With the United Nations climate talks underway, India has set an ambitious goal of installing enough clean power to supply more than 1 billion homes by 2035, and has approved nearly $20 billion in power grid upgrades to ease bottlenecks that prevent some solar and wind energy from reaching consumers.
The world's most populous country and one of the biggest carbon polluters is also among the fastest to expand clean power.
Accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels is a key goal of this year’s climate talks, known as COP31, in Turkey.
India announced the 900-gigawatt goal in late September. It covers nonfossil power sources, including solar, wind, hydropower and nuclear energy.
It is nearly twice India’s existing target of 500 gigawatts of clean power by 2030.
India's current clean power capacity of just over 300 gigawatts ranks it third behind China and the United States.
Experts say meeting the target could lower electricity costs, curb coal construction and accelerate the transition to clean energy.
The push comes as India struggles to use all the renewable electricity it can generate because of inadequate transmission infrastructure.
The new goal refers to installed generating capacity, rather than the amount of electricity actually produced.
“If the grid doesn’t catch up, then there is no way India can meet this target,” Nikit Abhyankar from the India Energy and Climate Center at the University of California, Berkeley, said. “A robust and innovative transmission grid is an absolute must.”
The government also approved nearly $20 billion in funding for transmission infrastructure and battery storage under its Green Energy Corridor plan.
Cheaper clean electricity could reduce India’s reliance on coal
Economist Ajay Shah of the Mumbai-based XKDR Forum described the transition as the emergence of an Indian “electrostate,” in which electricity increasingly replaces coal and petroleum products.
“So now in India you have two assets — not only do you have cheap labor, you also have cheap energy,” Shah said.
The shift mirrors a global trend toward cleaner power, even as fossil fuel energy remains a key energy source amid rising electricity demand.
India’s clean energy expansion could help industries replace costly imported fossil fuels with domestically produced electricity
Brazil, which ranks close behind India in clean energy capacity, projects renewables will supply nearly 90% of its electricity in the next decade, even as it expands oil and gas production.
In the United States, where President Donald Trump supports fossil fuels, electricity demand is expected to grow by 40%, with natural gas remaining a major source.
India’s clean energy expansion could help industries replace costly imported fossil fuels with domestically produced electricity.
Abhyankar said solar and wind power, even when combined with battery storage, are increasingly cost-competitive with power from coal, oil and natural gas.
Lower generation costs could eventually translate into cheaper electricity for households, though utilities also factor in transmission costs and other expenses.
