Renewable Energy For Sustainable Development in India: Current Status, Future Prospects, Challenges, Employment, and Investment Opportunities

Kumar.
J and Majid Energy, Sustainability and Society (2020) 10:2

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-019-0232-1
Energy, Sustainability
and Society
REVIEW Open Access
Renewable energy for sustainable

development in India: current status, future
prospects, challenges, employment, and
investment opportunities
Charles Rajesh Kumar. J* and M. A. Majid
Abstract
The primary objective for deploying renewable energy in India is to advance economic development, improve
energy security, improve access to energy, and mitigate climate change. Sustainable development is possible by
use of sustainable energy and by ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for
citizens. Strong government support and the increasingly opportune economic situation have pushed India to be
one of the top leaders in the world’s most attractive renewable energy markets. The government has designed
policies, programs, and a liberal environment to attract foreign investments to ramp up the country in the
renewable energy market at a rapid rate. It is anticipated that the renewable energy sector can create a large
number of domestic jobs over the following years. This paper aims to present significant achievements, prospects,
projections, generation of electricity, as well as challenges and investment and employment opportunities due to
the development of renewable energy in India. In this review, we have identified the various obstacles faced by the
renewable sector. The recommendations based on the review outcomes will provide useful information for
policymakers, innovators, project developers, investors, industries, associated stakeholders and departments,
researchers, and scientists.
Keywords: India, Sustainable, Renewable energy, Achievements, Initiatives, Barriers, Recommendations, Investment,
Employment, Developers, Policymakers, Investors
Introduction efficiently and at a reasonable cost. According to the

The sources of electricity production such as coal, oil, World Resource Institute Report 2017 [4, 5], India is
and natural gas have contributed to one-third of global responsible for nearly 6.65% of total global carbon emis-
greenhouse gas emissions. It is essential to raise the sions, ranked fourth next to China (26.83%), the USA
standard of living by providing cleaner and more reliable (14.36%), and the EU (9.66%). Climate change might also
electricity [1]. India has an increasing energy demand to change the ecological balance in the world. Intended
fulfill the economic development plans that are being Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) have
implemented. The provision of increasing quanta of en- been submitted to the United Nations Framework Con-
ergy is a vital pre-requisite for the economic growth of a vention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris
country [2]. The National Electricity Plan [NEP] [3] Agreement. The latter has hoped to achieve the goal of
framed by the Ministry of Power (MoP) has developed a limiting the rise in global temperature to well below 2 °C
10-year detailed action plan with the objective to provide [6, 7]. According to a World Energy Council [8] predic-
electricity across the country, and has prepared a further tion, global electricity demand will peak in 2030. India is
plan to ensure that power is supplied to the citizens one of the largest coal consumers in the world and im-
ports costly fossil fuel [8]. Close to 74% of the energy de-
* Correspondence: ckumar@effatuniversity.edu.sa; charlesece@yahoo.com mand is supplied by coal and oil. According to a report
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering,
Effat University, Box 34689, Jeddah, PO 21478, Saudi Arabia
from the Center for monitoring Indian economy, the
© The Author(s). 2019 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to
the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Kumar. J and Majid Energy, Sustainability and Society (2020) 10:2 Page 2 of 36
country imported 171 million tons of coal in 2013–2014, renewables in the country, coherent policy measures and
215 million tons in 2014–2015, 207 million tons in an investor-friendly administration might be the key drivers
2015–2016, 195 million tons in 2016–2017, and 213 mil- for India to become a global leader in clean and green
lion tons in 2017–2018 [9]. Therefore, there is an urgent energy.
need to find alternate sources for generating electricity.
In this way, the country will have a rapid and global Projection of global primary energy consumption
transition to renewable energy technologies to achieve An energy source is a necessary element of socio-
sustainable growth and avoid catastrophic climate economic development. The increasing economic
change. Renewable energy sources play a vital role in growth of developing nations in the last decades has
securing sustainable energy with lower emissions [10]. It caused an accelerated increase in energy consumption.
is already accepted that renewable energy technologies This trend is anticipated to grow [25]. A prediction of
might significantly cover the electricity demand and re- future power consumption is essential for the investiga-
duce emissions. In recent years, the country has devel- tion of adequate environmental and economic policies
oped a sustainable path for its energy supply. Awareness [26]. Likewise, an outlook to future power consumption
of saving energy has been promoted among citizens to helps to determine future investments in renewable en-
increase the use of solar, wind, biomass, waste, and ergy. Energy supply and security have not only increased
hydropower energies. It is evident that clean energy is the essential issues for the development of human soci-
less harmful and often cheaper. India is aiming to attain ety but also for their global political and economic pat-
175 GW of renewable energy which would consist of terns [27]. Hence, international comparisons are helpful
100 GW from solar energy, 10 GW from bio-power, 60 to identify past, present, and future power consumption.
GW from wind power, and 5 GW from small hydro- Table 1 shows the primary energy consumption of the
power plants by the year 2022 [11]. Investors have world, based on the BP Energy Outlook 2018 reports. In
promised to achieve more than 270 GW, which is sig- 2016, India’s overall energy consumption was 724 million
nificantly above the ambitious targets. The promises are tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) and is expected to rise to
as follows: 58 GW by foreign companies, 191 GW by 1921 Mtoe by 2040 with an average growth rate of 4.2%
private companies, 18 GW by private sectors, and 5 GW per annum. Energy consumption of various major coun-
by the Indian Railways [12]. Recent estimates show that tries comprises commercially traded fuels and modern re-
in 2047, solar potential will be more than 750 GW and newables used to produce power. In 2016, India was the
wind potential will be 410 GW [13, 14]. To reach the fourth largest energy consumer in the world after China,
ambitious targets of generating 175 GW of renewable en- the USA, and the Organization for economic co-operation
ergy by 2022, it is essential that the government creates and development (OECD) in Europe [29].
330,000 new jobs and livelihood opportunities [15, 16]. The projected estimation of global energy consumption
A mixture of push policies and pull mechanisms, accom- demonstrates that energy consumption in India is con-
panied by particular strategies should promote the develop- tinuously increasing and retains its position even in 2035/
ment of renewable energy technologies. Advancement in 2040 [28]. The increase in India’s energy consumption will
technology, proper regulatory policies [17], tax deduction, push the country’s share of global energy demand to 11%
and attempts in efficiency enhancement due to research by 2040 from 5% in 2016. Emerging economies such as
and development (R&D) [18] are some of the pathways to China, India, or Brazil have experienced a process of rapid
conservation of energy and environment that should guar- industrialization, have increased their share in the global
antee that renewable resource bases are used in a cost- economy, and are exporting enormous volumes of manu-
effective and quick manner. Hence, strategies to promote factured products to developed countries. This shift of
investment opportunities in the renewable energy sector economic activities among nations has also had conse-
along with jobs for the unskilled workers, technicians, and quences concerning the country’s energy use [30].
contractors are discussed. This article also manifests
technological and financial initiatives [19], policy and regu- Projected primary energy consumption in India
latory framework, as well as training and educational initia- The size and growth of a country’s population signifi-
tives [20, 21] launched by the government for the growth cantly affects the demand for energy. With 1.368 billion
and development of renewable energy sources. The devel- citizens, India is ranked second, of the most populous
opment of renewable technology has encountered explicit countries as of January 2019 [31]. The yearly growth rate
obstacles, and thus, there is a need to discuss these barriers. is 1.18% and represents almost 17.74% of the world’s
Additionally, it is also vital to discover possible solutions to population. The country is expected to have more than
overcome these barriers, and hence, proper recommenda- 1.383 billion, 1.512 billion, 1.605 billion, 1.658 billion
tions have been suggested for the steady growth of renew- people by the end of 2020, 2030, 2040, and 2050, re-
able power [22–24]. Given the enormous potential of spectively. Each year, India adds a higher number of
Table 1 Projected primary energy consumption of the world between 1990 and 2040 [28]
Region Consumption (million tones oil equivalent) Change (percentage per annum)
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2016 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 1990–2016 2016–2040
United States 1966 2119 2310 2349 2284 2273 2334 2344 2341 2325 2299 0.6% 0.0%
Brazil 126 158 188 211 268 298 330 378 419 451 477 3.4% 2.0%
EU 1672 1661 1732 1819 1754 1642 1667 1623 1570 1513 1460 − 0.1% − 0.5%
Russia 865 662 620 647 673 674 711 720 723 722 716 − 1.0% 0.3%
Middle East 264 351 423 565 734 895 980 1085 1189 1287 1382 4.8% 1.8%
Africa 222 244 274 327 389 440 509 603 710 840 1002 2.7% 3.5%
China 683 889 1008 1800 2491 3053 3387 3753 4017 4207 4319 5.9% 1.5%
India 195 251 316 394 537 724 880 1118 1365 1624 1921 5.2% 4.2%
people to the world than any other nation and the spe- growth in India is escalating the demand for energy, and
cific population of some of the states in India is equal to more energy sources are required to cover this demand.
the population of many countries. At the same time, due to the increasing population and
The growth of India’s energy consumption will be the environmental deterioration, the country faces the
fastest among all significant economies by 2040, with challenge of sustainable development. The gap between
coal meeting most of this demand followed by renewable demand and supply of power is expected to rise in the
energy. Renewables became the second most significant future [32]. Table 4 presents the power supply status of
source of domestic power production, overtaking gas the country from 2009–2010 to 2018–2019 (until
and then oil, by 2020. The demand for renewables in October 2018). In 2018, the energy demand was 1,212,
India will have a tremendous growth of 256 Mtoe in 134 GWh, and the availability was 1,203,567 GWh, i.e., a
2040 from 17 Mtoe in 2016, with an annual increase of deficit of − 0.7% [33].
12%, as shown in Table 2. According to the Load generation and Balance Report
Table 3 shows the primary energy consumption of re- (2016–2017) of the Central Electricity Authority of India
newables for the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, (CEA), the electrical energy demand for 2021–2022 is
and China) from 2016 to 2040. India consumed around anticipated to be at least 1915 terawatt hours (TWh),
17 Mtoe of renewable energy in 2016, and this will be with a peak electric demand of 298 GW [34]. Increasing
256 Mtoe in 2040. It is probable that India’s energy con- urbanization and rising income levels are responsible for
sumption will grow fastest among all major economies an increased demand for electrical appliances, i.e., an
by 2040, with coal contributing most in meeting this de- increased demand for electricity in the residential sec-
mand followed by renewables. The percentage share of tor. The increased demand in materials for buildings,
renewable consumption in 2016 was 2% and is predicted transportation, capital goods, and infrastructure is driv-
to increase by 13% by 2040. ing the industrial demand for electricity. An increased
mechanization and the shift to groundwater irrigation
How renewable energy sources contribute to the across the country is pushing the pumping and tractor
energy demand in India demand in the agriculture sector, and hence the large
Even though India has achieved a fast and remarkable diesel and electricity demand. The penetration of electric
economic growth, energy is still scarce. Strong economic vehicles and the fuel switch to electric and induction cook
Table 2 Projected primary energy consumption of India (including renewable energy) from 2016 to 2040 [28]
Level (Mtoe)
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2016 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 1990–2016 2016–2040
Total 195 251 316 394 537 724 880 1118 1365 1624 1921 5.2% 4.2%
Oil (Mb/dl) 58 75 106 122 155 212 251 308 359 419 485 5.1% 3.5%
Gas (Bcf/dl) 11 17 24 32 54 45 57 72 89 106 128 5.6% 4.5%
Coal 110 140 164 211 290 412 485 593 710 824 955 5.2% 3.6%
Nuclear 1 2 4 4 5 9 11 16 27 35 44 7.1% 7.0%
Hydro 15 17 17 22 25 29 36 43 47 50 52 2.6% 2.5%
Renewables 0 0 1 2 7 17 41 86 133 191 256 35.1% 12.0%
Table 3 Renewable energy consumption-BRIC countries (percentage): 2015–2035: source: BP Energy Outlook 2017 [28]
Between 2016 and 2040 India China United States Russia Brazil
2016 2040 2016 2040 2016 2040 2016 2040 2016 2040
Primary energy consumption renewables (including biofuels) 2% 13% 3% 18% 5% 17% 0% 2% 13% 24%
stoves will drive the electricity demand in the other MW, bagasse cogeneration was 8000 MW, and small
sectors shown in Table 5. hydropower was 10,000 MW. For 2006, the renewable
According to the International Renewable Energy potential was estimated as 85,000 MW with wind 4500
Agency (IRENA), a quarter of India’s energy demand MW, solar 35 MW, biomass/bioenergy 25,000 MW, and
can be met with renewable energy. The country could small hydropower of 15,000 MW [38]. According to the
potentially increase its share of renewable power gener- annual report of the Ministry of New and Renewable En-
ation to over one-third by 2030 [35]. ergy (MNRE) for 2017–2018, the estimated potential of
Table 6 presents the estimated contribution of renew- wind power was 302.251 GW (at 100-m mast height), of
able energy sources to the total energy demand. MoP small hydropower 19.749 GW, biomass power 17.536
along with CEA in its draft national electricity plan for GW, bagasse cogeneration 5 GW, waste to energy
2016 anticipated that with 175 GW of installed capacity (WTE) 2.554 GW, and solar 748.990 GW. The estimated
of renewable power by 2022, the expected electricity total renewable potential amounted to 1096.080 GW
generation would be 327 billion units (BUs), which [39] assuming 3% wasteland, which is shown in Table 7.
would contribute to 1611 BU energy requirements. This India is a tropical country and receives significant radi-
indicates that 20.3% of the energy requirements would ation, and hence the solar potential is very high [40–42].
be fulfilled by renewable energy by 2022 and 24.2% by
2027 [36]. Figure 1 shows the ambitious new target for
Gross installed capacity of renewable energy in
the share of renewable energy in India’s electricity con-
India
sumption set by MoP. As per the order of revised RPO
As of June 2018 reports, the country intends to reach
(Renewable Purchase Obligations, legal act of June
225 GW of renewable power capacity by 2022 exceeding
2018), the country has a target of a 21% share of renew-
the target of 175 GW pledged during the Paris Agree-
able energy in its total electricity consumption by March
ment. The sector is the fourth most attractive renewable
2022. In 2014, the same goal was at 15% and increased
energy market in the world. As in October 2018, India
to 21% by 2018. It is India’s goal to reach 40% renewable
ranked fifth in installed renewable energy capacity [43].
sources by 2030.
Gross installed capacity of renewable energy—according

