Opportunities and challenges for solar minigrid development in rural India
The goal of this report is to inform investors about the potential of solar minigrid technologies to serve India’s rural market. India, a rapidly emerging economy with the world’s second largest population, is facing a surging energy demand. A large portion of India’s rural population, which represents 60% of the total population, does not have access to reliable electricity or has limited access and relies heavily on fuels such as wood, diesel, and kerosene to fulfill energy needs. Using the most recent available expenditure data, it is estimated that India’s rural consumers currently spend US$4.86 billion (INR 243 billion) per year on energy. Because of the linkages between reliable electricity supply, gross domestic product growth, and living standards, the Indian government is accelerating the deployment of electricity to India’s rural population.