Cow power: Chhattisgarh seeks greener energy from dung

One of India’s biggest coal mining hubs, also home to dense forests and a large indigenous population, will soon start using piles of cow dung to power rural industries and homes in line with global efforts to phase down fossil fuels.

Bhupesh Baghel, chief minister of Chhattisgarh, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation the government plans to teach local women to produce and sell clean energy, as the mineral-rich state looks to transition away from coal.

“Globally there is a shift towards green energy,” Baghel said, adding that coal remains key to meeting the energy needs of his state but the goal is to find alternative sources.