
Mongabay series: Clean Energy
In response to global discussions on climate change, India has been steadily increasing the growth rate for renewable energy vis-à-vis conventional energy. The years 2016-17 and 2018-19 averaged an annual growth rate of around 24% for the renewable sector, and it has been continuing since then. Reducing the use of fossil fuels and increasing the use of renewable energy is the overall objective of the transition to clean energy. For this to happen effectively, a host of factors need to come together, including policy support for renewables, improved grid connectivity, better pricing, etc. It also requires larger public support, which would strengthen the hands of the policymakers. A vibrant and robust discussion on the clean energy transition can support and strengthen the public as well as policy understanding, discussions and decision making. Through the Clean Energy series, Mongabay-India aims to explore the nuances that build the larger picture of India's clean energy ambitions. This would include progress in the generation, transmission, distribution and pricing of renewable power. The series will also look at the efficacy of linking renewable power generation to local grids and the progress made towards making grid-linked systems viable for the producer-consumers. It will analyze the distribution between centralized, utility-scale installations vis-à-vis decentralized, rooftop installations.


Gond women take charge of water and farming in their village

Clean energy startups innovate on products to aid farmers, rural areas

Purulia pumped storage project shows why pumped hydropower may not be clean

[Webinar] Rooftops as solar superstores

Addressing challenges in food systems with climate-smart agriculture

Bihar farmers await PM-KUSUM rollout

Solar power station at Bihar’s ‘first solar village’ is now a makeshift cattle shed

To boost its slow progress on clean energy, Bihar looks at floating and rooftop solar alternatives

From pollution to power, what stops paddy straw from becoming the fuel of choice

[Webinar] Should your next vehicle be electric?

Floating solars illuminating Indian hinterlands, likely to see more expansion

[Commentary] COP26 opens doors for India to push for a just transition

Small steps are making energy sector more inclusive for women

Rooftop solar prepares prosumers in Odisha for power cuts during disasters

Solar power could emerge as a dependable energy alternative for Uttarakhand

Solar power helps farmers irrigate fields in water-scarce Bastar

More progress on state-level electric vehicle policies needed to boost India’s transition to EVs

With land acquisition challenges, Telangana eyes floating solar parks

[Analysis] Will Glasgow be just another talk shop while climate crisis worsens?
Special series
Wetland Champions
- [Commentary] India establishes the largest network of Ramsar Sites in South Asia
- [Commentary] Wetland champions: Promise from the grassroots
- The story of Jakkur lake sets an example for inclusive rejuvenation projects
- Welcome to Tsomgo lake: Please don’t litter

Environment And Health
- As heatwaves projected to worsen across India, do vulnerability assessments and heat action plans suffice?
- Assam’s North Lakhimpur treats 40 years of legacy waste in just nine months
- Varying levels of microplastics detected in sea salt produced across India
- Decline in pollinators linked to half a million premature human deaths every year, shows study

Almost Famous Species
- The gharial attempts a second comeback with help from the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary
- Understanding the role of local communities in the conservation of critically endangered rhino rays
- Citizen scientists help discover a blind catfish species hidden inside Kerala’s aquifers
- Flying is riskier for female katydids, finds India’s first insect radio telemetry study

Eco Hope
- [Interview] Conservation scientist Joli Rumi Borah on integrating traditional knowledge in research
- [Interview] Scientist Ruth DeFries on deforestation: There isn’t one driver, there’s a different context in different places
- India budgets for mangroves and wetlands
- Working with biomaterials to add to the sustainable energy mix

India's Iconic Landscapes
- Experts call for coexistence, sustainable development as tiger population is close to saturation
- Ain’t no mountain high enough: alien invasive plants increasing in higher elevations
- Unplanned, faulty buildings tremble under weather events in the fragile Himalayan regions
- Nourishing soils of Kashmir’s karewas crumble under infrastructure

Beyond Protected Areas
- Study finds how community-based conservation efforts influence mammal populations in Meghalaya
- Habitat loss due to tourism in the Western Ghats pushes endangered frogs to the edge
- Alligator gar fish found in Dal lake raises concerns
- The art and science of elephant whispering

Conserving Agro-biodiversity
- How a drought-prone village in Maharashtra attained agricultural success with millets
- Thirunelly’s seed festival celebrates traditional climate-resilient seeds and farm produce
- [Explainer] Why is 2023 the International Year of Millets? What do we achieve by celebrating such years?
- Nations adopt Global Biodiversity Framework amid concerns over watered-down targets

Just Transitions
- Bauxite mining in Jharkhand is impacting soil fertility, people’s health
- Incentives to boost demand, increase in e-buses in Tamil Nadu’s latest EV policy
- Electricity transition in India’s renewable-rich states needs to accelerate, says study
- [Interview] Ajay Kumar Rastogi on leading India’s first just transition task force
