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It was eye-opening to see a recent report from LandConflictWatch, a firm that tracks and details land-related conflicts across Industry, that 22.9 GW of RE capacity is entangled in conflict, 7.3 GW stalled in India. While the report offers great detail on the nature and extent of these conflicts, which involve key developers across the spectrum, what is interesting is that in several cases, protests continue even after projects are commissioned, signalling unresolved issues.
Consider that with an additional expected 400 GW of solar by 2035, India will need at least 1.5 million acres of land. One reason alternative solar options like AgriVoltaics, Floating Solar, Rooftop Solar, or even BIPV are considered so important today is to meet national goals. But these options, while promising in many cases, will never quite match up to the requirements of large, utility-scale solar parks.
Projects Facing Delays
We have seen how even in Rajasthan, a state that outsiders assume should have abundant ‘desert land’ on offer, the felling of Khejri trees became a serious issue for many developers. Even now, some key projects involving capacities of over 800 MW are embroiled in negotiations with communities to resolve protests.
Similarly, the biggest renewable energy hub in India at Khavda in Gujarat, again considered a vast wasteland with little better use, has also drawn attention for the need to be more sensitive to the fragile environment that exists there, however limited it might seem to the lay outsider.
Financial Compensation For Land Owners Solves Only Part Of the Problem
In most cases, government and developers have tried to tide over challenges by offering higher compensation or lease rates for land used for solar plants. Consider how Pavagada in Karnataka, where lease rates back in 2017-18 started at Rs 21,000, was considered a progressive trendsetter, even as lease rates in many cases across India today have hit Rs 50,000/acre and higher. But money is not enough, as it helps only the limited landowners. Many of the protests we see today are from those who did not own the land. Protests have ranged from issues ranging as loss of pasture land, common lands, or even damage to the local ecology, as seen in the case of issues linked to tree felling in Rajasthan.
For those who don’t know, the Khejri tree is a much venerated tree in the region, valued not just for the drought resistance it has in arid regions and its role in adding to soil fertility, but also for the pods it offers that are used in the well-known singhri dish. So much so that the tree also has religious significance for many communities linked to multiple festivals, not just in Rajasthan, but across North, central and even South India.
What is Missing In Compensation? Energy Credits For the Affected Community
The point is, compensation is limited to land owners, be it for solar or wind projects, is no guarantee of support or ‘buy-in’ from local communities. Most developers do practice CSR efforts with a wider net of planned beneficiaries, but the actual impact of those efforts has been limited again, in terms of what we have seen on ground.
But clearly, the worst part of visits to these regions is this. To see communities living near power plants, be it solar, thermal or anything else, not have adequate access to electricity themselves. It is time this glaring anomaly was fixed for good, at least.
All stakeholders urgently need to sit together and arrive at a clear way to ensure every resident near an energy plant, especially new, renewable plants, now gets direct benefits from the same in the form of an energy credit. These credits could be carved out of a certain percentage of generation from the plant, definitely under 5%, which will be more than enough in most cases. Before you jump in with a ‘this cannot work’ approach, consider where it has worked really well when all else failed. In rich old Europe.
The practice is spreading in which many projects, especially those structured as community energy initiatives or energy cooperatives, offer local residents a share in the benefits, including energy credits or financial returns. Not only has this helped boost public support, but also sped up permissions for project development, a critical hurdle in Europe. The Indian approach to get it all fixed inside a government building with limited local involvement is, frankly, opaque and suspicious in an increasing number of cases. We can do much better for clean energy, rather than muddy it with the stench of corruption at such a critical stage.
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