Energy transition lagging amid land, funding hurdles

For India to keep pace, the speed of expansion has to be much faster, industry leaders say

- Mansi Verma

India is significantly trailing China in energy transition. The country has added about 25GW of solar and 5GW of wind capacity in FY25, but it is only a fraction of China's nearly 300GW in the same period. In the first six months of this year alone, China installed 221GW of solar capacity. For India to keep pace, the speed of expansion has to be much faster, industry leaders told Mint.

"For India to keep pace, the speed of expansion has to be much faster and both the appetite and capabilities exist to make that possible," Praveer Sinha, CEO and managing director, Tata Power, said at Mint's Sustainability Summit in New Delhi recently.

India has set a target of achieving 500GW of non-fossil fuel-based capacity by 2030, and while the progress is good, there are teething challenges. Hurdles around land, transmission, financing and regulation are stalling adoption of clean energy.