India's first fully solar village lights up the lives of poor residents

India aims to meet half of its energy demands from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, by 2030.

Kesa Bhai Prajapati beams with a smile as he moulds blocks of clay into jugs and vases on a potter's wheel.

These days, Prajapati, 68, from the village of Modhera in western India's Gujarat state, has doubled the amount of earthenware he makes compared to a few months ago since he no longer has to turn the wheel manually as he could not then afford high electricity bill that were up to 1,500 Indian rupees a month.

Now, however, his machine moves on solar power as earlier this month Prajapati's village of around 6,500 residents, consisting mainly of potters, tailors, farmers and shoemakers, was declared India's first village to run entirely on solar energy all the time.

"Electricity has helped us to save time and produce more products," Prajapati said.

India, the world's third-largest carbon dioxide emitter, aims to meet half of its energy demands from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, by 2030, a boost over its previous target of 40%, the government said it achieved in December 2021.

The project in Modhera, financed by the federal and provincial government at nearly $10 million, involved setting up over 1,300 rooftop panels on residential and government buildings that were connected to a power plant.

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