Estimated renewable energy potential in India to region
The estimated potential of wind power in the country Table 8 lists the cumulative installed capacity of both
during 1995 [37] was found to be 20,000 MW (20 GW), conventional and renewable energy sources. The cumu-
solar energy was 5 × 1015 kWh/pa, bioenergy was 17,000 lative installed capacity of renewable sources as on the
Table 4 The power supply status in the country from 2009–2010 to 2017–2018 [33]
Year Energy Peak
Requirement Availability Surplus(+)/Deficits(−) Peak Demand Peak Met Surplus(+)/Deficits(−)
(GWh) GWh) (GWh) (%) (MW) (MW) (MW) (%)
2009–2010 830,594 746,644 − 83,950 − 10.11 119,166 104009 − 15,157 − 12.72
2010–2011 861,591 788,355 − 73,236 − 8.50 122,287 110256 − 12,031 − 9.84
2011–2012 937,199 857,886 − 79,313 − 8.46 130,006 116,191 − 13,815 − 10.63
2012–2013 998,114 911,209 − 86,905 − 8.71 135,453 123,294 − 12,159 − 8.98
2013–2014 1,002,257 959,829 − 42,428 − 4.23 135,918 129,815 − 6103 − 4.49
2014–2015 1,067,085 1,028,955 − 38,130 − 3.60 148,166 141,160 − 7006 − 4.70
2015–2016 1,114,408 1,090,850 − 23,558 − 2.10 153,366 148,463 − 4903 − 3.20
2016–2017 1,142,928 1,135,332 − 7596 − 0.66 159,542 156,934 − 2608 − 1.63
2017–2018 1,212,134 1,203,567 − 8.567 − 0.7 164,066 160,752 − 3314 − 2.0
2018–2019 (31.10.2018) 769,399 764,627 − 4773 − 0.6 177,022 175,528 − 1494 − 0.8
Table 5 Electricity demand in different demand sectors [35] Gross installed capacity of renewable energy—state wise
TWh 2012 2022 2030 2047 Table 10 shows the installed capacity of cumulative re-
Industry 336 494 703 1366 newable energy (state wise), out of the total installed
Residential 175 480 842 1840
capacity of 74,081.66 MW, where Karnataka ranks first
with 12,953.24 MW (17.485%), Tamilnadu second with
Commercial 86 142 238 771
11,934.38 MW (16%), Maharashtra third with 9283.78
Agriculture 136 245 336 501 MW (12.532%), Gujarat fourth with 10.641 MW
Others 29 71 121 233 (10.641%), and Rajasthan fifth with 7573.86 MW
Total 762 1433 2239 4712 (10.224%). These five states cover almost 66.991% of the
installed capacity of total renewable. Other prominent
31st of December 2018 was 74081.66 MW. Renewable states are Andhra Pradesh (9.829%), Madhya Pradesh
energy (small hydropower, wind, biomass, WTE, solar) (5.819%), Telangana (5.137%), and Uttar Pradesh
accounted for an approximate 21% share of the cumula- (3.879%). These nine states cover almost 91.655%.
tive installed power capacity, and the remaining 78.791%
originated from other conventional sources (coal, gas Gross installed capacity of renewable energy—according
diesel, nuclear, and large hydropower) [44]. The best re- to source
gions for renewable energy are the southern states that Under union budget of India 2018–2019, INR 3762
have the highest solar irradiance and wind in the crore (USD 581.09 million), was allotted for grid-
country. When renewable energy alone is considered for interactive renewable power schemes and projects. As
analysis, the Southern region covers 49.121% of the per the 31.12.2018, the installed capacity of total renew-
cumulative installed renewable capacity, followed by the able power (excluding large hydropower) in the country
Western region (29.742%), the Northern region amounted to 74.08166 GW. Around 9.363 GW of solar
(18.890%), the Eastern region (1.836%), the North-Easter energy, 1.766 GW of wind, 0.105 GW of small hydro-
region 0.394%, and the Islands (0.017%). As far as con- power (SHP), and biomass power of 8.7 GW capacity
ventional energy is concerned, the Western region with were added in 2017–2018. Table 11 shows the installed
33.452% ranks first and is followed by the Northern capacity of renewable energy over the last 10 years until
region with 28.484%, the Southern region (24.967%), the the 31.12.2018. Wind energy continues to dominate the
Eastern region (11.716%), the Northern-Eastern (1.366%), countries renewable energy industry, accounting for over
and the Islands (0.015%). 47% of cumulative installed renewable capacity (35,
138.15 MW), followed by solar power of 34% (25,212.26
Gross installed capacity of renewable energy—according MW), biomass power/cogeneration of 12% (9075.5
to ownership MW), and small hydropower of 6% (4517.45 MW). In
State government, central government, and private players the renewable energy country attractiveness index
drive the Indian energy sector. The private sector leads (RECAI) of 2018, India ranked in fourth position. The
the way in renewable energy investment. Table 9 shows installed renewable energy production capacity has
the installed gross renewable energy and conventional en- grown at an accelerated pace over the preceding few
ergy capacity (percentage)—ownership wise. It is evident years, posting a CAGR of 19.78% between 2014 and
from Fig. 2 that 95% of the installed renewable capacity 2018 [45].
derives from private companies, 2% from the central gov-
ernment, and 3% from the state government. The top pri- Estimation of the installed capacity of renewable energy
vate companies in the field of non-conventional energy Table 12 gives the share of installed cumulative renew-
generation are Tata Power Solar, Suzlon, and ReNew able energy capacity, in comparison with the installed
Power. Tata Power Solar System Limited are the most sig- conventional energy capacity. In 2022 and 2032, the in-
nificant integrated solar power players in the country, stalled renewable energy capacity will account for 32%
Suzlon realizes wind energy projects, and ReNew Power and 35%, respectively [46, 47]. The most significant re-
Ventures operate with solar and wind power. newable capacity expansion program in the world is
Table 6 Estimated contribution of renewable energy sources to the total energy demand [35]
Year Installed capacity Expected Generation (Billion Unit) Total energy % The
of renewable requirement Contribution of
Solar Wind Biomass Small hydropower Total
energy Sources (Billion Unit) renewable energy
(GW) source
2021-22 175 162 122 38 15 327 1611 20.3
2026-27 275 243 188 64 21 516 2132 24.2
Fig. 1 Target share of renewable energy in India’s power consumption
being taken up by India. The government is preparing to Gross electricity generation from renewable
boost the percentage of clean energy through a tremen- energy—according to states
dous push in renewables, as discussed in the subsequent Table 15 shows the gross electricity generation from re-
sections. newable energy—region-wise. It is observed that the
highest renewable energy generation was achieved from
Karnataka (16.57%), Tamilnadu (15.82%), Andhra Pra-
Gross electricity generation from renewable
desh (11.92%), and Gujarat (10.87%) as per November
energy in India
2018. While adding four years from 2015–2016 to
The overall generation (including the generation from
2018–2019 Tamilnadu [50] remains in the first position
grid-connected renewable sources) in the country has
followed by Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and
grown exponentially. Between 2014–2015 and 2015–2016,
Andhra Pradesh.
it achieved 1110.458 BU and 1173.603 BU, respectively.
The same was recorded with 1241.689 BU and 1306.614
Gross electricity generation from renewable
BU during 2015–2016 and 1306.614 BU from 2016–2017
energy—according to sources
and 2017–2018, respectively. Figure 3 indicates that the
Table 16 shows the gross electricity generation from re-
annual renewable power production increased faster than
newable energy—source-wise. It can be concluded from
the conventional power production. The rise accounted
the table that the wind-based energy generation as per
for 6.47% in 2015–2016 and 24.88% in 2017–2018, re-
2017–2018 is most prominent with 51.71%, followed by
spectively. Table 13 compares the energy generation from
solar energy (25.40%), Bagasse (11.63%), small hydro-
traditional sources with that from renewable sources. Re-
power (7.55%), biomass (3.34%), and WTE (0.35%).
markably, the energy generation from conventional
There has been a constant increase in the generation of
sources reached 811.143 BU and from renewable sources
all renewable sources from 2014–2015 to date. Wind en-
9.860 BU in 2010 compared to 1.206.306 BU and 88.945
ergy, as always, was the highest contributor to the total
BU in 2017, respectively [48]. It is observed that the price
renewable power production. The percentage of solar
of electricity production using renewable technologies is
energy produced in the overall renewable power produc-
higher than that for conventional generation technologies,
tion comes next to wind and is typically reduced during
but is likely to fall with increasing experience in the tech-
the monsoon months. The definite improvement in wind
niques involved [49].
energy production can be associated with a “good” mon-
soon. Cyclonic action during these months also facilitates
Gross electricity generation from renewable high-speed winds. Monsoon winds play a significant part
energy—according to regions in the uptick in wind power production, especially in the
Table 14 shows the gross electricity generation from re- southern states of the country.
newable energy-region wise. It is noted that the highest
renewable energy generation derives from the southern Estimation of gross electricity generation from renewable
region, followed by the western part. As of November energy
2018, 50.33% of energy generation was obtained from Table 17 shows an estimation of gross electricity gener-
the southern area and 29.37%, 18.05%, 2%, and 0.24% ation from renewable energy based on the 2015 report
from Western, Northern, North-Eastern Areas, and the of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI
Island, respectively. Aayog) [51]. It is predicted that the share of renewable
Table 7 The estimated renewable potential in India [40]

