Maharashtra Launches First Solar Village – ‘Manyachiwadi’

Manyachiwadi has become the first village in Maharashtra to earn the title of ‘first solar village’ of the state. The village, situated in the Satara district has now become fully solarized, paving the way for sustainable rural setups. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on August 18 also launched a scheme to solarize more villages in the state by roping in the state power utility-Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL).

MSEDCL has now earmarked two more regions Shivtirth Nagar in Kothrud and Sector 25 in Nigdi to make them solar villages under the scheme. During the occasion, the Chief Minister also talked about the PM Surya Ghar scheme which talks about setting up model solar villages as a sub component of the scheme. Earlier, Manyachawadi was also in the news for increased penetration of solar energy for its operations and increased usage of clean power.

Recently, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) launched guidelines this year to establish a model solar village in every district across the country. During the occasion, Deputy Chief Minister and Energy Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the state will generate 12,000 MW of electricity through solar energy within the next year and a half. He emphasized that this initiative would ensure farmers receive free electricity during the day, aligning with peak agricultural activity times.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) has committed to providing up to 100% solar-powered electricity to two villages in each district. Following the success of Manyachiwadi, over 70 other villages across Maharashtra will join this project.

An MNRE notification stated that these model solar villages will be developed as part of the PM Surya Ghar scheme, with total financial support of around Rs 800 crore. Each model village will receive approximately Rs 1 crore to become a symbol of green power adoption. The ministry also outlined that each village will establish 24×7 solar-powered infrastructure, encompassing all households and public areas.

The program aims to promote technologies such as solar-based home lighting systems in every household, solar-powered water systems, solar pumps for agriculture, and the installation of solar street lights along village roads and common infrastructure. According to MNRE guidelines, large villages will primarily be eligible for selection.

The tale of solar villages/solar cities in India 

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has developed and also working to promote several solar cities and solar villages in India. 

Under the Solar City programme, the MNRE has supported development of Modhera in Gujarat, Konark in Odisha as the solar cities. Several other cities like Ayodhya, Bodh Gaya and others are in the pipeline to be developed as solar cities. Through CSR funds NGOs solar villages like Barapitha in Odisha and Dharnai in Bihar were developed as a model village.

However, many of these highly proclaimed solar cities and villages often become failed examples due to lack of funding and clarity on their fate after the first years of their operations when the warrantee period lapses. One of the examples of such a failed solar village is Barapitha in Odisha where the solar project was never repaired after it developed a snag due to cyclone. In Dharnai village in Bihar, the villagers shunned solar power and opted for grid when the grid supply came to the village.

In solar cities like Konark in Odisha, the state nodal agency-Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) worked to install rooftop solar, solar trees, solar-based drinking water kiosks and others to make the city net-zero. Similar experiments were done at Modhera in Gujarat too. One of the key differentiators in making these projects viable and functional is the lack of clarity and funding on the Operations and Maintenace (O&M) of these solar assets.