Mumbai: By 2030, nearly 52% of the state’s energy will come from renewable sources, announced Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at the winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur.
“Currently, the state has 9 lakh agricultural pumps in use and will provide solar pumps to those who request them, giving connections within three months,” he said, while reassuring farmers that govt has initiated projects to generate 16,000MW of solar energy in the state.
Thus far, govt implemented 667MW of this energy, and the goal is to have 16,000MW operational by 2026, which will ensure electricity for farmers during the daytime, Fadnavis added. The project also helps diminish the burden of cross-subsidy on the industry, as electricity will be available at a more economical rate. The initiative facilitates enhanced women workforce participation, benefiting 2 million women statewide. Additionally, farmers can generate supplementary income by leasing unproductive land for solar installations, earning Rs 1.25 lakh per hectare annually.
The state is targeting the generation of 1,000MW daytime electricity supply to farmers across the state by the month’s end under the Mukhyamantri Saur Krushi Vahini Yojana (MSKVY) 2.0. According to MSEDCL managing director Lokesh Chandra, the state already launched distributed renewable energy projects across 19 districts. “The implementation is progressing steadily, with 55MW (13 projects) commissioned thus far. Every day, we are commissioning one project,” he said.
The initiative enables localised solar energy generation near farmlands, eliminating reliance on extensive transmission networks to wheel power from distant locations or other states. The proximity of solar generation to agricultural feeders substantially reduces transmission and distribution losses while ensuring reliable power supply, an MSEDCL official said. This pioneering distributed renewable energy project aims to achieve 9,200MW capacity by Dec 2025. In Maharashtra, there is a long-standing demand to provide only daytime power. MSKVY 2.0 was launched to address this issue by generating power with solar energy for farm pumps.