State-wise Renewable Energy Potential (in MW)
Sl. No. States/UTs Wind power Small hydro Bio-energy Solar Total
(MW) power
Biomass power Bagasse cogeneration Waste to energy
1 Andhra Pradesh 44.229 0.978 0.578 0.3 0.123 38.44 84.648
2 Arunachal Pradesh 0 1.341 0.008 0 0 8.65 9.999
3 Assam 0 0.239 0.212 0 0.008 13.76 14.219
4 Bihar 0 0.223 0.619 0.3 0.073 11.2 12.415
5 Chhattisgarh 0.077 1.107 0.236 0 0.024 18.27 19.714
6 Goa 0.001 0.007 0.026 0 0 0.88 0.914
7 Gujarat 84.431 0.202 1.221 0.35 0.112 35.77 122.086
8 Haryana 0 0.11 1.333 0.35 0.024 4.56 6.377
9 Himachal Pradesh 0 2.398 0.142 0 0.002 33.84 36.382
10 Jammu & Kashmir 0 1.431 0.043 0 0 111.05 112.524
11 Jharkhand 0 0.209 0.09 0 0.01 18.18 18.489
12 Karnataka 55.857 4.141 1.131 0.45 0 24.7 86.279
13 Kerala 1.7 0.704 1.044 0 0.036 6.11 9.594
14 Madhya Pradesh 10.484 0.82 1.364 0 0.078 61.66 74.406
15 Maharashtra 45.394 0.794 1.887 1.25 0.287 64.32 113.932
16 Manipur 0 0.109 0.013 0 0.002 10.63 10.754
17 Meghalaya 0 0.23 0.011 0 0.002 5.86 6.103
18 Mizoram 0 0.169 0.001 0 0.002 9.09 9.262
19 Nagaland 0 0.197 0.01 0 0 7.29 7.497
20 Odisha 3.093 0.295 0.246 0 0.022 25.78 29.436
21 Punjab 0 0.441 3.172 0.3 0.045 2.81 6.768
22 Rajasthan 18.77 0.057 1.039 0 0.062 142.31 162.238
23 Sikkim 0 0.267 0.002 0 0 4.94 5.209
24 Tamil Nadu 33.8 0.66 1.07 0.45 0.151 17.67 53.801
25 Telangana 4.244 0 0 0 0 20.41 24.654
26 Tripura 0 0.047 0.003 0 0.002 2.08 2.132
27 Uttar Pradesh 0 0.461 1.617 1.25 0.176 22.83 26.334
28 Uttarakhand 0 1.708 0.024 0 0.005 16.8 18.537
29 West Bengal 0.002 0.396 0.396 0 0.148 6.26 7.202
30 Andaman & Nicobar 0.008 0.008 0 0 0 0 0.016
31 Chandigarh 0 0 0 0 0.006 0 0.006
32 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
33 Daman & Diu 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
34 Delhi 0 0 0 0 0.131 2.05 2.181
35 Lakshadweep 0.008 0 0 0 0 0 0.008
36 Puducherry 0.153 0 0 0 0.003 0 0.156
37 Others 0 0 0 0 1.022 0.79 1.812
Total 302.251 19.749 17.536 5 2.554 748.99 1096.08
power will be 10.2% by 2022, but renewable power tech- 122.10 TWh and out of the total electricity produced,
nologies contributed a record of 13.4% to the cumulative renewables generated 16.30 TWh as on the 31st of
power production in India as of the 31st of August 2018. August 2018. According to the India Brand Equity Foun-
The power ministry report shows that India generated dation report, it is anticipated that by the year 2040,
Table 8 All India installed capacity (MW) of power stations as on the 31st of December 2018
Region Mode-wise breakup Total
Thermal Nuclear Hydro Renewable
Coal Lignite Gas Diesel
Northern 49700.20 1580.00 5781.26 0 1620.00 19,707.77 13,994.37 92383.60
Western 70,328.62 1540.00 10,806.49 0 1840.00 7547.50 22,033.01 114,095.62
Southern 43,342.02 3240.00 6473.66 561.58 3320.00 11,774.83 36,389.87 105,101.96
Eastern 27,201.64 0 100.00 0 0 4942.12 1359.98 33,603.74
North-Eastern 520.02 0 1775.81 36.00 0 1427.00 291.87 4050.70
Islands 0 0 0 40.05 0 0 12.56 52.61
All India 191,092.50 6360.00 24,937.22 637.63 6780.00 45399.22 74,081.66 349,288.22
around 49% of total electricity will be produced using re- 2. India stands in the fourth and sixth position re-
newable energy. garding the cumulative installed capacity in the wind
and solar sector, respectively. Furthermore, its cumu-
lative installed renewable capacity stands in fifth pos-
Current achievements in renewable energy 2017– ition globally as of the 31st of December 2018.
2018 3. As said above, the cumulative renewable energy cap-
India cares for the planet and has taken a groundbreak- acity target for 2022 is given as 175 GW. For 2017–
ing journey in renewable energy through the last 4 years 2018, the cumulative installed capacity amounted to 70
[52, 53]. A dedicated ministry along with financial and GW, the capacity under implementation is 15 GW and
technical institutions have helped India in the promotion the tendered capacity was 25 GW. The target, the in-
of renewable energy and diversification of its energy stalled capacity, the capacity under implementation, and
mix. The country is engaged in expanding the use of the tendered capacity are shown in Fig. 4.
clean energy sources and has already undertaken several 4. There is tremendous growth in solar power. The cu-
large-scale sustainable energy projects to ensure a mulative installed solar capacity increased by more than
massive growth of green energy. eight times in the last 4 years from 2.630 GW (2013–
2014) to 22 GW (2017–2018). As of the 31st of Decem-
1. India doubled its renewable power capacity in the ber 2018, the installed capacity amounted to 25.2122
last 4 years. The cumulative renewable power capacity in GW.
2013–2014 reached 35,500 MW and rose to 70,000 MW 5. The renewable electricity generated in 2017–2018
in 2017–2018. was 101839 BUs.
Table 9 Installed gross renewable energy and conventional energy capacity (percentage)—Ownership wise as per the 31.12.2018 [43]
Region Energy State Government Private Central Government Total
Northern Renewable (MW) 689.56 12975.81 329 689.56
Conventional (MW) 27,510.75 25,832.83 25,045.65 27,510.75
Western Renewable (MW) 317.69 21,054.03 661.3 317.69
Conventional (MW) 30,236.32 40,042.67 21,783.62 30,236.32
Southern Renewable (MW) 521.02 35,376.95 491.9 521.02
Conventional (MW) 33,087.19 17,720.3 17,904.6 33,087.19
Eastern Renewable (MW) 225.11 1124.87 10 225.11
Conventional (MW) 10,587.92 6774 14,881.84 10,587.92
North-Eastern Renewable (MW) 231.74 30.13 30 231.74
Conventional (MW) 955.71 24.5 2778.62 955.71
Islands Renewable (MW) 5.25 2.21 5.1 5.25
Conventional (MW) 40.05 0 0 40.05
All India Renewable (MW) 1990.37 70564 1527.3 1990.37
Conventional (MW) 102,417.93 90,394.29 82,394.33 102,417.93
Fig. 2 Gross renewable energy installed capacity (percentage)—Ownership wise as per the 31.12.2018 [43]
6. The country published competitive bidding guide- today and between 2014–2015 and 2017–2018. Solar
lines for the production of renewable power. It also dis- street lights were more than doubled. Solar home
covered the lowest tariff and transparent bidding lighting systems have been improved by around 1.5
method and resulted in a notable decrease in per unit times. More than 2,575,000 solar lamps have been
cost of renewable energy. distributed to students. The details are illustrated in
7. In 21 states, there are 41 solar parks with a cumula- Fig. 5.
tive capacity of more than 26,144 MW that have already 15. From 2014–2015 to 2017–2018, more than 2.5
been approved by the MNRE. The Kurnool solar park lakh (0.25 million) biogas plants were set up for cooking
was set up with 1000 MW; and with 2000 MW the lar- in rural homes to enable families by providing them ac-
gest solar park of Pavagada (Karnataka) is currently cess to clean fuel.
under installation. 16. New policy initiatives revised the tariff policy man-
8. The target for solar power (ground mounted) for dating purchase and generation obligations (RPO and
2018–2019 is given as 10 GW, and solar power (Roof- RGO). Four wind and solar inter-state transmission were
top) as 1 GW. waived; charges were planned, the RPO trajectory for
9. MNRE doubled the target for solar parks (projects 2022 and renewable energy policy was finalized.
of 500 MW or more) from 20 to 40 GW. 17. Expressions of interest (EoI) were invited for in-
10. The cumulative installed capacity of wind power stalling solar photovoltaic manufacturing capacities asso-
increased by 1.6 times in the last 4 years. In 2013–2014, ciated with the guaranteed off-take of 20 GW. EoI
it amounted to 21 GW, from 2017 to 2018 it amounted indicated 10 GW floating solar energy plants.
to 34 GW, and as of 31st of December 2018, it reached 18. Policy for the solar-wind hybrid was announced.
35.138 GW. This shows that achievements were com- Tender for setting up 2 GW solar-wind hybrid systems
pleted in wind power use. in existing projects was invited.
11. An offshore wind policy was announced. Thirty- 19. To facilitate R&D in renewable power technology,
four companies (most significant global and domestic wind a National lab policy on testing, standardization, and
power players) competed in the “expression of interest” certification was announced by the MNRE.
(EoI) floated on the plan to set up India’s first mega off- 20. The Surya Mitra program was conducted to train
shore wind farm with a capacity of 1 GW. college graduates in the installation, commissioning, op-
12. 682 MW small hydropower projects were installed erations, and management of solar panels. The Inter-
during the last 4 years along with 600 watermills (mech- national Solar Alliance (ISA) headquarters in India
anical applications) and 132 projects still under (Gurgaon) will be a new commencement for solar en-
development. ergy improvement in India.
13. MNRE is implementing green energy corridors to 21. The renewable sector has become considerably
expand the transmission system. 9400 km of green en- more attractive for foreign and domestic investors, and
ergy corridors are completed or under implementation. the country expects to attract up to USD 80 billion in
The cost spent on it was INR 10141 crore (101,410 Mil- the next 4 years from 2018–2019 to 2021–2022.
lion INR = 1425.01 USD). Furthermore, the total cap- 22. The solar power capacity expanded by more than
acity of 19,000 MVA substations is now planned to be eight times from 2.63 GW in 2013–2014 to 22 GW in
complete by March 2020. 2017–2018.
14. MNRE is setting up solar pumps (off-grid appli- 23. A bidding for 115 GW renewable energy projects
cation), where 90% of pumps have been set up as of up to March 2020 was announced.
Table 10 Cumulative renewable energy installed capacity—state prototype development. The Name of the award is
wise as of 31.12.2018 [43] “Abhinav Soch-Nayi Sambhawanaye,” which means In-
States in India Cumulative renewable installed capacity (MW) novative ideas—New possibilities.
Delhi 176.21
Haryana 411.99 Solar energy
Under the National Solar Mission, the MNRE has up-
Himachal Pradesh 864.5
dated the objective of grid-connected solar power pro-
Jammu & Kashmir 188.88
jects from 20 GW by the year 2021–2022 to 100 GW by
Punjab 1282.42 the year 2021–2022. In 2008–2009, it reached just 6
Rajasthan 7573.86 MW. The “Made in India” initiative to promote domestic
Uttar Pradesh 2873.61 manufacturing supported this great height in solar instal-
Uttarakhand 590.5 lation capacity. Currently, India has the fifth highest solar
installed capacity worldwide. By the 31st of December
Chandigarh 32.4
2018, solar energy had achieved 25,212.26 MW against
Goa 1.74
the target of 2022, and a further 22.8 GW of capacity has
Daman & Diu 13.38 been tendered out or is under current implementation.
Gujarat 7882.85 MNRE is preparing to bid out the remaining solar energy
Madhya Pradesh 4310.45 capacity every year for the periods 2018–2019 and 2019–
Chhattisgarh 535.35 2020 so that bidding may contribute with 100 GW cap-
acity additions by March 2020. In this way, 2 years for the
Maharashtra 9283.78
completion of projects would remain. Tariffs will be deter-
Dadra & Nagar Navali 5.46
mined through the competitive bidding process (reverse
Andhra Pradesh 7281.68 e-auction) to bring down tariffs significantly. The lowest
Telangana 3805.83 solar tariff was identified to be INR 2.44 per kWh in July
Karnataka 12,953.24 2018. In 2010, solar tariffs amounted to INR 18 per kWh.
Kerala 413.01 Over 100,000 lakh (10,000 million) acres of land had been
classified for several planned solar parks, out of which
Tamilnadu 11,934.38
over 75,000 acres had been obtained. As of November
Puducherry 1.73
2018, 47 solar parks of a total capacity of 26,694 MW were
Bihar 326.15 established. The aggregate capacity of 4195 MW of solar
Jharkhand 36.46 projects has been commissioned inside various solar parks
West Bengal 440.82 (floating solar power). Table 18 shows the capacity
Odisha 504.43 addition compared to the target. It indicates that capacity
addition increased exponentially.
Sikkim 52.12
Assam 50.79
Wind energy
Arunachal Pradesh 112.49 As of the 31st of December 2018, the total installed cap-
Meghalaya 31.11 acity of India amounted to 35,138.15 MW compared to
Tripura 21.1 a target of 60 GW by 2022. India is currently in fourth
Manipur 8.04 position in the world for installed capacity of wind
power. Moreover, around 9.4 GW capacity has been ten-
Nagaland 31.67
dered out or is under current implementation. The
Mizoram 36.67
MNRE is preparing to bid out for A 10 GW wind energy
Andaman & Nicobar 11.81 capacity every year for 2018–2019 and 2019–2020, so
Lakshadweep 0.76 that bidding will allow for 60 GW capacity additions by
Total 74,081.66 March 2020, giving the remaining two years for the ac-
complishment of the projects. The gross wind energy
potential of the country now reaches 302 GW at a 100 m
above-ground level. The tariff administration has been
24. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) acting for changed from feed-in-tariff (FiT) to the bidding method
system/components of solar PV was established. for capacity addition. On the 8th of December 2017, the
25. To recognize and encourage innovative ideas in re- ministry published guidelines for a tariff-based competi-
newable energy sectors, the Government provides prizes tive bidding rule for the acquisition of energy from grid-
and awards. Creative ideas/concepts should lead to connected wind energy projects. The developed
Table 11 The installed capacity of renewable energy in India—source-wise (MW) [43]

Financial year Small hydro power (MW) Wind (MW) Biomass cogeneration (MW) Waste-to-energy (MW) Solar (MW) Total renewable
capacity (MW)
As of 31.12.2018 4517.45 35,138.15 9075.50 138.30 25212.26 74,081.66
2017–2018 4485.81 34,046.00 8700.80 138.30 21651.48 69,022.39
2016–2017 4379.86 32,279.77 8181.70 114.08 12288.83 57,244.23
2015–2016 4273.47 26,777.4 4831.33 90.58 6762.85 45,924.04
2014–2015 4055.36 23,354.35 4418.55 90.58 3743.97 38,959.16
2013–2014 3803.68 21,042.58 4013.55 90.58 2631.93 34,988.00
2012–2013 3643.17 18,484.99 3601.03 126.08 1686.44 27,541.71
2011–2012 3410.52 16,896.6 3135.33 119.68 941.31 24,503.44
2010–2011 2913 12,806.54 2600.13 102.46 32.39 18,454.52
2009–2010 2604.92 10,647.45 2167.73 95.01 6 15,521.11
2008–2009 2160.48 9344.13 1650.43 85.25 2.12 13,242.41
2007–2008 2045.07 7666.84 1325.63 85.75 2.12 11,125.41
transparent process of bidding lowered the tariff for wind projects included in R&D worth INR 115.8 million
power to its lowest level ever. The development of the (USD 1.66 million) in the domain of energy storage
wind industry has risen in a robust ecosystem ensuring have been launched, and a corpus of INR 48.2 million
project execution abilities and a manufacturing base. (USD 0.7 million) has been issued. India’s energy
State-of-the-art technologies are now available for the pro- storage mission will provide an opportunity for glo-
duction of wind turbines. All the major global players in bally competitive battery manufacturing. By increasing
wind power have their presence in India. More than 12 the battery manufacturing expertise and scaling up its
different companies manufacture more than 24 various national production capacity, the country can make a
models of wind turbines in India. India exports wind tur- substantial economic contribution in this crucial sec-
bines and components to the USA, Europe, Australia, tor. The mission aims to identify the cumulative bat-
Brazil, and other Asian countries. Around 70–80% of the tery requirements, total market size, imports, and
domestic production has been accomplished with strong domestic manufacturing. Table 20 presents the eco-
domestic manufacturing companies. Table 19 lists the nomic opportunity from battery manufacturing given
capacity addition compared to the target for the capacity by the National Institution for Transforming India,
addition. Furthermore, electricity generation from the also called NITI Aayog, which provides relevant tech-
wind-based capacity has improved, even though there was nical advice to central and state governments while
a slowdown of new capacity in the first half of 2018–2019 designing strategic and long-term policies and pro-
and 2017–2018. grams for the Indian government.
The national energy storage mission—2018 Small hydropower—3-year action agenda—2017

