The Jharkhand government aims to equip 1,000 villages with solar lights under Jharkhand State Solar Policy, 2022. Of these, 200 villages are set to be solarised in the first phase by 2023.
Giridih is set to become the state’s first solar city with a total of 17 MW of capacity units for domestic consumers, 5 MW for commercial sector rooftop power plants, 1 MW for solar-powered street lights, and 18 MW for ground-mounted solar power plants. The state energy department has chosen to electrify villages through community-based solar installation. Key structures like health centres, schools, and police stations in rural areas will be solarised. The authorities then aim to solarise small local shops, agriculture, and medium and small-scale industries. According to Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (JREDA), parameters have been decided upon to identify and categorise villages for phase-wise solarisation. Districts have been directed to identify land banks and chunks in villages that can be put to use to lay solar panel webs.