Read an excellent report on what India can learn from Germany on enhancing renewables penetration in rural regions.
The key, it appears to me, is the involvement of villagers. In the German program for rural renewable energy adoption, village citizens are involved right from project ideation to end implementation in partnership with private and government organisations.
The other aspect that stood out was the portfolio of renewable energy technologies used. The German model usually combines several technologies such as biogas plants, wood cheap boilers, pellet stoves, combined heat and power plants, and also wind, solar and thermal energy. The stack of technology is decided based on the availability of renewable energy sources in the village and surroundings.
While federal and state governments provide an active policy environment and incentivises the transition, localized village governing municipalities implement the transition. Since the citizens and municipalities lack the technical and operational nuances, the private sector is brought in to fill this gap.
India has made a start in incorporating some of these excellent concepts. There are already examples of such villages across the country where multiple technologies (biomass, solar, wind, biogas) are used in a coordinated manner by select villages in the country, in states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Given the availability of significant natural resources at the village level - crop residue, livestock manure, etc., and also given that most villages are bathed in sunlight and could even think of installing small wind turbines on their farms or within their residential area, the German precedent presents an interesting model for India to learn from and adopt.