The country is working toward a National Energy Hydro projects are classified as large hydro, small hydro
Storage Mission. A draft of the National Energy Stor- (2 to 25 MW), micro-hydro (up to 100 kW), and mini-
age Mission was proposed in February 2018 and initi- hydropower (100 kW to 2 MW) projects. Whereas the
ated to develop a comprehensive policy and estimated potential of SHP is 20 GW, the 2022 target
regulatory framework. During the last 4 years, for India in SHP is 5 GW. As of the 31st of December
Table 12 Cumulative installed renewable energy capacity shares [46, 47]
Sources (GW) 2002 2007 2012 2017 2022 2027 2032
Thermal 74.4 86.0 131.6 218.3 296.1 389.3 552.4
Renewables 3.4 10.2 24.9 57.3 175.0 250.4 350.4
Nuclear 2.7 3.9 4.7 6.78 11.84 19.10 23.30
Large hydropower 26.20 34.60 38.90 44.48 60.90 67.10 74.60
Total 106.7 134.7 200.1 326.86 543.84 725.9 1000.7
Percentage of renewable energy shares in the total installed capacity 3% 8% 12% 18% 32% 34% 35%
Fig. 3 The annual growth in power generation as per the 30th of November 2018
2018, the country has achieved 4.5 GW and this pro- shows the target and achievements from 2007–2008 to
duction is constantly increasing. The objective, which 2018–2019.
was planned to be accomplished through infrastruc-
ture project grants and tariff support, was included in
the NITI Aayog’s 3-year action agenda (2017–2018 to National policy regarding biofuels—2018
2019–2020), which was published on the 1st of Au- Modernization has generated an opportunity for a
gust 2017. MNRE is providing central financial assist- stable change in the use of bioenergy in India.
ance (CFA) to set up small/micro hydro projects both MNRE amended the current policy for biomass in
in the public and private sector. For the identification May 2018. The policy presents CFA for projects
of new potential locations, surveys and comprehensive using biomass such as agriculture-based industrial
project reports are elaborated, and financial support residues, wood produced through energy plantations,
for the renovation and modernization of old projects bagasse, crop residues, wood waste generated from
is provided. The Ministry has established a dedicated industrial operations, and weeds. Under the policy,
completely automatic supervisory control and data ac- CFA will be provided to the projects at the rate of
quisition (SCADA)—based on a hydraulic turbine INR 2.5 million (USD 35,477.7) per MW for bagasse
R&D laboratory at the Alternate Hydro Energy Center cogeneration and INR 5 million (USD 70,955.5) per
(AHEC) at IIT Roorkee. The establishment cost for MW for non-bagasse cogeneration. The MNRE also
the lab was INR 40 crore (400 million INR, 95.62 announced a memorandum in November 2018 con-
Million USD), and the laboratory will serve as a de- sidering the continuation of the concessional cus-
sign and validation facility. It investigates hydro tur- toms duty certificate (CCDC) to set up projects for
bines and other hydro-mechanical devices adhering to the production of energy using non-conventional
national and international standards [54, 55]. Table 21 materials such as bio-waste, agricultural, forestry,
Table 13 Cumulative energy generation from renewable energy and conventional energy 2011–2019 [33]
Energy generation from conventional sources (BU) Energy generation from conventional sources (BU)
2010–2011 811.143 9.860
2011–2012 876.887 51.226
2012–2013 912.056 57.449
2013–2014 967.150 65.520
2014–2015 1048.673 61.719
2015–2016 1107.822 65.781
2016–2017 1160.414 81.548
2017–2018 1206.306 101.839
2018–2019 (30.11.2018) 749.173 88.945
Table 14 Cumulative electricity generation from renewable energy—region-wise [48]

Cumulative generation 2018–2019 2017–2018 2016–2017 2015–2016
achieved during (April–November 2018) (April–March) (April–March) (April–March)
the year up to the
reporting month (MU)
Northern 16,055.27 21,388.22 18,184.54 15,917.51
Western 26,124.98 31,564.48 27,603.54 22,958.91
Southern 44,768.78 46,077.26 33,137.87 24,162.83
Eastern 1779.46 2516.78 2611.19 2425.30
North-Eastern 216.85 292.75 331.55 316.30
Grand Total 88,945.34 101,839.48 81,868.69 65,780.85
poultry litter, agro-industrial, industrial, municipal, potassium. Further, 47.5 lakh (4.75 million) cumulative
and urban wastes. The government recently estab- biogas plants were completed in 2014, and increased to
lished the National policy on biofuels in August 49.8 lakh (4.98 million). During 2017–2018, the target
2018. The MNRE invited an expression of interest was to establish 1.10 lakh biogas plants (1.10 million),
(EOI) to estimate the potential of biomass energy but resulted in 0.15 lakh (0.015 million). In this way,
and bagasse cogeneration in the country. A program the cost of refilling the gas cylinders with liquefied pet-
to encourage the promotion of biomass-based cogen- roleum gas (LPG) was greatly reduced. Likewise, tons
eration in sugar mills and other industries was also of wood/trees were protected from being axed, as wood
launched in May 2018. Table 22 shows how the bio- is traditionally used as a fuel in rural and semi-urban
mass power target and achievements are expected to households. Biogas is a viable alternative to traditional
reach 10 GW of the target of 2022 before the end of cooking fuels. The scheme generated employment for
2019. almost 300 skilled laborers for setting up the biogas
plants. By 30th of May 2018, the Ministry had issued
The new national biogas and organic manure program guidelines for the implementation of the NNBOMP
(NNBOMP)—2018 during the period 2017–2018 to 2019–2020 [56].
The National biogas and manure management
programme (NBMMP) was launched in 2012–2013. The off-grid and decentralized solar photovoltaic
The primary objective was to provide clean gaseous fuel application program—2018
for cooking, where the remaining slurry was organic The program deals with the energy demand through the
bio-manure which is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and deployment of solar lanterns, solar streetlights, solar
Table 15 Cumulative electricity generation from renewable energy—state-wise (states generating more than 1000 MU) [48]
Renewable energy generation (MU) 2018-19 (April-November 2018) 2017-18 (April-March) 2016-17 (April-March) 2015-16 (April-March)
Himachal Pradesh 1989.26 1903.05 2110.71 1921.77
Punjab 1544.73 2343.87 2149.49 1474.2
Rajasthan 7912.68 9484.23 7973.85 6600.24
Uttar Pradesh 2554.50 4606.29 3638.26 3201.49
Gujarat 9670.07 11759.63 9497.99 8003.73
Madhya Pradesh 5406.34 6292.9 5268.67 2910.42
Maharashtra 9811.79 12036.98 11292.7 10756.58
Andhra Pradesh 10602.81 10597.47 5488.26 3106.61
Telangana 4503.35 4632.28 1999.89 1027.9
Karnataka 14734.92 13463.98 9585.68 10061.03
Tamilnadu 14073.94 16179.86 15153.87 9331.47
West Bengal 1093.37 1590.54 1569.77 1608.15
Others 5047.58 6948.4 6138.86 5777.26
Total Generation (MU) 88945.34 101839.48 81868.69 65780.85
Table 16 Cumulative energy generation from renewable energy—source-wise, 2014–2019 [48]

Renewable generation (MU) Wind Solar energy Biomass Bagasse Small Hydropower WTE
2014–2015 61719 33,768 4599 3160 11,785 8060 348
2015–2016 65781 33,029 7448 3727 12,953 8355 269
2016–2017 81,548 46,004 13,499 4198 9960 7673 213
2017–2018 101,839 52,666 25,871 3405 11,847 7692 358
2018–2019 (up to 30.11.2018) 88,945 50,335 24,506 1789 5140 6894 282
home lights, and solar pumps. The plan intended to commercialization, and the presentation of renewable
reach 118 MWp of off-grid PV capacity by 2020. The energy technologies across the country. It aimed to pro-
sanctioning target proposed outlay was 50 MWp by duce renewable power devices and systems domestically.
2017–2018 and 68 MWp by 2019–2020. The total esti- The evaluation of standards and resources, processes,
mated cost amounted to INR 1895 crore (18950 Million materials, components, products, services, and sub-
INR, 265.547 million USD), and the ministry wanted to systems was carried out through RD&D. A development
support 637 crores (6370 million INR, 89.263 million of the market, efficiency improvements, cost reductions,
USD) by its central finance assistance. Solar power and a promotion of commercialization (scalability and
plants with a 25 KWp size were promoted in those areas bankability) were achieved through RD&D. Likewise, the
where grid power does not reach households or is not percentage of renewable energy in the total electricity
reliable. Public service institutions, schools, panchayats, mix made it self-sustainable, industrially competitive,
hostels, as well as police stations will benefit from this and profitable through RD&D. RD&D also supported
scheme. Solar study lamps were also included as a com- technology development and demonstration in wind,
ponent in the program. Thirty percent of financial assist- solar, wind-solar hybrid, biofuel, biogas, hydrogen fuel
ance was provided to solar power plants. Every student cells, and geothermal energies. RD&D supported the
should bear 15% of the lamp cost, and the ministry R&D units of educational institutions, industries, and
wanted to support the remaining 85%. As of October non-government organizations (NGOs). Sharing expert-
2018, lantern and lamps of more than 40 Lakhs (4 mil- ise, information, as well as institutional mechanisms for
lion), home lights of 16.72 lakhs (1.672 million) number, collaboration was realized by use of the technology de-
street lights of 6.40 lakhs (0.64 million), solar pumps of velopment program (TDP). The various people involved
1.96 lakhs (0.196 million), and 187.99 MWp stand-alone in this program were policymakers, industrial innovators,
devices had been installed [57, 58]. associated stakeholders and departments, researchers,
and scientists. Renowned R&D centers in India are the
Major government initiatives for renewable National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), Gurgaon, the
energy National Institute of Bio-Energy (NIBE), Kapurthala, and
Technological initiatives the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), Chennai.
The Technology Development and Innovation Policy The TDP strategy encouraged the exploration of innova-
(TDIP) released on the 6th of October 2017 was endeav- tive approaches and possibilities to obtain long-term tar-
ored to promote research, development, and demonstra- gets. Likewise, it efficiently supported the transformation
tion (RD&D) in the renewable energy sector [59]. RD&D of knowledge into technology through a well-established
intended to evaluate resources, progress in technology, monitoring system for the development of renewable
Table 17 The past generation capacity and the estimation of the generation capacity (electricity mix) of renewable energy in India
compared with conventional energy [51]
TWh generation (BU) 2011–2012 2021–22 2029–2030 2046–2047
Coal 708.3 1444.7 1848 3153.6
Gas 115.4 127.7 155 198.1
Nuclear 26.7 82.5 109 183.1
Hydro 143.8 213.9 227 263
Renewables 58.6 213.1 424 1187.5
Imports 4.6 15.3 40 92
Total 1057 2097 2803 5077
Share of renewable energy 5.50% 10.20% 15% 23.40%
Fig. 4 Renewable energy target, installed capacity, under implementation and tendered [52]
technology that meets the electricity needs of India. The test labs are strengthened in line with international stan-
research center of excellence approved the TDI projects, dards and practices through well-established lab policies.
which were funded to strengthen R&D. Funds were pro- From 2015, the MNRE has provided “The New and Re-
vided for conducting training and workshops. The newable Energy Young Scientist’s Award” to re-
MNRE is now preparing a database of R&D accomplish- searchers/scientists who demonstrate exceptional
ments in the renewable energy sector. accomplishments in renewable R&D.
The Impacting Research Innovation and Technology
(IMPRINT) program seeks to develop engineering and Financial initiatives
technology (prototype/process development) on a na- One hundred percent financial assistance is granted by
tional scale. IMPRINT is steered by the Indian Institute the MNRE to the government and NGOs and 50% fi-
of Technologies (IITs) and Indian Institute of science nancial support to the industry. The policy framework
(IISCs). The expansion covers all areas of engineering was developed to guide the identification of the project,
and technology including renewable technology. The the formulation, monitoring appraisal, approval, and fi-
ministry of human resource development (MHRD) financing. Between 2012 and 2017, a 4467.8 million INR,
nances up to 50% of the total cost of the project. The 62.52 Million USD) support was granted by the MNRE.
remaining costs of the project are financed by the minis- The MNRE wanted to double the budget for technology
try (MNRE) via the RD&D program for renewable pro- development efforts in renewable energy for the current
jects. Currently (2018–2019), five projects are under three-year plan period. Table 23 shows that the govern-
implementation in the area of solar thermal systems, ment is spending more and more for the development of
storage for SPV, biofuel, and hydrogen and fuel cells the renewable energy sector. Financial support was pro-
which are funded by the MNRE (36.9 million INR, vided to R&D projects. Exceptional consideration was
0.518426 Million USD) and IMPRINT. Development of given to projects that worked under extreme and haz-
domestic technology and quality control are promoted ardous conditions. Furthermore, financial support was
through lab policies that were published on the 7th of applied to organizing awareness programs, demonstra-
December 2017. Lab policies were implemented to test, tions, training, workshops, surveys, assessment studies,
standardize, and certify renewable energy products and etc. Innovative approaches will be rewarded with cash
projects. They supported the improvement of the reli- prizes. The winners will be presented with a support
ability and quality of the projects. Furthermore, Indian mechanism for transforming their ideas and prototypes
Fig. 5 Off-grid solar applications [52]

