India seeks to triple clean energy capacity to 900 gigawatts by 2035,
but major hurdles remain
[November 14, 2026] By
SIBI ARASU
BENGALURU, India (AP) — 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.
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.
There are concerns about maintaining reliable power supply
However, India’s continued dependence on coal presents a major challenge
to its clean energy transition. Coal generated about 71% of the
country’s electricity in 2025, according to energy think tank Ember.
India’s power planners remain concerned about meeting growing demand and
maintaining reliable electricity when solar and wind output fluctuates.
Ghanshyam Prasad, chair of the Central Electricity Authority, said
earlier this month that India could need as much as 150 gigawatts of
additional coal-fired generating capacity by 2035.
Ember energy analyst Neshwin Rodrigues said coal will remain important
for years, particularly until large-scale batteries can store solar
energy to reliably meet demand when the sun isn't shining.
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Workers put switches and connectors after they come out of automated
framing at a ReNew solar panel manufacturing plant on the outskirts
of Jaipur, India, Aug. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)
 Existing coal plants also pose
operational challenges. Many cannot quickly reduce output when
renewable electricity becomes available, making it difficult for the
grid to accommodate growing solar and wind power.
Researchers at Berkeley estimate that beyond approximately 35
gigawatts of coal capacity already under construction, additional
coal plants would not be economically necessary under the country's
new clean energy goals. Berkeley's Abhyankar warned that newly built
coal plants could become stranded assets if the government meets its
renewable energy targets.
Grid improvements and finance remain hurdles
Meeting the 2035 target requires more than building more renewable
power plants. Their electricity must be able to reach consumers.
India’s rapid clean energy expansion is already testing the grid's
limits. Although clean power accounted for 55% of installed power
capacity by September, it generated about a third of the country’s
electricity in the preceding three months, according to government
data.
Over the past 16 months, India curtailed enough solar generation to
power about 10 million homes because the grid could not accommodate
it, according to government data and Ember.
The Green Energy Corridor plan aims to help states accommodate up to
135 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2033 by adding thousands of
kilometers (miles) of transmission lines. The plan also includes
additional battery storage.
But analysts question whether that's enough. The Berkeley
researchers estimate that India needs as much as 250 gigawatts of
energy storage to integrate renewable electricity over the next
decade.
“You either have more transmission to get the power out and transfer
it. Or if you cannot get the power out, you store it and then
transfer it during some other hours,” Ember's Rodrigues said.
Shah, the economist, said two types of government policy could
discourage investment in renewable energy: requirements that
businesses pay higher rates to subsidize other consumers, and
restrictions on electricity producers selling directly to private
buyers.
He said India needs to allow electricity prices to rise and fall
based on supply and demand, and make it easier for foreign investors
to fund power projects. Domestic financing alone would not be enough
to meet the country’s growing energy needs, he said.
“Currently, the government is a man in the middle, trying to
interfere in a transaction between a private generator and a private
buyer,” which creates a “choke point,” Shah said.
Battery supply chains pose another challenge, particularly India’s
dependence on imported battery cells, mainly from China. Abhyankar
said expanding domestic battery manufacturing could help India
capture more economic benefits from the transition.
Despite those challenges, Abhyankar said India has already overtaken
the United States in annual renewable energy growth, and its
experience in expanding clean energy could be a model for other
developing countries.
“What India is doing can be replicated in many countries in the
Global South and can help these countries make the energy transition
in an economically affordable manner," he said.
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