Solar Energy Transition in a Pilgrimage City: A Document-Based Assessment of Renewable Energy Planning and Tourism Growth in Ayodhya, India

Abstract

Pilgrimage destinations can experience concentrated and variable visitor flows that complicate urban electricity planning. Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, provides a pertinent setting because rapid growth in reported visits has coincided with its development as a model solar city. This document-based, single-case study examines whether publicly described solar interventions explicitly address six analytically defined pilgrimage-related demand clusters: temple and institutional buildings, hospitality, mobility, public spaces, municipal and food-supply services, and residential communities. Government information, corporate disclosures, news reporting and relevant research literature were examined; reported installations and targets were distinguished from independently documented commissioning. State-reported visits increased from approximately 5.76 crore in 2023 to 16.44 crore in 2024. The reviewed intervention catalogue includes a 40 MW grid-connected solar plant with documented commercial operation, alongside distributed measures reported at different implementation stages. The catalogue contains no intervention specified exclusively for hospitality, although broader commercial rooftop targets may encompass hospitality properties. This is a gap in available documentation rather than evidence that the sector received no investment. The Uttar Pradesh Solar Energy Policy 2022 defines its solar-city criterion as a reduction of at least 10% in projected conventional-energy demand over five years through renewable-energy systems and efficiency measures; compliance with this criterion cannot be assessed from the available data. A four-stage Tourism–Solar Alignment Framework and explicitly defined candidate indicators are proposed for subsequent field validation. No measured hourly load, solar dispatch or programme-wide coverage outcomes are inferred.