The Rajasthan government has announced 150 units of free monthly electricity for the beneficiaries of the Chief Minister Free Electricity Program.

The announcement was made by the state Finance Minister, Diya Kumari, while presenting the state budget for 2025-2026.

Leveraging the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, the government has said it will install  free rooftop solar systems for the beneficiaries of the state program which was providing 100 units of free electricity. The free units have now been increased to 150.

The government will also install community rooftop solar projects for low-income groups with no limited rooftop access at no additional cost.

The state has set a target of installing 10 GW of renewable energy by the private sector.

Rajasthan also aims to install 50,000 new agricultural and 500,000 domestic electricity connections.

The government has also proposed the construction of one 765 kV substation, five substations of 400 kV, 13 substations of 220 kV, 28 substations of 132 kV, and 133 substations of 33/11 kV.

The Rajasthan Investment Promotion Scheme 2024, announced last year offered several incentives to boost investments in renewable energy, battery energy storage systems, and green hydrogen. It provided several exemptions and reimbursements to lower operational and setup costs. The program offers a 100% exemption from electricity duty for seven years.

As per the Renewable Energy Policy 2023 of Rajasthan, the state aims to establish 90 GW of renewable energy projects by 2029-30. Solar projects will constitute 65 GW, wind and wind-solar hybrid 15 GW, hydropower, pumped storage projects, and battery energy storage system projects 10 GW. The policy will be effective until 2027.

India added 16.4 GW of solar capacity in the first nine months (9M) of 2024, a 167% year-over-year increase from 6.2 GW in 9M 2023, according to Mercom India Research’s Q3 2024 India Solar Market Update. Rajasthan accounted for 27% of cumulative large-scale solar capacity.