Expect $350 bn investment in renewable energy sector by 2030: Pralhad Joshi

The minister said the country's module manufacturing capacity stands at 140 GW

India's renewable energy (RE) sector is likely to attract $350 billion investments over the next four years, with major expansion plans in domestic module manufacturing capacity and additional 41 gigawatt (Gw) of energy storage capacity to support the larger 500 Gw clean energy target by 2030, New and Renewable Energy Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Wednesday in a fireside chat with Sudheer Pal Singh at Business Standard annual event Manthan 2026.

 

"The Niti Aayog recently projected an investment requirement of $22 trillion for the achievement of India's net zero target by 2070. We have invested more than $150 billion in the last ten years, and our requirement will be around $350 billion to reach 500 Gw of non-fossil capacity by 2030," Joshi said.

 

 

He said India has set the renewable energy context for the entire world, becoming the only country among the G20 nations that has achieved non-fossil fuel-based installed power capacity of more than 50 per cent, five years in advance of the national target. "We are going to further increase it beyond our target given by the Honourable Prime Minister. We are going in the right direction as our renewable energy growth is quite well on track. What India has achieved on the renewable energy front in the past 11 years is really pathbreaking. In this period, our solar power capacity has grown from just 2.8 Gw to more than 140 Gw today. It is the same story for wind energy. Our overall renewable energy capacity has grown to more than 195 Gw today, excluding hydro," he said.

 

The minister also said the country's module manufacturing capacity stands at 140 Gw. "We have achieved surplus production on that front, and we are now able to export the modules too. The government has allocated more than ₹24,000 crore for the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for High Efficiency Solar PV Modules," he said.

 

Joshi said the government in 2014 resolved to produce affordable energy from the Sun and make it available to the masses. "That has now been proven by the government under the visionary leadership of the Honourable Prime Minister. That is why today we have more than 30 lakh rooftop solar installations in the country. By that itself, we are generating around 14 Gw power. This is the scale at which we are operating," Joshi said.

 

He said along with scale of renewable energy capacity creation, India has also managed to bring the power cost down. “Last year, India's total installed capacity crossed 50 Gw for the first time. Our achievements are recognised in the entire world. Today, every investor, fund manager, multilateral bank, and financial institution wants to come to India," Joshi said.

 

The minister also said the country now has an installed capacity of around 267 Gw from non-fossil fuel sources, while the same stood at 81 Gw in 2014, including 77 Gw from hydro alone. "When we decided to add capacity 11 years back, the per-unit cost was ₹11. We have now brought it down to ₹2.15 per unit. When work is done at a large scale, problems do occur. In the case of renewable energy, we have addressed the intermittency problem through energy storage capacity and focusing on wind-solar hybrid projects. Now, the country is also focusing on nuclear power through small modular reactors," he said.

 

Joshi also said the ministry has now asked all the renewable energy implementing agencies to increase focus on Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy (FDRE) tenders. "We are now floating the bids for providing round-the-clock power. We should also include Pump Storage Projects (PSP) in the storage component of future tenders. It is important to note that even for these FDRE tenders, which cover energy storage, the price has been discovered between ₹4 and ₹4.5 per unit. That is a huge achievement," he said.

 

Apart from these initiatives, the government is also supporting the private sector with viability gap funding (VGF) for setting up capacities, Joshi said. "Apart from planning for adding 500 Gw of installed non-fossil fuel-based capacity by 2030, we are also planning 41 Gw per hour storage capacity in the country. For that, we are going to support the industry. With all these initiatives, we are ultimately trying to address the larger emission problem too. This focus on domestic manufacturing is important also because India is trying to become the third-largest economy. That will require our energy prices to be affordable. We want to reduce the cost of power for the industries, so that they become more competitive in the global market. This is the vision of the Honourable Prime Minister, and this is one of the ways in which we will achieve the aim of Viksit Bharat by 2047," he said.

 

Joshi also said that the country has now become self-sufficient in modules, with domestic manufacturing capacity crossing 144 Gw. "Our modules imports have reduced by more than 50 per cent, and I am quite hopeful, this year it will come down by more than 80 per cent. In addition, our module quality is very good. We are also focusing on boosting domestic production of other raw materials for solar modules like aluminium and glass. Our domestic cell manufacturing capacity was zero in 2014. We now have 27 Gw cell capacity. I think by 2029, we will have more than 50-60 Gw of cell capacity," he said.

 

The minister also said the government has come up with a similar trajectory for domestic manufacturing of wafers and ingots, and it is supporting the industry through schemes. Very soon ingots and wafers will also be domestically manufactured. "This will start by 2028. We will bring that too under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM). Along with this, we are planning for domestic manufacturing of polysilicon too. So, as far as solar is concerned, the entire supply chain will be manufactured in India very soon. Even in the wind energy sector, more than 80 per cent of our wind turbines are domestically manufactured. For that too, the government has supported the industry," he said.

 

Joshi also said that under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSGMBY), India has crossed 30 lakh rooftop solar installations so far, and in order to cover people who do not have roof for installations, the government is working on a utility-led model so that they can benefit. "Finally, we are working on providing support even for people who cannot afford solar power even after subsidy payment. We are interacting with state governments on that. Some states have come up with specific proposals. Solarisation of agricultural pump sets under the PM-KUSUM scheme in Maharashtra is a good example of this. There, feeder-level solarisation has helped bring down the cost of power from around ₹9 to ₹3 per unit," the minister said.

 

Summing up the government's renewable energy strategy, Joshi informed that the country's commitment to the world is to bring down emissions and help in creating a clean and safe earth, its commitment to the public at large is about affordable and reliable energy for all, and the commitment to the industry is to help it make globally competitive products.