Table 18 Solar capacity addition compared to the target solar panels and modules imported from China and
between 2013–2014 and 2018–2019. Malaysia for 1 year. The quantum of tax might be re-
Year Solar power capacity additions in duced to 20% for the next 6 months, and 15% for the
MW following 6 months.
Target Achievements
2013–2014 1100 962.1 Policy and regulatory framework initiatives
2014–2015 1100 1112 The regulatory interventions for the development of
2015–2016 1400 3019 renewable energy sources are (a) tariff determination, (b)
defining RPO, (c) promoting grid connectivity, and (d)
2016–2017 9100 5526
promoting the expansion of the market.
2017–2018 10,000 9363
2018–2019 (31st of December 2018) 10,000 3270 Tariff policy amendments—2018
On the 30th of May 2018, the MoP released draft
into marketable commodities such as start-ups for entre- amendments to the tariff policy. The objective of
preneur development. Innovative projects will be fi- these policies was to promote electricity generation
nanced via start-up support mechanisms, which will from renewables. MoP in consultation with MNRE
include an investment contract with investors. The announced the long-term trajectory for RPO, which is
MNRE provides funds to proposals for investigating pol- represented in Table 24. The State Electricity Regula-
icies and performance analyses related to renewable tory Commission (SERC) achieved a favorable and
energy. neutral/off-putting effect in the growth of the renew-
Technology validation and demonstration projects and able power sector through their RPO regulations in
other innovative projects with regard to renewables re- consultation with the MNRE. On the 25th of May
ceived a financial assistance of 50% of the project cost. 2018, the MNRE created an RPO compliance cell to
The CFA applied to partnerships with industry and pri- reach India’s solar and wind power goals. Due to the
vate institutions including engineering colleges. Private absence of implementation of RPO regulations, sev-
academic institutions, accredited by a government ac- eral states in India did not meet their specified RPO
creditation body, were also eligible to receive a 50% sup- objectives. The cell will operate along with the Cen-
port. The concerned industries and institutions should tral Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and
meet the remaining 50% expenditure. The MNRE allo- SERCs to obtain monthly statements on RPO compli-
cated an INR 3762.50 crore (INR 37625 million, 528.634 ance. It will also take up non-compliance associated
million USD) for the grid interactive renewable sources concerns with the relevant officials.
and an INR 1036.50 crore (INR 10365 million, 145.629
million USD) for off-grid/distributed and decentralized Repowering policy—2016
renewable power for the year 2018–2019 [60]. The On the 09th of August 2016, India announced a “repower-
MNRE asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), attempt- ing policy” for wind energy projects. An about 27 GW
ing to build renewable power projects under “priority turnaround was possible according to the policy. This pol-
sector lending” (priority lending should be done for re- icy supports the replacing of aging wind turbines with
newable energy projects and without any limit) and to more modern and powerful units (fewer, larger, taller) to
eliminate the obstacles in the financing of renewable en- raise the level of electricity generation. This policy seeks
ergy projects. In July 2018, the Ministry of Finance an- to create a simplified framework and to promote an opti-
nounced that it would impose a 25% safeguard duty on mized use of wind power resources. It is mandatory be-
cause the up to the year 2000 installed wind turbines were
Table 19 Wind power capacity addition compared to the below 500 kW in sites where high wind potential might be
target between 2013–2014 and 2018–2019 achieved. It will be possible to obtain 3000 MW from the
Year Wind power capacity addition in same location once replacements are in place. The policy
MW
was initially applied for the one MW installed capacity of
Target Achievements
wind turbines, and the MNRE will extend the repowering
2013–2014 2500 2083.3 policy to other projects in the future based on experience.
2014–2015 2000 2312 Repowering projects were implemented by the respective
2015–2016 2400 3423 state nodal agencies/organizations that were involved in
2016–2017 4000 5502 wind energy promotion in their states. The policy pro-
2017–2018 4000 1766.25
vided an exception from the Power Purchase Agreement
(PPA) for wind farms/turbines undergoing repowering be-
2018–2019 (31st of December 2018) 4000 993.15
cause they could not fulfill the requirements according to
Table 20 Economic opportunity from battery manufacturing

