India is emerging as a global leader in green energy with its extensive plans to expand renewable energy and aim to achieve fifty percent of electricity requirements through non-fossil fuel-based energy by 2030. The Indian government’s active involvement, expanding domestic market, rising consciousness about renewable resources, and the advancing Indian R&D capacity in the green energy sector are the key factors driving the booming renewable energy landscape. Government-launched initiatives like the National Solar Mission and National Wind Energy Mission, along with policy tools like Production-linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for solar PVs, are steering the economy towards a greener future.
India’s wind power capacity, currently the fourth largest globally, is expected to grow by 60 percent to 71 GW by the end of the decade, creating a strong policy framework for the green energy space. The country is also a crucial centre for wind energy manufacturing and aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly by 2030. With about 2.3 million electric vehicles running in India and a booming EV market, public transport in cities like Delhi and Pune has witnessed a large influx of EV buses, replacing diesel buses.
In less than a decade, under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing Electric Vehicles (FAME) III incentive program, 800,000 diesel buses will be replaced by EV buses on Indian roads, further accelerating the shift towards cleaner energy sources. India has made significant progress in decoupling economic development from greenhouse gas emissions and is anchoring the global economic development narrative towards a less carbon-intensive approach. Renewable energy accounted for 70 percent of the 26 GW of new power generated in India in FY2024.
India’s exports of wind turbines have almost doubled since 2019, and solar imports rose by 227 percent YoY to $1.8 billion in 2023, indicating a growing international cooperation in promoting green energy. The country has been actively involved in organizing platforms for global discourse and cooperation on energy issues, such as the International Solar Alliance and the Global Biofuel Alliance. India has contributed around $25 million to the Global Solar Fund and initiated the Global Biofuel Alliance to expedite the global uptake of biofuels.
With the rising consciousness about sustainability and the global urgency to meet SDG goals, the need for economies to provide a green flare to their economic models of production and consumption is non-negotiable. India’s aggressive push towards transformative and multi-dimensional growth in the green and clean energy space aligns with the global shift towards cleaner energy sources. The country’s swift advancements and expansion in the green energy space signify a new revolution in the global energy landscape.
