Haryana Unveils Plan for Decentralised Renewable Energy in Villages; Green Targets Strengthened

Gurgaon, September 16, 2025 

Haryana’s government on Tuesday announced an ambitious push to expand decentralised renewable energy (RE) solutions across the state’s rural landscape — an effort designed to improve grid resilience, strengthen rural livelihoods and accelerate the state’s shift toward cleaner power. Officials highlighted that Haryana already has an installed and contracted renewable capacity of 6,264 MW, which accounts for about 38.6% of total state capacity. Solar generation contributes roughly 2,200 MW of this. Building on that base, the new plan emphasises locally-sited systems: rooftop solar for public buildings, microgrids for clusters of villages, solar-powered irrigation and bio-energy units that use agricultural residues. Central to the rural drive is continued scaling of solar irrigation under the PM-KUSUM scheme; the state reports over 1.7 lakh solar irrigation pumps have already been distributed. The government intends to expand pump deployment and integrate battery storage in vulnerable locations to ensure uninterrupted supply and reduce diesel dependence for pumping duties. Haryana is also advancing plans in green hydrogen and bioenergy. Officials set targets to develop green hydrogen output of 250 KTPA and to deploy 2 GW of electrolyzer capacity by 2030, measures aimed at supplying industry with low-carbon fuels and creating new demand-side anchors for renewable power. Parallel initiatives include strengthening compressed biogas (CBG) production: 17 CBG plants are already commissioned with more projects in the pipeline to capture and valorise agricultural waste. To enable decentralised deployment, the state plans simplified approval processes and financial incentives for small-scale developers. Local panchayats and rural entrepreneurs will be encouraged to participate under public–private models, and training programmes will be launched to build a local workforce for installation and maintenance. The government also flagged plans to pilot community microgrids that can island from the central grid during outages — a resilience measure prioritised after recent climate-linked disruptions. Energy-sector analysts welcomed Haryana’s integrated approach but noted challenges. Land availability for larger ground-mounted projects, grid-integration of intermittent generation, and financing for distributed assets in lower-income hamlets are key hurdles. Ensuring equitable access — so remote villages and marginalized farmers benefit — will require focused subsidy design and transparent allocation mechanisms. The plan also embraces circular economy principles: investments in agri-waste collection, pelletisation, and anaerobic digestion aim to reduce burning and open-field residue disposal, addressing local air-quality concerns while creating feedstock for CBG and bioenergy plants. If executed effectively, Haryana’s roadmap could boost rural energy security, reduce emissions, and create green jobs in local communities. Officials said detailed rollout frameworks and district-wise targets will be announced in the coming weeks, with pilot projects expected before the end of the year.