop solar, agricultural solarisation, energy storage, green hydrogen, rural energy access and distributed energy systems.

The biggest opportunities lie in sectors where clean energy can directly improve livelihoods. Agriculture is one such sector. Solar pumps, feeder solarisation and decentralised renewable energy can transform rural energy access while supporting sustainability. India’s clean energy transition will be most successful when it creates tangible benefits for both the economy and the common citizen.

ET: As India advances towards its net-zero ambitions, do you believe the next wave of climate action will be driven more by large-scale renewable projects or decentralised community-led energy solutions? Why?
GK: Both will be essential, but I believe the next wave of climate action will increasingly be driven by decentralised and community-led energy solutions. Large-scale renewable projects are critical for national capacity building, but decentralised systems create direct impact at the user level.

When a farmer adopts a solar pump or a household installs rooftop solar, climate action becomes personal, practical and measurable. It reduces emissions, lowers costs and improves energy security simultaneously. For India, the most effective path forward will be a combination of large-scale renewable infrastructure and decentralised clean energy solutions that empower communities and drive sustainable development from the ground up.