World Earth Day 2024 | The challenges of renewable energy

aIn a recent speech, Simon Stiell, the United Nations Executive Secretary on Climate Change, said that “the next two years are essential to saving our planet.” Record-breaking heat, water shortages and other environmental problems regularly make headlines in the context of the need to achieve development, increase employment and reduce poverty and inequality, among other things. Yet the links between the trajectories of development, sustainability and climate change mitigation are far from well understood. Our current development models encourage greenhouse gas emissions, are unsustainable and unjust. While India aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070, led primarily by a massive transition to large-scale renewable energy, the implications of such a transition on development or sustainability outcomes are unclear at local and national levels.

Investigate solar parks

Let’s take the example of large-scale solar farms – a key pillar of India’s mitigation strategy. We have 214 square kilometers of land under solar farms, but some studies estimate that we may need 50,000 to 75,000 square kilometers, which is about half the area of ​​Tamil Nadu, to achieve our Net Zero targets.

At a local level, farmers in villages near India’s two largest solar farms – in Bhadla in Rajasthan and Pavagada in Karnataka – report different experiences. In Bhadla, farmers have lost sacred communal lands, called Orans, and pastoralists face shrinking grazing lands, forcing some to sell their livestock at throwaway prices. Such losses have led to protests demanding recognition of communal land under the 2006 Forest Rights Act (FRA). On the other hand, many farmers in Pavagada were satisfied with the stable annual income they received by renting out land for solar farms. This land was ravaged by drought and did not produce significant agricultural income. Yet water security issues and economic inequality between large and small landowners pose challenges for the region.

On a more regional or national scale, solar farms can compete for vital natural resources. Solar panels require large amounts of water for their regular cleaning. Yet our current national-level estimates of land available for solar farms do not take into account the availability of nearby water sources. Likewise, the land required for solar farms may compete with other productive activities – agriculture and related livelihoods – potentially impacting food security. The consequences for the loss of biodiversity when building large-scale solar parks are also location-specific and too little research has been done into this. For example, open natural systems such as deserts provide essential ecosystem services that, if disturbed, would cause ecological damage and even contribute to climate change. Crucially, all these resource needs and impacts on livelihoods and biodiversity are subject to uncertainty about the feasibility and economic viability of other emerging low-carbon technologies and the changing climate itself.

Different approaches

Large-scale renewable energy development can avoid repeating the injustices of past large-scale infrastructure projects, while taking development objectives into account. Experimenting with ownership models is one approach. The parks do not necessarily have to be owned by the state or private companies. Community initiatives can help generate income for communities, further promote small businesses and upskilling, improve incomes, stimulate local economies and improve access to energy.

The development of solar and wind farms is exempt from the environmental and social impact assessment. The legal and regulatory architecture needs to be reviewed and strengthened to limit negative social and environmental impacts. In terms of the impact on small and medium-sized landowners where private land is used, there is no mechanism to check that a fair price is paid to those who lease their land. Involving local government units in the planning and siting processes can provide an opportunity to align local development objectives with solar farm development.

The classification of wastelands needs a major overhaul. Recognition of commons under the FRA would help improve environmental and equity outcomes by granting land ownership to communities that rely on commons. If such land is to be leased or acquired for solar farms, solar park development companies will have to collaborate with local government units like the Gram Sabha to initiate the project.

Encouraging research and experimentation with ‘agrivoltaic energy’ is another way to think about the sustainable development of renewable energy. Agrivoltaic systems combine solar energy with agriculture, creating energy and providing space for crops, grazing and native habitats under and between panels. This way, farmers can grow crops and at the same time be ‘prosumers’ – producers and consumers – of energy.

Many of these challenges and opportunities relate primarily to solar energy, but similar issues exist with other mitigation technologies as well. For example, wind energy has negative consequences for bird ecosystems. Large-scale renewable energy projects can deliver positive employment outcomes at the district level, but lead to massive employment shifts between sectors at the national level. Adequate skills and training programs targeting the unskilled and poorer population groups are essential to protect them.

Seize the opportunity

We are on the eve of a second green revolution, this time in the field of energy. We have an opportunity to anticipate the unintended consequences of this revolution and align our technological, economic and institutional structures to maximize the synergies between sustainability, climate change mitigation and development-related outcomes.

Sukanya Khar is a researcher at IIT Delhi’s School of Public Policy; Kaveri Iychettira is a researcher at the School of Public Policy at IIT Delhi