Council on Energy, Environment and Water Integrated | International | Independent
Suggested citation: Yasaswi, Priyatam, Divya Gaur, and Abhishek Jain. 2025. How Decentralised Renewable Energy-powered Technologies Impact Sustainable Livelihoods Findings from the Ground (2025). New Delhi: Council on Energy, Environment and Water.
Reliable and affordable clean energy is fundamental for fostering sustainable development and advancing economic opportunities, particularly among underserved communities in rural India. Localised productive applications of renewable energy, which involve solutions that are tailor-designed to the needs of communities, support SDG 7 (Clean Energy), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Mainstreaming such solutions in rural economies can enable income-generating activities, reduce fossil fuel dependency, cut emissions, and build climate resilience.
However, there is very limited evidence in the sector on how these technologies enable impact on their users and how they can be scaled to reach millions. A holistic and thriving ecosystem facilitating accessibility to affordability to market linkages is key to accelerating the sector, which needs support from government institutions, implementing organisations, financiers, and investors. However, more evidence is needed on the impact and viability of DRE technologies to gain the confidence of these stakeholders so that these solutions become a priority.
The impact assessment study is an effort from the Powering Livelihoods programme (a CEEW-Villgro Joint Initiative) to promote evidence-based research. It consists of multiple rounds of cross-sectional research that adopts a mixed-method approach, i.e., collecting quantitative and qualitative evidence to evaluate the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the DRE livelihood technologies. This study, which is the second in the series, interviewed over 800 users across 18 states and union territories, covering 8 different technologies.
Agriculture continues to employ nearly half (45.8 per cent) of India’s workforce, mainly in rural areas. However, the rural economy’s contribution to India’s GDP remains limited due to the impacts of climate change, water shortages, reverse migration and low productivity. (Ministry of Finance 2024). Evidence shows that lack of access to affordable and reliable energy hinders agricultural productivity and the growth of agribusinesses, thereby curbing the overall rural economy (Ringler et al. 2022). Therefore, enabling access to reliable energy, ideally through clean energy, is important in realising the potential of the rural economy. A decentralised renewable energy (DRE) system that generates and distributes energy independently of a centralised grid to power lighting, space heating, and consumer and productive appliances presents a cost-effective solution for ensuring reliable energy access at the last mile (Jain, Ghosh, and Chhabra 2021). These decentralised solutions help meet rural communities‘ electricity loads and requirements, which are often unmet by centralised grids (IRENA and SELCO Foundation 2022). Consequently, documenting and understanding the social, economic, and environmental impact of DRE systems is crucial, as these technologies could potentially impact livelihoods of 37 million people in India (Jain, Khalid, and Jindal 2023). In 2020, CEEW and Villgro launched the Powering Livelihoods programme to promote DRE-powered solutions in rural India. It aims to foster a supportive ecosystem for mainstreaming clean energy livelihood solutions. Through impact assessment research, it seeks to inform sectoral stakeholders by generating nuanced evidence on the social, economic, and environmental impacts of DRE livelihood solutions deployed across the country.
This impact assessment research is an ongoing effort that will take place over multiple rounds, with new technologies being added in each round and cross-sectional data collected. In our previous study (Gaur, Yasaswi, and Jain 2023), we examined the impact of six DRE livelihood technologies on users‘ livelihoods and highlighted the factors that constrained the usage of these solutions and the steps stakeholders must take to address them. In Round 2, the present study, we examine eight DRE technologies. To do so, we interviewed 889 users across 18 states and union territories. These technologies primarily support livelihoods in the agricultural, textile, and food processing sectors. These technologies are a) solar silk reeling and spinning machines, b) small horticulture processors, c) solar refrigerators, d) vertical fodder grow units, e) micro solar pumps, f) solar dryers, g) solar dehydrators, and h) biomass-powered cold storage.
This study through a nationally representative survey aims to provide evidence on the following questions (Figure ES1):
Figure ES2 A typical respondent is a 30-45 year old female, part of a collective and residing in the central or eastern regions of India.
Figure ES3 Most users contribute upfront but dependent on subsidy to procure the technology
Figure ES4 DRE adoption increased incomes for almost 90%, while also enabling positive social impact, especially among women
Figure ES5 Availability of market linkages, working capital and satisfactory output are crucial for long term usage of DRE solutions.
Top reasons DRE solutions go unused:
Energy-efficient, solar-powered silk reeling and spinning machines enable users (usually women) to reel high-quality silk. The machine reduces the drudgery of traditional manual thigh reeling, increases productivity, and promises increased incomes.
A multi-purpose food processor that extracts juices, pulp and essential oil from various vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. It can be also used to make jams, candies and squashes, etc. It enables value addition for otherwise perishable horticulture produce, increasing the users’ income.
The energy-efficient and solar-powered DC refrigerator provides reliable cooling for a wide range of commodities (dairy products, fish, cold drinks, vaccines). It decreases spoilage of perishables and provides savings on users’ electricity bills.
A solar-powered, microclimate-controlled, hydroponics unit enables users to harvest about 25 kgs of fresh green fodder daily with less than a bucket of water. This solution promises an increase in the milk and meat yield of animals, thereby helping animal rearers realise better incomes while reducing the time and drudgery involved in fodder procurement and preparation.
A hyper-efficient, portable, open-well submersible pump system, designed for small farmers with a land holding of up to two acres. The pump increases income by expanding the irrigated area, increasing cropping cycles and displacing diesel use. It also reduces the overall effort that typically goes into starting and operating diesel pumps for irrigation.
A portable solar dryer helps farmers increase the shelf life of perishable agricultural produce, thereby enabling savings from food loss and better value for farmers. Solar dryers are commonly used for drying fruits, vegetables, spices and grains in bulk.
A portable solar dehydrator helps farmers increase the shelf life of perishable agricultural produce, thereby enabling savings from food loss and better value for farmers. Designed for small-scale use, solar dehydrators effectively remove moisture from food items to ensure preservation.
The biomass-powered cold storage offers reliable cooling to farmers for storing their agricultural products at minimal running cost. It utilises the waste biomass available at the farm gate.
This impact assessment study is the first of its kind effort to generate evidence at scale on the social, economic, and environmental impacts of DRE livelihood solutions on its users in India. The insights provide broader implications for the scaling up of these solutions in the DRE sector in the Global South. Notably, 87 per cent of users reported an income increase after adopting DRE solutions, in addition to enhancing productivity, reducing drudgery, and contributing to carbon emission reduction.
This study offers actionable recommendations to accelerate the scaling of these technologies on the ground. These recommendations are informed by both research findings (quantitative and qualitative) and experiences from the Powering Livelihoods programme, emphasising evidence-based strategies to overcome adoption barriers and maximise impact.
Enhancing the targeting of DRE solutions through SHGs and FPOs, incentivising user upfront contribution, policy alignment, and streamlined value chain linkages is crucial to mainstream DRE livelihood solutions. This study provides evidence to stakeholders for informed decision making to materialise these actions.
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