Stage Cumulative battery requirements (GWh) Total market size (INR lakh crore) Imports Domestic manufacturing
I 120 1.3–1.4 Cells Battery packs
II 970 6.1–8.9 Some cells, Cathode Battery packs + limited cell production
III 2410 11.7–17.1 Cathodes End-to-end battery manufacturing
the PPA during repowering. The repowering projects may distance of 23 km facilitating offshore wind (FOWIND)
avail accelerated depreciation (AD) benefit or generation- where the consortium deployed light detection and ran-
based incentive (GBI) due to the conditions appropriate to ging (LiDAR) in November 2017). Pipavav port is situ-
new wind energy projects [61]. ated off the coast of Gujarat. The MNRE had planned to
install more such equipment in the states of Tamil Nadu
The wind-solar hybrid policy—2018 and Gujarat. On the 14th of December 2018, the MNRE,
On the 14th of May 2018, the MNRE announced a na- through the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE),
tional wind-solar hybrid policy. This policy supported called tender for offshore environmental impact assess-
new projects (large grid-connected wind-solar photovol- ment studies at intended LIDAR points at the Gulf of
taic hybrid systems) and the hybridization of the already Mannar, off the coast of Tamil Nadu for offshore wind
available projects. These projects tried to achieve an op- measurement. The timeline for initiatives was to firstly
timal and efficient use of transmission infrastructure and add 500 MW by 2022, 2 to 2.5 GW by 2027, and eventu-
land. Better grid stability was achieved and the variability ally reaching 5 GW between 2028 and 2032. Even
in renewable power generation was reduced. The best though the installation of large wind power turbines in
part of the policy intervention was that which supported open seas is a challenging task, the government has en-
the hybridization of existing plants. The tariff-based deavored to promote this offshore sector. Offshore wind
transparent bidding process was included in the policy. energy would add its contribution to the already existing
Regulatory authorities should formulate the necessary renewable energy mix for India [63].
standards and regulations for hybrid systems. The policy
also highlighted a battery storage in hybrid projects for The feed-in tariff policy—2018
output optimization and variability reduction [62]. On the 28th of January 2016, the revised tariff policy
was notified following the Electricity Act. On the 30th
The national offshore wind energy policy—2015 May 2018, the amendment in tariff policy was released.
The National Offshore Wind Policy was released in The intentions of this tariff policy are (a) an inexpensive
October 2015. On the 19th of June 2018, the MNRE an- and competitive electricity rate for the consumers; (b) to
nounced a medium-term target of 5 GW by 2022 and a attract investment and financial viability; (c) to ensure
long-term target of 30 GW by 2030. The MNRE called that the perceptions of regulatory risks decrease through
expressions of Interest (EoI) for the first 1 GW of off- predictability, consistency, and transparency of policy
shore wind (the last date was 08.06.2018). The EoI site is measures; (d) development in quality of supply, increased
located in Pipavav port at the Gulf of Khambhat at a operational efficiency, and improved competition; (e)
Table 21 SHP target, achievements and cumulatives [54]
Year Target(MW) Achievement (MW) Cumulative(MW)
2007–2008 200 205 2045.07
2008–2009 250 249 2160.48
2009–2010 300 305 2604.92
2010–2011 300 307 2913.00
2011–2012 350 353 3410.52
2012–2013 350 237 3643.17
2013–2014 300 252 3803.68
2014–2015 250 408 4055.36
2015–2016 250 218 4273.47
2016-17 250 105.9 4379.86
2017-18 100 105.95 4485.80
2018-19 (31st of December 2018) 250 31.65 4517.45
Table 22 Biomass power target, achievements and cumulatives Table 24 Amended Tariff Policy, RPO trajectory up to 2019
Year Target Achievement Cumulative Year Solar energy Non-Solar energy Total
(MW) (MW) (MW)
2016–2017 2.75% 8.75% 11.50%
2013–2014 405 412.5 4013.55
2017–2018 4.75% 9.50% 14.25%
2014–2015 400 405 4418.55
2018–2019 6.75% 10.25% 17.00%
2015–2016 400 400 4831.33
2019–2020 7.25% 10.25% 17.50%
2016–2017 400 161.95 8181.70
2020–2021 8.75% 10.25% 19.00%
2017–2018 340 519.10 8700.80
2021–2022 10.50% 10.50% 21.00%
2018–2019 (31.12.2018) 250 374.70 9075.50
The global status of India in renewable energy
increase the production of electricity from wind, solar, bio- Table 25 shows the RECAI (Renewable Energy Coun-
mass, and small hydro; (f) peaking reserves that are accept- try Attractiveness Index) report of 40 countries. This
able in quantity or consistently good in quality or report is based on the attractiveness of renewable en-
performance of grid operation where variable renewable ergy investment and deployment opportunities. RECAI
energy source integration is provided through the promo- is based on macro vitals such as economic stability,
tion of hydroelectric power generation, including pumped investment climate, energy imperatives such as secur-
storage projects (PSP); (g) to achieve better consumer ser- ity and supply, clean energy gap, and affordability. It
vices through efficient and reliable electricity infrastructure; also includes policy enablement such as political sta-
(h) to supply sufficient and uninterrupted electricity to bility and support for renewables. Its emphasis lies on
every level of consumers; and (i) to create adequate cap- project delivery parameters such as energy market ac-
acity, reserves in the production, transmission, and distribu- cess, infrastructure, and distributed generation, fi-
tion that is sufficient for the reliability of supply of power to nance, cost and availability, and transaction liquidity.
customers [64]. Technology potentials such as natural resources,
power take-off attractiveness, potential support, tech-
Training and educational initiatives nology maturity, and forecast growth are taken into
The MHRD has developed strong renewable energy edu- consideration for ranking. India has moved to the
cation and training systems. The National Council for fourth position of the RECAI-2018. Indian solar in-
Vocational Training (NCVT) develops course modules, stallations (new large-scale and rooftop solar capaci-
and a Modular Employable Skilling program (MES) in ties) in the calendar year 2017 increased exponentially
its regular 2-year syllabus to include SPV lighting sys- with the addition of 9629 MW, whereas in 2016 it
tems, solar thermal systems, SHP, and provides the cer- was 4313 MW. The warning of solar import tariffs
tificate for seven trades after the completion of a 2-year and conflicts between developers and distribution
course. The seven trades are plumber, fitter, carpenter, firms are growing investor concerns [67]. Figure 6
welder, machinist, and electrician. The Ministry of Skill shows the details of the installed capacity of global
Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) worked out renewable energy in 2016 and 2017. Globally, 2017
a national skill development policy in 2015. They provide GW renewable energy was installed in 2016, and in
regular training programs to create various job roles in re- 2017, it increased to 2195 GW. Table 26 shows the
newable energy along with the MNRE support through a total capacity addition of top countries until 2017.
skill council for green jobs (SCGJ), the National Occupa- The country ranked fifth in renewable power capacity
tional Standards (NOS), and the Qualification Pack (QP). (including hydro energy), renewable power capacity
The SCGJ is promoted by the Confederation of Indian (not including hydro energy) in fourth position, con-
Industry (CII) and the MNRE. The industry partner for centrating solar thermal power (CSP) and wind power
the SCGJ is ReNew Power [65, 66]. were also in fourth position [68].
Table 23 Allocation budget for the MNRE (union budget The investment opportunities in renewable
2018–2019) (R&D) energy in India
Year Allocation The investments into renewable energy in India in-
2017–2018 (Budget estimate) 5473 crore (5473 Million INR, creased by 22% in the first half of 2018 compared to
76.8991 Million USD) 2017, while the investments in China dropped by
2017–2018 (Revised estimate) 4080 crore (4080 Million INR, 15% during the same period, according to a state-
57.3266 Million USD)
ment by the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF),
2018–2019 (Budget estimate) 5146.63 crore (51466.3 Million INR, which is shown in Table 27 [69, 70]. At this rate,
723.134 Million USD)
India is expected to overtake China and become the
Table 25 Country attractive index of the 52nd edition-201of Renewable energy 8 [67]
Overall Previous Country RECAI Technology-specific score (out of 100)
rank rank score
Onshore wind Offshore wind Solar PV Solar CSP Biomass Geothermal Hydro power Marine
1 1 China 65.7 51 55 53 33 45 21 52 19
2 2 USA 63.8 50 53 49 32 39 39 35 31
3 4 India 63.8 50 20 57 34 44 25 45 21
4 3 Germany 62.7 46 50 49 17 44 34 35 20
5 6 France 62.5 50 51 48 22 48 33 31 36
6 5 Australia 62.3 47 30 54 35 24 21 39 31
7 8 Japan 59.2 43 44 47 18 51 48 36 23
8 7 UK 58.6 47 57 41 14 47 27 32 33
9 9 Netherlands 58.6 44 48 45 15 33 23 24 15
10 13 Argentina 58.6 45 21 50 30 37 32 37 20
11 11 Chile 56.7 43 20 47 32 37 31 41 28
12 15 Morocco 56.6 42 17 51 31 16 15 20 14
13 12 Mexico 56.3 43 19 50 25 45 43 34 19
14 10 Denmark 55.7 44 48 39 15 44 17 22 24
15 20 Egypt 54.9 45 14 52 36 13 12 27 12
most significant growth market for renewable energy China. Half of the earth’s ten biggest solar parks under de-
by the end of 2020. The country is eyeing pole position velopment are in India.
for transformation in renewable energy by reaching 175 In 2014, the world largest solar park was the Topaz
GW by 2020. To achieve this target, it is quickly ramping solar farm in California with a 550 MW facility. In
up investments in this sector. The country added more re- 2015, another operator in California, Solar Star, edged
newable capacity than conventional capacity in 2018 when its capacity up to 579 MW. By 2016, India’s Kamuthi
compared to 2017. India hosted the ISA first official sum- Solar Power Project in Tamil Nadu was on top with
mit on the 11.03.2018 for 121 countries. This will provide 648 MW of capacity (set up by the Adani Green En-
a standard platform to work toward the ambitious targets ergy, part of the Adani Group, in Tamil Nadu). As of
for renewable energy. The summit will emphasize India’s February 2017, the Longyangxia Dam Solar Park in
dedication to meet global engagements in a time-bound China was the new leader, with 850 MW of capacity
method. The country is also constructing many sizeable [71]. Currently, there are 600 MW operating units
solar power parks comparable to, but larger than, those in and 1400 MW units under construction. The Shakti
Fig. 6 Globally installed capacity of renewable energy in 2017—Global 2018 status report with regard to renewables [68]
Table 26 Globally installed capacity of renewable energy in 2017—Global 2018 status report with regard to the ranking of
renewables [68]
Installed capacity Rank I Rank II Rank III Rank IV Rank V
Renewable power capacity (Including hydropower) China USA Brazil Germany India
Renewable power capacity (not Including hydropower) China USA Germany India Japan
Bio power China USA Brazil Germany Japan
Geothermal power USA Philippines Indonesia Turkey New Zealand
Hydropower China Brazil Canada USA Russia
Solar PV China USA Japan Germany Italy
CSP Spain USA South Africa India Morocco
Wind power China USA Germany India Spain
Sthala solar park was inaugurated on 01.03.2018 in of up to USD 80 billion in the subsequent 4 years. The
Pavagada (Karnataka, India) which is expected to be- government of India has raised its 175 GW target to 225
come the globe’s most significant solar park when it GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022. The competi-
accomplishes its full potential of 2 GW. Another large tive benefit is that the country has sun exposure possible
solar park with 1.5 GW is scheduled to be built in throughout the year and has an enormous hydropower
the Kadappa region [72]. The progress in solar power potential. India was also listed fourth in the EY renew-
is remarkable and demonstrates real clean energy de- able energy country attractive index 2018. Sixty solar cit-
velopment on the ground. ies will be built in India as a section of MNRE’s “Solar
The Kurnool ultra-mega solar park generated 800 cities” program.
million units (MU) of energy in October 2018 and saved In a regular auction, reduction in tariffs cost of the
over 700,000 tons of CO2. Rainwater was harvested projects are the competitive benefits in the country.
using a reservoir that helps in cleaning solar panels and India accounts for about 4% of the total global electricity
supplying water. The country is making remarkable pro- generation capacity and has the fourth highest installed
gress in solar energy. The Kamuthi solar farm is cleaned capacity of wind energy and the third highest installed
each day by a robotic system. As the Indian economy ex- capacity of CSP. The solar installation in India erected
pands, electricity consumption is forecasted to reach 15, during 2015–2016, 2016–2017, 2017–2018, and 2018–
280 TWh in 2040. With the government’s intent, green 2019 was 3.01 GW, 5.52 GW, 9.36 GW, and 6.53 GW,
energy objectives, i.e., the renewable sector, grow consid- respectively. The country aims to add 8.5 GW during
erably in an attractive manner with both foreign and do- 2019–2020. Due to its advantageous location in the solar
mestic investors. It is anticipated to attract investments belt (400 South to 400 North), the country is one of the
Table 27 New investments in renewable energy—renewable energy investment trends 2Q 2018 [69]
$bn 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
USA 16.5 34.6 47.1 43.6 35.1 46.6 62.3 52.9 44.6 52.2 58.4 56.4 56.9
Europe 38.9 53.1 75.2 88.3 91.3 123.1 137.8 96.4 70.2 78.5 73.8 77.7 57.4
China 8.8 11.2 16.8 26.6 38.7 45.0 51.5 62.6 66.9 89.6 125.4 107.2 132.6
Brazil 2.7 5.1 9.8 11.5 7.9 7.5 10.3 8.2 4.4 7.8 6.7 5.7 6.2
Canada 2.1 2.5 4.2 3.3 3.6 6.6 4.0 5.8 6.7 7.0 3.8 2.3 3.3
Mexico 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.7 0.4 2.5 0.4 1.6 1.9 2.3 1.8 1.0 6.2
UK 4.7 6.2 6.8 5.9 11.9 10.8 13.1 11.7 15.1 17.5 25.9 23.4 10.3
Germany 15.2 17.0 20.2 21.7 27.6 40.3 39.0 27.4 18.8 24.0 18.5 19.8 14.6
France 3.2 5.3 4.9 5.6 4.6 6.3 10.5 7.0 5.2 7.3 4.1 4.3 5.0
Spain 5.2 9.9 23.3 23.2 9.9 8.1 10.6 3.0 1.2 0.8 0.1 0.8 1.1
Italy 2.4 2.0 3.8 8.1 8.4 24.3 32.3 15.6 4.3 1.7 2.1 2.2 2.5
Japan 8.4 8.1 9.4 11.3 12.5 14.8 18.6 25.0 37.3 44.3 42.6 27.9 23.4
India 3.2 5.4 6.4 5.8 4.3 9.0 13.8 8.1 6.8 8.5 9.9 13.7 11.0
Australia 1.4 1.8 1.5 1.5 2.3 5.2 6.2 5.4 4.8 2.2 2.2 3.6 9.0
largest beneficiaries of solar energy with relatively ample renewable sector is illustrated in Fig. 7. It shows that the
availability. An increase in the installed capacity of solar 2018–2019 3 months’ FDI equity inflow is half of that of
power is anticipated to exceed the installed capacity of the entire one of 2017–2018. It is evident from the fig-
wind energy, approaching 100 GW by 2022 from its ure that India has well-established FDI equity inflows.
current levels of 25.21226 GW as of December 2018. The significant FDI investments in the renewable energy
Fast falling prices have made Solar PV the biggest mar- sectors are shown in Table 28. The collaboration be-
ket for new investments. Under the Union Budget tween the Asian development bank and Renew Power
2018–2019, a zero import tax on parts used in manufac- Ventures private limited with 44.69 million USD ranked
turing solar panels was launched to provide an advan- first followed by AIRRO Singapore with Diligent power
tage to domestic solar panel companies [73]. with FDI equity inflow of 44.69 USD million.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in the renew-
able energy sector of India between April 2000 and June Strategies to promote investments
2018 amounted to USD 6.84 billion according to the re- Strategies to promote investments (including FDI) by in-
port of the department of industrial policy and promotion vestors in the renewable sector:
(DIPP). The DIPP was renamed (gazette notification
27.01.2019) the Department for the Promotion of Industry Decrease constraints on FDI; provide open, transparent,
and Internal Trade (DPIIT). It is responsible for the devel- and dependable conditions for foreign and domestic
opment of domestic trade, retail trade, trader’s welfare in- firms; and include ease of doing business, access to
cluding their employees as well as concerns associated imports, comparatively flexible labor markets, and
with activities in facilitating and supporting business and safeguard of intellectual property rights.
startups. Since 2014, more than 42 billion USD have been Establish an investment promotion agency (IPA) that
invested in India’s renewable power sector. India reached targets suitable foreign investors and connects them
US$ 7.4 billion in investments in the first half of 2018. Be- as a catalyst with the domestic economy. Assist the
tween April 2015 and June 2018, the country received IPA to present top-notch infrastructure and immedi-
USD 3.2 billion FDI in the renewable sector. The year- ate access to skilled workers, technicians, engineers,
wise inflows expanded from USD 776 million in 2015– and managers that might be needed to attract
2016 to USD 783 million in 2016–2017 and USD 1204 such investors. Furthermore, it should involve an
million in 2017–2018. Between January to March of 2018, after-investment care, recognizing the demonstra-
the INR 452 crore (4520 Million INR, 63.3389 million tion effects from satisfied investors, the potential
USD) of the FDI had already come in. The country is con- for reinvestments, and the potential for cluster-
tributing with financial and promotional incentives that development due to follow-up investments.
include a capital subsidy, accelerated depreciation (AD), It is essential to consider the targeted sector (wind, solar,
waiver of inter-state transmission charges and losses, via- SPH or biomass, respectively) for which investments are
bility gap funding (VGF), and FDI up to 100% under the required.
automated track. Establish the infrastructure needed for a quality
The DIPP/DPIIT compiles and manages the data of investor, including adequate close-by transport
the FDI equity inflow received in India [74]. The FDI facilities (airport, ports), a sufficient and steady
equity inflow between April 2015 and June 2018 in the supply of energy, a provision of a sufficiently
Fig. 7 The FDI equity inflow received between April 2015 and June 2018 in the renewable energy sector [73]
skilled workforce, the facilities for the voca- Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) objec-
tional training of specialized operators, ideally tives, the implementation of the NDC, on the road to
designed in collaboration with the investor. achieving Paris promises, policy competence, policy
Policy and other support mechanisms such as Power reliability, market absorption capacity, and nationwide
Purchase Agreements (PPA) play an influential role investment circumstances that are the real purposes
in underpinning returns and restricting uncertainties for renewable power expansion, which is a significant
for project developers, indirectly supporting the factor for the investment strategies, as is shown in
availability of investment. Investors in renewable Table 30.
energy projects have historically relied on The demand for investments for building a Paris-
government policies to give them confidence about compatible and climate-resilient energy support remains
the costs necessary for electricity produced—and high, particularly in emerging nations. Future invest-
therefore for project revenues. Reassurance of future ments in energy grids and energy flexibility are of par-
power costs for project developers is secured by ticular significance. The strategies and the comparison
signing a PPA with either a utility or an essential chart between China, India, and the USA are presented
corporate buyer of electricity. in Table 31.
FiT have been the most conventional approach around Table 32 shows France in the first place due to overall
the globe over the last decade to stimulate investments favorable conditions for renewables, heading the G20 in
in renewable power projects. Set by the government investment attractiveness of renewables. Germany drops
concerned, they lay down an electricity tariff that back one spot due to a decline in the quality of the glo-
developers of qualifying new projects might anticipate bal policy environment for renewables and some insuffi-
to receive for the resulting electricity over a long ciencies in the policy design, as does the UK. Overall,
interval (15–20 years). These present investors in the with four European countries on top of the list, Europe,
tax equity of renewable power projects with a credit however, directs the way in providing attractive condi-
that they can manage to offset the tax burden outside tions for investing in renewables. Despite high scores for
in their businesses. various nations, no single government is yet close to
Table 29 presents the 2018 renewable energy investment growing a role model. All countries still have significant
report, source-wise, by the significant players in renew- room for increasing investment demands to deploy re-
ables according to the report of the Bloomberg New En- newables at the scale required to reach the Paris objec-
ergy Finance Report 2018. As per this report, global tives. The table shown is based on the Paris compatible
investment in renewable energy was USD of 279.8 bil- long-term vision, the policy environment for renewable
lion in 2017. The top ten in the total global invest- energy, the conditions for system integration, the market
ments are China (126.1 $BN), the USA (40.5 $BN), absorption capacity, and general investment conditions.
Japan (13.4 $BN), India (10.9 $BN), Germany (10.4 India moved from the 11th position to the 9th position
$BN), Australia (8.5 $BN), UK (7.6 $BN), Brazil (6.0 in overall investments between 2017 and 2018.
$BN), Mexico (6.0 $BN), and Sweden (3.7 $BN) [75]. A Paris compatible long-term vision includes a de-
This achievement was possible since those countries carbonization plan for the power system, the renewable
have well-established strategies for promoting invest- power ambition, the coal and oil decrease, and the reli-
ments [76, 77]. ability of renewables policies. Direct support policies
include medium-term certainty of policy signals, stream-
The appropriate objectives for renewable power ex- lined administrative procedures, ensuring project
pansion and investments are closely related to the realization, facilitating the use of produced electricity.
Table 28 Leading FDI investments in the renewable energy sector [74]

Collaborating company Country Indian company/Private limited FDI equity inflow (USD mn)
Asian Development Bank Philippines Renew Power Ventures 44.69
AIRRO Singapore Pte Ltd Singapore Diligent Power 41.07
ORIX Corporation Japan TADAS Wind Energy 37.75
ENEL Green Power Development B.V. Netherlands BLP Energy 32.61
DEG - Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft Germany WELSPUN Renewables Energy 32.50
ENERK International Holdings Ltd Seychelles RKM POWERGEN 32.50
OSTRO Renewal Power Limited Mauritius OSTRO Energy 32.21
AREVA Solar Inc. USA AREVA Solar India 31.53
Table 29 Renewable energy investment report—developing energy companies. General investment conditions in-
economies—source-wise (Bloomberg New Energy Finance clude non-financial determinants, depth of the financial
report 2018) [75] sector as well, as an inflation forecast.
USD billion China India Brazil USA Europe
Solar 86.5 6.7 2.1 19.8 10.8 Employment opportunities for citizens in
Wind 36.1 4.0 3.6 19.2 28.0 renewable energy in India
Biofuels 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.7 0.6
Global employment scenario
According to the 2018 Annual review of the IRENA
Biomass 1.5 0.1 0.0 0.4 1.0
[78], global renewable energy employment touched 10.3
Small hydropower 2.4 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 million jobs in 2017, an improvement of 5.3% compared
Total ($BN) 126.6 10.9 6.0 40.2 40.6 with the quantity published in 2016. Many socio-
economic advantages derive from renewable power, but
Conditions for system integration include system employment continues to be exceptionally centralized in
integration-grid codes, system integration-storage pro- a handful of countries, with China, Brazil, the USA,
motion, and demand-side management policies. A mar- India, Germany, and Japan in the lead. In solar PV em-
ket absorption capacity includes a prior experience with ployment (3.4 million jobs), China is the leader (65% of
renewable technologies, a current activity with renew- PV Jobs) which is followed by Japan, USA, India,
able installations, and a presence of major renewable Bangladesh, Malaysia, Germany, Philippines, and Turkey.
Table 30 Targets relevant for renewable energy development [76]

