Green Energy Rebound Effect? India’s Consumption Woes

Sudhindra Mohan Sharma Former National Nodal Officer, Ministry of Drinking Water, Government of India

The landscape of cities and towns in India has changed rapidly in the last few years. Solar panels are visible on the roof of almost every new colony, ACs have become common in homes, deep tube wells are being continuously dug and modern lifestyle facilities are being considered a symbol of progress. On the surface this change seems positive. Solar energy systems installed on rooftops are considered a source of clean energy, energy efficient appliances are considered environment friendly and modern appliances are considered a means to make life easier.

But if we look at the whole scenario in depth, a serious question comes to the fore – are we really reducing the pressure on the environment or are we just justifying our increasing consumption by naming it “green”? Today environmental scientists and energy experts of the world are talking about the “rebound effect”.

This means that when a technology makes energy cheaper, easier, or more efficient, people tend to use more of it rather than less. For example, after solar panels are installed in a home, ACs start running longer, additional appliances are purchased and total energy consumption becomes higher than before. The savings achieved through technology are lost in increased consumption. This trend seems to be increasing rapidly in India.

After the government encouraged rooftop solar energy systems, millions of homes are moving in this direction. This is also necessary, because it is necessary to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The total installed capacity of grid-connected rooftop solar power plants in India is expected to reach 26-27 GW by March 2026. The share of domestic sector in these is increasing. According to various reports, more than 75% of the new rooftop capacity added in 2025 was from domestic consumers.

If on an average solar plants in India produce 4 to 5 hours of full capacity per day, then domestic rooftop solar systems alone are generating 15 to 20 billion units (kilowatt-hours) of electricity per year. This quantity is equivalent to the annual output of several medium-sized thermal power plants. But is this energy reducing dependence on fossil fuels or is a large part of it providing energy to the growing ac-culture, water-exploitation and resource-intensive lifestyle? If solar energy starts being used for unlimited convenience instead of moderate consumption, then green energy will also become a source of increasing pressure on nature.

When people feel that electricity is now free, they start losing restraint in its use. Especially AC is the biggest example of this. Till a few years ago, ACs were limited only to big cities and rich class, but now their use is increasing rapidly in small cities and towns also.

Due to the increasing heat, their need cannot be denied, but the problem arises when convenience goes beyond necessity and becomes a symbol of lifestyle. AC not only consumes electricity, it also affects the temperature of cities. ACs throw out the heat inside the room, which makes the outside environment warmer.

Thousands of ACs in densely populated areas combine to produce the heat island effect, where temperatures in the city become several degrees higher than the surrounding rural areas. The irony is that we run more ACs to escape the rising heat, and more air conditioning makes cities hotter. We are increasing the problem through the solution itself.

In the last few decades, human society has tried to find technological solutions to every problem. When the heat increased, AC was installed, when electricity became expensive, solar energy system was installed, when water was less, deeper tube wells were dug. But we have rarely questioned our consumption patterns. (These are the author’s own views)

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