Bridging access and equity: Understanding community-led models for decentralised renewable energy systems in India

Despite significant progress in rural electrification, reliable and affordable electricity for productive agricultural uses remains a persistent challenge in rural India, constraining agricultural livelihoods. Decentralised renewable energy (DRE) systems, particularly solar-powered applications, offer significant promise to enhance agricultural productivity, reduce fossil fuel dependence, and support climate-resilient development. However, access to and the benefits of these applications remain unevenly distributed, often favouring resource-rich farmers while excluding smallholders and women farmers. This rapid communication is based on a report that examines 21 decentralised solar interventions across nine Indian states, including irrigation pumps, cold storage facilities and agro-processing units. Using the sustainable livelihoods framework, it analyses how different implementation models – top-down, hybrid, and bottom-up – and collective-led approaches shape access, participation, benefit-sharing and livelihood outcomes. The findings highlight that while DRE interventions improve access to technology, enable crop diversification, and reduce diesel reliance, equitable outcomes depend on financing structures, governance arrangements, and local institutional environments. High upfront costs, limited credit access, operational and maintenance challenges, and weak market linkages constrain sustainability and scaling. Collective-led models demonstrate particular promise when grounded in local realities and supported by inclusive financing, capacity building, and sustained institutional handholding. Yet, social hierarchies and power asymmetries can reproduce inequities unless deliberate safeguards are embedded. Farmers prioritise tangible livelihood gains, reduced drudgery and reliable support systems over technical notions of “modern” energy. The study argues that DRE must move beyond standalone technology deployment towards integrated, value-chain-based, and institutionally embedded approaches that align with local water-energy-food systems. Equity-focused design, innovative financing, and long-term governance support are critical for DRE to deliver transformative and inclusive rural development.

Bhanjdeo A, Meenawat H. Bridging access and equity: Understanding community-led models for decentralised renewable energy systems in India. Cambridge Prisms: Energy Transitions. 2026;2:e10. doi:10.1017/etr.2026.10018