Solar power project in Spiti threatens to disrupt snow leopard habitat, local life
Apart from its ecological toll, most of the areas under consideration are pasture lands crucial for villagers where the project is set to come up.
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In October, India surpassed 200 GW of renewable energy capacity, accounting for 46.3% of the country’s electricity generation. It marks a significant milestone, which pushes the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter closer to its commitment to generate 500 GW from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.
Solar energy is central to the country’s renewable energy transition, which has grown from 0.5 GW in 2011 to more than 90 GW in 2024. This growth is attributable to India’s continuous push for renewable energy, which includes relaxing critical due diligence processes like environmental impact assessment (EIA) for green energy projects.
The rising numbers underscore the country’s growing commitment to non-renewable energy but there is more at stake in this race towards a so-called “clean” and “green” future. Renewable energy boasts low carbon emissions but is often very land-use intensive. This need for large geographical spaces is one of the reasons green energy conflicts with conservation goals.
A new research paper published in Biological Conservation, a peer-reviewed journal, uses a case study of the proposed 880 MW solar park in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, to highlight why it is important to align green energy development with biodiversity conservation goals.
Researchers from the Nature Conservation Foundation, an independent research organisation, showcase that development activities for the proposed solar project will harm snow leopard habitats in the region.
Considerable cost
The proposed solar park is set to...