Objectives appropriate China India USA
for renewable power
expansion and
facilitating
investments
NDC purpose By 2030, an approx. 20% rise of non- By 2030, an approx. 40% rise of non- Reduce the emissions intensity of GDP
fossil fuels in the primary energy mix, by fossil fuels in the primary energy mix, by by 26–28% by 2025 below 2005 levels
2030 carbon intensity of GDP lowered 2030, the carbon intensity of GDP low- (incl. LULUCF) and reduce the emissions
by 60% to 65% under the 2005 levels, ered by 33% to 35% under the 2005 intensity of GDP by 83% by 2050 below
by 2020, an approx. 10% rise of natural levels. 2005 levels (excl. LULUCF- land use
gas in the primary energy mix, latest by change and forestry)
2030, peak CO2 emissions.
NDC implementation In 2015, the installed renewable It is recommended in the National The individual states power-sector asso-
capacity (including hydro energy) in Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) ciated emissions reduction cumulatively
China amounted to 493 GW and it is to achieve a 15% share of renewables to 32% below 2005 levels by 2030 is de-
planned in the thirteenth renewable power in the total power generation, scribed in the Clean Power Plan (CPP).
energy development five year plan to and the National solar mission is
achieve 680 GW by 2020. targeting 175 GW by 2020. In the draft
of the National Electricity Plan (2016), it
is predicted that the share of the
installed capacity (renewables, nuclear
and hydro energy) of non-fossil fuels will
reach 56.5% by 2026–2027. Furthermore,
there will be a 20.3%, 24.2% share of re-
newables in energy production in 2021–
2022 and 2026–2027, respectively.
On the route of China is anticipated to accomplish its India is anticipated to accomplish its A closed-down Obama’s Clean Power
reaching Paris objectives with its contemporary objectives with its contemporary Plan (CPP) could prevent the US growth
promises policies. policies. for accomplishing its Paris Agreement
objectives. Executive order to halt the
CPP in March 2017 was signed by the
new administration.
Competence of policy High High Low
Reliability of policy Very high High Low
Nationwide Medium Very low Medium
investment
circumstances
On the path of Medium Very low High
approaching the Paris
promises
Table 31 Strategies of the development of renewable energy Table 31 Strategies of the development of renewable energy
investments [76] investments [76] (Continued)
Strategies for investments China India USA Strategies for investments China India USA
Adequacy and reliability of The findings in the 2016 Allianz installed capacity still increased from
renewable power policies Climate & Energy Monitor’s report 2015 to 2016, even though the
(Strong policies) are essential conclude that China and India are investment costs per unit declined
for investors to realize the competing more effectively as the considerably.
required range of investments. USA in implementing a robust,
Projection of absolute Absolute investment predictions until
nation-wide green policy
investment 2035, however, are only one dimension
environment. This trend is
anticipated to continue stable of the investment demands estimation.
in 2017. Strong policies help to The individual energy set-up of all
country and current consumption
achieve the Paris climate
patterns are significant determinants
objectives of India and China
whereas the USA might miss its of future demands. For example, the
goals to fulfill the targets of the USA has much more substantial power
consumption than China and India
Paris Agreement if the current
today, while the consumption is rising
government swiftly performs its
current announcements. Without in China and India which implicates
attractive and strong nation-wide expanding development needs.
policies in the USA, renewable Essential socio-economic According to pre-estimation results
powers encounter headwinds indicators. of 2016, India has the most significant
(opposite general direction to a demand for renewable investments
course of movement) and will rely among the G20 members as an effect
on their state actions and imminent of comparatively low per-capita
cost competitiveness. consumption, a fast-growing
population and rising energy demands
Additions to renewable The level of renewable energy
energy capacity capacity additions goes up currently due to economic development. Despite
a mature market and high energy
in all three countries and has in total
consumption, in terms of investment
moved up to an overtook of
required, the USA is close to India and
investments in fossil-fuel based
capacity additions. China is decreasing China, reflecting a powerful vulnerability
of its energy infrastructure to climate
the use of coal at a sharp angle, firstly,
effects.
to fight against environmental pollution
and secondly due to the steady Developing a policy China and India are continually
increase of renewables and a structural framework of renewable developing its policy framework for
transformation steering in the energy for long-term long-term renewable energy investments
economy of China. investment and, at a federal level; the outlook for the
USA is worsening. The modern renewable
Coal power plants China is quickly decommissioning
decommissioning coal power plants to fight against policy environment in China and India
environmental pollution, and carbon is more efficient and stable than the one
in the USA. There are ambitious climate
emissions, whereas India may not put
and renewable power targets and
a hold onto developing new capacities
before 2022. performances in progressive states, such
as Texas and California, and still, the
A mature market Large quantities of renewable power attractiveness for renewable power
investments in the USA are still in investments in the USA is foreseen to
progressive because there are a continue scattered in the future because
mature market, an excellent general of inadequate and steady federal policies.
investment climate, and attractive
state-level policies.
Paris agreement intentions Renewable power leadership of the In biofuels employment (1.9 million jobs), Brazil is the
USA, India, and China is significant leader (41% of PV Jobs) followed by the USA, Colombia,
to meet the Paris agreement intentions.
Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, China, and India. In wind
The investment volumes India continued the stable growth in employment (1.1 million jobs), China is the leader (44%
the investment volumes compared
to China and the USA. The investment of PV Jobs) followed by Germany, USA, India, UK,
volume fell in the two countries. In Brazil, Denmark, Netherlands, France, and Spain.
China, the drop was 32% (USD Table 33 shows global renewable energy employment
78 billion) because the country was
giving priority to integrating the in the corresponding technology branches. As in past
already-existing renewable capacity. years, China maintained the most notable number of
In the USA, the decline amounted to people employed (3880 million jobs) estimating for 43%
10% (USD 46 billion) because the
country was giving priority to pushing of the globe’s total which is shown in Fig. 8. In India,
installations in 2015 to avoid the new solar installations touched a record of 9.6 GW in
potential federal tax credits’ expiration 2017, efficiently increasing the total installed capacity.
in 2016. The total global newly
The employment in solar PV improved by 36% and
Table 32 Overview of the results of the 2018 Allianz Climate & Energy Monitor [76]
Country Overview of the results Direct support policies Conditions Paris Market absorption capacity General investment conditions
for system compatible
Score Rank-2018 Rank-2017 Score Rank-2018 Score Rank-2018 Rank-2017 Score Rank-2018 Rank-2017
integration long-term
Score vision
France 69 1 3 60 1 67 80 53 7 9 86 4 2
Germany 67 2 1 45 5 83 63 89 1 1 75 8 8
UK 64 3 2 21 12 100 68 80 2 2 91 2 1
Kumar. J and Majid Energy, Sustainability and Society
Italy 53 4 8 34 10 83 54 53 6 7 64 9 9
China 52 5 4 35 9 100 37 57 4 8 63 10 11
Japan 51 6 6 50 2 50 17 51 8 6 86 5 3
Canada 47 7 10 15 15 100 28 40 10 5 92 1 5
(2020) 10:2
Brazil 46 8 13 50 2 67 49 36 11 10 37 13 14
USA 46 9 7 13 16 100 17 64 3 3 80 7 7
India 44 10 11 50 2 83 50 27 12 14 26 17 17
Australia 39 11 9 13 16 67 00 56 5 4 89 3 4
South Africa 38 12 12 38 7 67 24 19 14 13 56 11 10
South Korea 38 13 5 18 13 67 24 24 13 12 80 6 6
Mexico 34 14 15 45 5 17 50 15 15 15 31 16 13
Turkey 32 15 18 38 7 83 05 45 9 11 14 18 18
Saudi Arabia 23 16 19 18 13 50 14 00 19 19 49 12 12
Argentina 22 17 16 23 11 33 46 03 17 18 13 19 19
Indonesia 15 18 14 05 19 33 16 04 16 16 31 15 16
Russia 13 19 17 09 18 17 09 00 18 17 35 14 15
Page 25 of 36
reached 164,400 jobs, of which 92,400 represented on-grid skilled and unskilled jobs are included in all renewable
use. IRENA determines that the building and installation energy technologies, even though most of the positions
covered 46% of these jobs, with operations and mainten- in the renewable energy industry demand a skilled work-
ance (O&M) representing 35% and 19%, individually. force. The renewable sector employs semi-skilled and
India does not produce solar PV because it could be unskilled labor in the construction, operations, and
imported from China, which is inexpensive. The market maintenance after proper training. Unskilled labor is
share of domestic companies (Indian supplier to renew- employed as truck drivers, guards, cleaning, and main-
able projects) declined from 13% in 2014–2015 to 7% in tenance. Semi-skilled labor is used to take regular read-
2017–2018. If India starts the manufacturing base, more ings from displays. A lack of consistent data on the
citizens will get jobs in the manufacturing field. India had potential employment impact of renewables expansion
the world’s fifth most significant additions of 4.1 GW to makes it particularly hard to assess the quantity of
wind capacity in 2017 and the fourth largest cumulative skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled personnel that might
capacity in 2018. IRENA predicts that jobs in the wind be needed.
sector stood at 60,500.
The jobs in renewables are categorized into techno- Key findings in renewable energy employment
logical development, installation/de-installation, operation, The findings comprise (a) that the majority of employ-
and maintenance. Tables 34, 35, 36, and 37 show the wind ment in the renewable sector is contract based, and that
industry, solar energy, biomass, and small hydro-related employees do not benefit from permanent jobs or secur-
jobs in project development, component manufacturing, ity. (b) Continuous work in the industry has the poten-
construction, operations, and education, training, and re- tial to decrease poverty. (c) Most poor citizens
search. As technology quickly evolves, workers in all areas encounter obstacles to entry-level training and the em-
need to update their skills through continuing training/ ployment market due to lack of awareness about the jobs
education or job training, and in several cases could bene- and the requirements. (d) Few renewable programs in-
fit from professional certification. The advantages of mov- corporate developing ownership opportunities for the
ing to renewable energy are evident, and for this reason, citizens and the incorporation of women in the sector.
the governments are responding positively toward the (e) The inadequacy of data makes it challenging to build
transformation to clean energy. Renewable energy can be relationships between employment in renewable energy
described as the country’s next employment boom. Re- and poverty mitigation.
newable energy job opportunities can transform rural
economy [79, 80]. The renewable energy sector might Recommendations for renewable energy employment
help to reduce poverty by creating better employment. For
example, wind power is looking for specialists in manufac- When building the capacity, focus on poor people and
turing, project development, and construction and turbine individuals to empower them with training in operation
installation as well as financial services, transportation and and maintenance.
logistics, and maintenance and operations. Develop and offer training programs for citizens
The government is building more renewable energy with minimal education and training, who do
power plants that will require a workforce. The increas- not fit current programs, which restrict them
ing investments in the renewable energy sector have the from working in renewable areas.
potential to provide more jobs than any other fossil fuel Include women in the renewable workforce by providing
industry. Local businesses and renewable sectors will localized training.
benefit from this change, as income will increase signifi- Establish connections between training institutes
cantly. Many jobs in this sector will contribute to fixed and renewable power companies to guarantee
salaries, healthcare benefits, and skill-building opportun- that (a) trained workers are placed in
ities for unskilled and semi-skilled workers. A range of appropriate positions during and after the
Table 33 Global renewable energy employment for the corresponding technologies in 2012–2017 [79]
Sources (Million Jobs) 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Solar photovoltaic 1.36 2.27 2.5 2.77 3.09 3.37
Bioenergy (biofuel, solid biomass, biogas) 2.4 2.5 2.99 2.88 2.74 3.06
Wind energy 0.75 0.83 1.03 1.08 1.16 1.15
Solar heating/Cooling 0.89 0.5 0.76 0.94 0.83 0.81
Others (Geothermal, SHP, CSP, heat pumps, WTE, Ocean) 0.33 0.38 0.4 0.4 0.45 0.45
Total (Million) 5.73 6.48 7.68 8.07 8.27 8.84
Fig. 8 Renewable energy employment in selected countries [79]
completion of the training program and (b) Policy and regulatory obstacles
training programs match the requirements of
the renewable sector. A comprehensive policy statement (regulatory framework)
Poverty impact assessments might be embedded in is not available in the renewable sector. When there is a
program design to know how programs motivate requirement to promote the growth of particular
poverty reduction, whether and how they renewable energy technologies, policies might be declared
influence the community. that do not match with the plans for the development of
Allow people to have a sense of ownership in renewable renewable energy.
projects because this could contribute to the growth of The regulatory framework and procedures are different
the sector. for every state because they define the respective RPOs
The details of the job being offered (part time, full time, (Renewable Purchase Obligations) and this creates a
contract-based), the levels of required skills for the job higher risk of investments in this sector. Additionally,
(skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled), the socio-economic the policies are applicable for just 5 years, and the
status of the employee data need to be collected for fur- generated risk for investments in this sector is
ther analysis. apparent. The biomass sector does not have an
Conduct investigations, assisted by field surveys, to established framework.
learn about the influence of renewable energy jobs Incentive accelerated depreciation (AD) is provided to
on poverty mitigation and differences in the wind developers and is evident in developing India’s
standard of living. wind-producing capacity. Wind projects installed
more than 10 years ago show that they are not
optimally maintained. Many owners of the asset
Challenges faced by renewable energy in India have built with little motivation for tax benefits
The MNRE has been taking dedicated measures for im- only. The policy framework does not require the
proving the renewable sector, and its efforts have been maintenance of the wind projects after the tax ad-
satisfactory in recognizing various obstacles. vantages have been claimed. There is no control
Table 34 Wind energy job classification based on education levels

Project development Metrological Technician, Land acquisition specialist, Quality Engineer, Civil Engineer, Environmental scientists,
Resource scientists, Regulatory experts, Project Engineer, Power Systems Engineer, financial manager, Power
marketers, Attorneys
Component manufacturing Transportation worker, Trade Worker, Assemblers and fabricators, Salesperson, Logisticians, Buyer, Quality Engineer,
Industrial Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Sales Engineer, Design Engineer, Engineering Manager, Aerospace Engineer,
Research engineer, Attorneys
Construction Construction worker, Trade worker, Construction Manager, Quality Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer,
Industrial Engineer, Project Engineer, Project manager
Operations Metrological Technician, Wind technician, Environmental science technician, Site/plant manager, Quality Engineer,
Electrical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Asset manager, Attorneys
Education training Technical trainer/instructor, Training and development managers, Analyst and Researcher, Research Engineer, Professor,
and Research Research Scientist
Table 35 Solar energy job classification based on education level

