The Energy Transition in Manipur, India

Manipur, a mountainous state bridging the Barak and Imphal valleys, is nudging its diesel-backed grid toward river hydro and new solar parks, while laying groundwork for resilient future systems. Installed capacity totals about 250 MW, dominated by the 105 MW Loktak station and 20 MW of rooftop and ground-mount PV. Renewable additions had reached 124 MW by February 2025, yet summer peaks already near 248 MW expose sharp deficits. To close the gap, the Manipur Renewable Energy Development Agency is fast-tracking a 100 MW solar park at Jiribam, floating PV on Loktak backwaters, and small-hydro sites along the Irang and Barak tributaries. A state roadmap targets 500 MW of solar and 200 MWh of battery storage by 2030, so surplus daytime output can ride through monsoon cloud cover and evening peaks. Geologically, the eastern spur of the Singhbhum shear zone threads into Ukhrul and Chandel, where chromite, nickel and cobalt occur within ophiolite belts. Limestone and clay for green cement line the Imphal axis, while reconnaissance sampling has flagged rare-earth traces in serpentinised ultramafics. By pairing valley solar, river-fed hydro schemes and niche critical minerals, Manipur plans to grow from an energy-deficient frontier to a clean-power and critical-materials corridor for Northeast India.