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New Delhi: India expects investment in renewable energy to exceed the USD 220 billion it needs to add the remaining 190 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday. The press conference marked the close of the four-day Bharat Renewable Energy Summit and Expo 2026.
Money is already flowing into the sector, the minister said. Investments of Rs 7 lakh crore, from domestic funds and foreign direct investment (FDI), came into renewables over the past two years, Joshi said. India’s installed non-fossil capacity stands at 310 GW against the 500 GW it targets for 2030.
Joshi said the target is within reach. “We are moving steadily in that direction and are confident of achieving the 500 GW milestone, perhaps even ahead of schedule,” he said.
He pointed to the pace of recent capacity addition. “To achieve first 100 GW, it took 7 decades, another 100 GW was achieved in 7 years and the next 100 GW was added in 2 years,” Joshi said.
The government is already looking past 2030. Joshi said strategies are being prepared to add another 300 GW, as directed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India has raised its renewable energy ambition to 800 GW by 2030-35, up from the earlier 500 GW.
The direction came from Modi’s address at the summit’s inauguration on Monday. “Over the next 10 to 11 years, our effort is to add another 500 gigawatts of new non-fossil fuel capacity,” the Prime Minister said then. He also said the sector would create “investment opportunities worth more than Rs 20 lakh crore” by the end of this decade.
Batteries are next on the policy agenda. Modi has directed all ministries to conserve critical minerals that are not available in India. “He has asked us to bring a good policy, including for batteries,” Joshi said.
Industry has also pressed for a supply-side control on storage. CEOs have repeatedly asked the ministry for a model similar to the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), covering components and battery energy storage systems (BESS). Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi said the ministry is engaged on the issue. “This was a recurring demand from the CEOs and MNRE has remained engaged with the industry,” he said.
Joshi also said India has learned from earlier supply chain disruptions, and is working to be prepared for similar challenges in future.
MNRE is framing guidelines for recycling solar module waste, Sarangi said. “We are trying to formulate the guidelines as quickly as possible,” he said. The guidelines would push manufacturers to design for recycling. “This will also mandate manufacturers to produce modules which has higher degree of recyclability,” Sarangi said.
Wind turbines are a different case. Sarangi said turbines are fairly recyclable, but India lacks the technology to recycle their blades and the epoxy used in them. Suzlon and the Aditya Birla Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop fully recyclable epoxy and blades. The MNRE plans a standard operating procedure (SOP) to extend that requirement to other manufacturers.
At present, solar and wind waste falls under the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022. Under those rules, Joshi said, waste modules have to be preserved until 2035, by which time there is likely to be enough volume to recycle. Significant solar waste is expected within two to three years.
Joshi described the summit as the largest renewable energy event ever hosted in India. “The message is loud and clear, India has emerged as a major global force in renewable energy and the world has taken note,” he said. “The discussions and outcomes of this summit have further reinforced our confidence in India’s renewable energy journey.”
According to an official statement, the summit drew policymakers, investors, industry leaders, innovators and researchers from more than 135 countries. It recorded over 75,000 visitors, more than 400 exhibitors, over 627 speakers and 113 sessions. The participants included 32 international ministers, six chief ministers and 10 state energy ministers. Eight partner countries took part.
Investor interest extended beyond the 2030 requirement, the statement said. It listed pension funds, institutional investors and long-term patient capital providers among the participants.
Sessions covered aligning storage and transmission planning with renewable procurement and emerging demand centres. They also covered grid management and artificial intelligence-based forecasting of wind and solar generation. New contract models drew attention, including round-the-clock and firm and dispatchable renewable energy (FDRE). A recent FDRE tender by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) discovered a tariff of Rs 5.25 per unit, which the statement said drew significant interest from foreign delegates.
The statement also said renewable sources met more than a quarter of India’s annual electricity consumption in the last financial year. The summit released 37 reports, assessments, guidebooks and digital platforms.
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