Women-led Decentralised Renewable Energy

Women-Led Decentralised Renewable Energy (DRE) will Power India’s Inclusive Energy Transition. Read here to learn more about the significance.

The India Distributed Renewable Energy Summit (IDRES) 2026 underscored a critical insight for India’s net-zero transition: decentralised renewable energy (DRE) must not only expand access to clean power but also transform gender relations in rural economies.

Complementing this vision, the Government of Chhattisgarh launched “Anjor Vision 2047”, aiming to establish 5,000 women-led DRE solutions and create 50,000 green jobs by 2030.

This convergence of climate policy and gender empowerment signals a paradigm shift-from centralized infrastructure expansion to community-driven, women-led clean energy ecosystems.

What is Women-Led Decentralised Renewable Energy?

Women-led DRE is a transformative model that shifts rural women from being passive last-mile consumers of electricity to active designers, owners, managers, and entrepreneurs of small-scale renewable systems, such as:

• Solar pumps
• Mini-grids
• Solar dryers
• Solar silk-reeling machines
• Solar-powered milk chillers

The model integrates energy access, livelihood generation, and gender equity, often operating through Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and women’s collectives.

It aligns with the principles of climate justice and inclusive growth by embedding energy governance within local communities.

Why Women-Led DRE is Critical for India

1. Bridging the Energy Reliability Deficit

While India has achieved near-universal electrification, reliability and quality of supply remain uneven, especially in rural and forest-fringe areas.

• In rural Chhattisgarh, DRE systems power health centres, ensuring refrigeration for vaccines during grid outages.
• Decentralised systems reduce dependence on vulnerable central grids.

Thus, DRE enhances both energy security and public service delivery.

2. Addressing the Gendered Burden of Time Poverty

Women in rural India spend 3-4 hours daily collecting fuelwood and performing manual, energy-intensive tasks.

• In Odisha, solar-powered silk-reeling machines have replaced manual thigh-reeling, reducing physical drudgery.
• Clean cooking and energy automation free time for education, skill development, and entrepreneurship.

DRE therefore converts time poverty into economic opportunity.

3. Enhancing Rural Safety and Mobility

Inadequate lighting restricts women’s mobility after dark.

• Solar streetlights in Uttar Pradesh villages have increased participation in SHG meetings and evening community activities.

Reliable lighting enhances both personal safety and civic engagement.

4. Promoting Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE)

Affordable and reliable power is essential for rural enterprises to compete in modern markets.

• Women-run dairies in Rajasthan use solar bulk milk chillers to prevent spoilage.
• Solar dryers enable small-scale agro-processing with higher value addition.

Energy thus becomes a tool of local economic transformation, not merely household consumption.

5. Climate Resilience and Disaster Preparedness

Centralised grids are vulnerable to cyclones, floods, and extreme weather events.

• During cyclones in coastal Andhra Pradesh, solar micro-grids managed by women’s groups remained operational.

Decentralised systems enhance community-level climate resilience.

Data and Structural Gaps

• Women constitute only 11% of India’s renewable energy workforce, compared to 32% globally.
• 90% of women using DRE solutions report income increases; average earnings rise by one-third within a year.
• Indoor air pollution from biomass causes around 2 lakh premature deaths annually, disproportionately affecting women.
• Empowering women in the energy sector could add $2.9 trillion to India’s economy.

The data reveals both a representation gap and a massive untapped economic potential.

Major Government Initiatives

PM Surya Ghar (Solar Villages)

• Target: 10,000 solar villages by 2030
• Emphasis on community and women-led management models

Lakhpati Didi Scheme

• Aims to create 3 crore “Lakhpati Didis”
• Integrates DRE technologies into SHG enterprises

Anjor Vision 2047 (Chhattisgarh)

• Target: 66% renewable energy share
• 5,000 women-led DRE solutions
• 50,000 green jobs by 2030

Solar Urja Lamp (SoUL) Project

• IIT Bombay initiative trains rural women to assemble and maintain solar lamps

These initiatives demonstrate a growing shift toward energy democratisation.

Key Challenges

• High Upfront Capital Costs: Solar appliances like bulk milk chillers can cost up to ₹25 lakh. Without low-interest green credit, SHGs cannot scale operations.
• Technical Skill Gap: Shortage of local women technicians leads to prolonged downtime of installations.
• Patriarchal Constraints: Women own only 13.9% of agricultural land, limiting collateral access for loans.
• Limited Market Awareness: Many rural entrepreneurs are unaware of DRE subsidy schemes and commercial potential.
• Weak Service Ecosystem: Lack of local spare-part depots and after-sales support affects sustainability.

Way Forward

1. Asset Ownership Reform: Mandate women as primary or joint owners of renewable energy assets.
2. Dedicated Green Credit Mechanisms

• Special credit lines
• First Loss Default Guarantees (FLDG)
• Blended finance for women-led enterprises

3. Creation of “Solar Didis”: Large-scale vocational training in STEM and maintenance roles to build local technical cadres.
4. Panchayat Integration: Enable Gram Panchayats to partner with SHGs for Energy-as-a-Service models.
5. Convergence with Existing Schemes: Integrate DRE into DAY-NRLM, Skill India, and rural livelihood missions.

Conclusion

India’s energy transition cannot be truly sustainable unless it is also socially just and gender-responsive. Women-led decentralised renewable energy offers a triple dividend:

• Climate mitigation
• Rural economic transformation
• Gender empowerment

By turning the last mile into the front line of clean energy governance, India can ensure that its path to net zero is not only technologically advanced but also equitable and inclusive.

Related articles:

• Renewable energy potential in India
• Solar energy
• Green Energy Partnerships of India