India is realizing the hidden potential of renewable energy sources to support the rising demand for energy to complement its diverse needs. The Government of India has promoted the use of the latest technologies powering the growth of the renewable energy (RE) sector assisted with the transformation-based pioneered solutions to produce green employment assets. India’s RE sector reflects a value of around US$ 240 billion that encourages investment with a promise to become the leading RE manufacturing country in the world.
According to the REN21 Renewables 2022 Global Status Report, India has acquired the leading position in the renewable energy sector globally in 2021. It reflects the government’s plan to counter China’s presence in global RE manufacturing. India holds the 4th position in RE installed capacity along with solar and wind power installed capacity that can very well support the bright future of RE manufacturing under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Initiative.
The Renewable Energy sector has attracted an FDI of US$ 14.12 billion from April 2000 to March 2023. The rising trend of FDI contribution has made it a suitable hub for manufacturing Renewable Energy components. The country is expected to touch the mark of 100 GW solar manufacturing capacity by 2026 besides working on encouraging manufacturing capacity through other renewable energy sources that will make India a key player in the renewable energy equipment supply chain globally.
India is the leading manufacturer of solar panels including polysilicon units and it has almost doubled its capacity to reach 38GW in March 2023 in the last one year to showcase its growing hold in RE manufacturing. The cost of solar and wind power generation in India has also decreased significantly over the last ten years.
The growth is complemented by the PLI scheme promoting Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) for local solar panel modules via PM-KUSUM and CPSU schemes, assisted by the Approved List of Module Manufacturers (ALMM). This scenario promises the manufacturing of related components on a large scale and makes India a valuable player in the global RE manufacturing market which supports the country’s clean energy transition on priority.