Manufacturing Computer Numerical control operator, Advanced manufacturing technician, Instrumentation and Electronics technician,
Quality assurance specialist, Process control technician, Electrical Engineer, Industrial Engineer, Environmental Engineer,
Mechanical Engineer, Material Scientists
System design IT Specialist, Residential PV System Designer, Engineering Technician, Utility Interconnection Engineer, Structural Engineer,
Solar Energy Systems Designer, Software Engineer, Power Systems Engineer
Project development Solar Site Assessor, Solar Sales Representative, Solar Marketing Specialist, Building Inspector with Solar Expertise, Electrical
Inspector (Solar Expertise), Code Official with Solar Expertise, Electrical Inspector with Solar Expertise, Code Official with Solar
Expertise, Solar Utility Procurement Specialist, Solar Project Developer, Lawyer with Solar Expertise
Installation and Solar Assembler / Basic Installer, Solar Crew Chief, Roofer with Solar Expertise, Plumber with Solar Expertise, Solar Service
operations Technician (residential), Solar PV Installer , HVAC Technician with Solar Expertise, Solar PV Technician (commercial/utility),
Electrician with Solar Expertise, Solar Project Manager, Solar Installation Contractor, Solar Fleet Manager, Solar Instructor
over the equipment suppliers because they under- with non-compliance issues with appropriate
take all wind power plant development activities authorities.
such as commissioning, operation, and mainten- Penalty mechanisms are not specified and only two
ance. Suppliers make the buyers pay a premium states in India (Maharashtra and Rajasthan) have
and increase the equipment cost, which brings some form of penalty mechanisms.
burden to the buyer. RPO targets and obligations are not clear, and the RPO
Furthermore, ready-made projects are sold to buyers. compliance cell has just started on 22.05.2018 to
The buyers are susceptible to this trap to save income collect the monthly reports on compliance and deal
tax. Foreign investors hesitate to invest because they with non-compliance issues with appropriate
are exempted from the income tax. authorities.
Every state has different regulatory policy and framework Penalty mechanisms are not specified and only two
definitions of an RPO. The RPO percentage specified in states in India (Maharashtra and Rajasthan) have
the regulatory framework for various renewable sources some form of penalty mechanisms.
is not precise. The parameter to determine the tariff is not transparent
RPO allows the SERCs and certain private firms to in the regulatory framework and many SRECs have
procure only a part of their power demands from established a tariff for limited periods. The FiT is valid
renewable sources. for only 5 years, and this affects the bankability of the
RPO is not imposed on open access (OA) and captive project.
consumers in all states except three. Many SERCs have not decided on adopting the CERC
RPO targets and obligations are not clear, and the tariff that is mentioned in CERCs regulations that deal
RPO compliance cell has just started on with terms and conditions for tariff determinations.
22.05.2018 to collect the monthly reports on The SERCs have considered the plant load factor
compliance and deal with non-compliance issues (PLF) because it varies across regions and locations as
with appropriate authorities. well as particular technology. The current framework
Penalty mechanisms are not specified and only two does not fit to these issues.
states in India (Maharashtra and Rajasthan) have Third party sale (TPS) is not allowed because renewable
some form of penalty mechanisms. generators are not allowed to sell power to commercial
RPO targets and obligations are not clear, and the consumers. They have to sell only to industrial
RPO compliance cell has just started on 22.05.2018 to consumers. The industrial consumers have a low tariff
collect the monthly reports on compliance and deal and commercial consumers have a high tariff, and SRCS
Table 36 Bioenergy job classification based on education levels

Equipment manufacture and R&D, Design (digesters, refineries, components, etc.), Quality assurance, Marketing and sales, Delivery
distribution
Project development Design, Resource assessment, Environmental and social assessment, Financing, Land agreements, Permitting,
Selection of supplier
Construction and installation Plant construction, Pre-processing and upgrading, Processing, Quality assurance, Conversion (heat, power, or
fuel)
Operation and maintenance Operation and maintenance
biomass Production Cultivating, Harvesting, Transport
Cross-cutting/enabling activities Training, Policymaking, Management & Administration, Insurance, IT, Health and safety
Financing, Communication, Bio power transmission, and distribution
Table 37 Small hydropower job classification based on education levels

Equipment manufacture and R&D, Design and manufacture: of turbines; generators and excitation; other hydro-mechanical components (e.g.,
distribution valves, penstocks); other electrical components (e.g., transformers, power, electronics, etc.); governor and control
systems, Quality, assurance, Marketing and sales, Delivery
Project development Design, Site investigations, and feasibility studies, Environmental and social assessment, Financing Land agreements,
Licensing/Permitting, Selection of the supplier
Construction AND Installation Project construction, Project commission
Operation and maintenance Routine operation and maintenance, Minor equipment overhauls, Major equipment overhauls
Cross-cutting/enabling activities Training, Policymaking, Management & Administration, Insurance, IT, Health and safety, Financing
do not allow OA. This stops the profit for the risk perceptions which lead to financial barriers for
developers and investors. the developers.
The subsidies and incentives are not transparent, and
Institutional obstacles the ministry might reconsider subsidies for renewable
energy because there was a sharp fall in tariffs in 2018.
Institutes, agencies stakeholders who work under the Power purchase agreements (PPA) signed between the
conditions of the MNRE show poor inter-institutional power purchaser and power generators on pre-
coordination. The progress in renewable energy devel- determined fixed tariffs are higher than the current bids
opment is limited by this lack of cooperation, coordin- (Economic survey 2017–2018 and union budget on the
ation, and delays. The delay in implementing policies 01.02.2019). For example, solar power tariff dropped to
due to poor coordination, decrease the interest of in- 2.44 INR (0. 04 USD) per unit in May 2017, wind
vestors to invest in this sector. power INR 3.46 per unit in February 2017, and 2.64
The single window project approval and clearance INR per unit in October 2017.
system is not very useful and not stable because Investors feel that there is a risk in the renewable sector
it delays the receiving of clearances for the as this sector has lower gross returns even though these
projects ends in the levy of a penalty on the returns are relatively high within the market standards.
project developer. There are not many developers who are interested in
Pre-feasibility reports prepared by concerned states renewable projects. While newly established
have some deficiency, and this may affect the small developers (small and local developers) do not have
developers, i.e., the local developers, who are much of an institutional track record or financial
willing to execute renewable projects. input, which are needed to develop the project (high
The workforce in institutes, agencies, and ministries capital cost). Even moneylenders consider it risky and
is not sufficient in numbers. are not ready to provide funding. Moneylenders look
Proper or well-established research centers are not exclusively for contractors who have much experience
available for the development of renewable infrastructure. in construction, well-established suppliers with proven
Customer care centers to guide developers regarding equipment and operators who have more experience.
renewable projects are not available. If the performance of renewable projects, which show
Standards and quality control orders have been issued low-performance, faces financial obstacles, they risks
recently in 2018 and 2019 only, and there are the lack of funding of renewable projects.
insufficient institutions and laboratories to give Financial institutions such as government banks or
standards/certification and validate the quality and private banks do not have much understanding or
suitability of using renewable technology. expertise in renewable energy projects, and this
imposes financial barriers to the projects.
Financial and fiscal obstacles Delay in payment by the SERCs to the developers
imposes debt burden on the small and local
There are a few budgetary constraints such as fund developers because moneylenders always work
allocation, and budgets that are not released on time with credit enhancement mechanisms or
to fulfill the requirement of developing the guarantee bonds signed between moneylenders
renewable sector. and the developers.
The initial unit capital costs of renewable projects are
very high compared to fossil fuels, and this leads to Market obstacles
financing challenges and initial burden.
There are uncertainties related to the assessment of Subsidies are adequately provided to conventional fossil
resources, lack of technology awareness, and high- fuels, sending the wrong impression that power from
conventional fuels is of a higher priority than that from Technological obstacles

renewables (unfair structure of subsidies)
There are four renewable markets in India, the Every installation of a renewable project contributes
government market (providing budgetary to complex risk challenges from environmental
support to projects and purchase the output of uncertainties, natural disasters, planning, equipment
the project), the government-driven market failure, and profit loss.
(provide budgetary support or fiscal incentives MNRE issued the standardization of renewable energy
to promote renewable energy), the loan market projects policy on the 11th of December 2017
(taking loan to finance renewable based applica- (testing, standardization, and certification). They are
tions), and the cash market (buying renewable- still at an elementary level as compared to
based applications to meet personal energy needs international practices. Quality assurance processes
by individuals). There is an inadequacy in pro- are still under starting conditions. Each success in
moting the loan market and cash market in India. renewable energy is based on concrete action plans
The biomass market is facing a demand-supply gap for standards, testing and certification of performance.
which results in a continuous and dramatic increase The quality and reliability of manufactured components,
in biomass prices because the biomass supply is un- imported equipment, and subsystems is essential, and
reliable (and, as there is no organized market for hence quality infrastructure should be established.
fuel), and the price fluctuations are very high. The There is no clear document related to testing
type of biomass is not the same in all the states of laboratories, referral institutes, review mechanism,
India, and therefore demand and price elasticity is inspection, and monitoring.
high for biomass. There are not many R&D centers for renewables.
Renewable power was calculated based on cost-plus Methods to reduce the subsidies and invest in R&D
methods (adding direct material cost, direct labor lagging; manufacturing facilities are just replicating
cost, and product overhead cost). This does not in- the already available technologies. The country is
clude environmental cost and shields the ecological dependent on international suppliers for equipment
benefits of clean and green energy. and technology. Spare parts are not manufactured
There is an inadequate evacuation infrastructure and locally and hence they are scarce.
insufficient integration of the grid, which affects the
renewable projects. SERCs are not able to use all
generated power to meet the needs because of the Awareness, education, and training obstacles
non-availability of a proper evacuation infrastructure.
This has an impact on the project, and the SERCs are There is an unavailability of appropriately skilled human
forced to buy expensive power from neighbor states resources in the renewable energy sector. Furthermore,
to fulfill needs. it faces an acute workforce shortage.
Extending transmission lines is not possible/not After installation of renewable project/applications by
economical for small size projects, and the the suppliers, there is no proper follow-up or
seasonality of generation from such projects assistance for the workers in the project to perform
affect the market. maintenance. Likewise, there are not enough trained
There are few limitations in overall transmission plans, and skilled persons for demonstrating, training,
distribution CapEx plans, and distribution licenses for operation, and maintenance of the plant.
renewable power. Power evacuation infrastructure for There is inadequate knowledge in renewables, and no
renewable energy is not included in the plans. awareness programs are available to the general
Even though there is an increase in capacity for the public. The lack of awareness about the technologies
commercially deployed renewable energy is a significant obstacle in acquiring vast land for
technology, there is no decline in capital cost. This constructing the renewable plant. Moreover, people
cost of power also remains high. The capital cost using agriculture lands are not prepared to give their
quoted by the developers and providers of land to construct power plants because most Indians
equipment is too high due to exports of machinery, cultivate plants.
inadequate built up capacity, and cartelization of The renewable sector depends on the climate, and
equipment suppliers (suppliers join together to this varying climate also imposes less popularity of
control prices and limit competition). renewables among the people.
There is no adequate supply of land, for wind, solar, The per capita income is low, and the people consider
and solar thermal power plants, which lead to poor that the cost of renewables might be high and they
capacity addition in many states. might not be able to use renewables.
The storage system increases the cost of renewables, Hydroelectric power turbine blades kill aquatic
and people believe it too costly and are not ready to ecosystems (fish and other organisms). Moreover,
use them. algae and other aquatic weeds are not controlled
The environmental benefits of renewable technologies through manual harvesting or by introducing fish that
are not clearly understood by the people and negative can eat these plants.
perceptions are making renewable technologies less
prevalent among them. Discussion and recommendations based on the
research
Environmental obstacles Policy and regulation advancements
A single wind turbine does not occupy much space, The MNRE should provide a comprehensive action
but many turbines are placed five to ten rotor plan or policy for the promotion of the renewable
diameters from each other, and this occupies more sector in its regulatory framework for renewables
area, which include roads and transmission lines. energy. The action plan can be prepared in
In the field of offshore wind, the turbines and blades consultation with SERCs of the country within a fixed
are bigger than onshore wind turbines, and they timeframe and execution of the policy/action plan.
require a substantial amount of space. Offshore The central and state government should include
installations affect ocean activities (fishing, sand a “Must run status” in their policy and follow it
extraction, gravel extraction, oil extraction, gas strictly to make use of renewable power.
extraction, aquaculture, and navigation). A national merit order list for renewable electricity
Furthermore, they affect fish and other marine generation will reduce power cost for the
wildlife. consumers. Such a merit order list will help in
Wind turbines influence wildlife (birds and bats) ranking sources of renewable energy in an
because of the collisions with them and due to ascending order of price and will provide power at
air pressure changes caused by wind turbines a lower cost to each distribution company
and habitat disruption. Making wind turbines (DISCOM). The MNRE should include that
motionless during times of low wind can principle in its framework and ensure that SERCs
protect birds and bats but is not practiced. includes it in their regulatory framework as well.
Sound (aerodynamic, mechanical) and visual impacts SERCs might be allowed to remove policies and
are associated with wind turbines. There is poor regulatory uncertainty surrounding renewable energy.
practice by the wind turbine developers regarding SERCs might be allowed to identify the thrust areas of
public concerns. Furthermore, there are imperfections their renewable energy development.
in surfaces and sound—absorbent material which There should be strong initiatives from municipality
decrease the noise from turbines. The shadow flicker (local level) approvals for renewable energy-based
effect is not taken as severe environmental impact by projects.
the developers. Higher market penetration is conceivable only if their
Sometimes wind turbine material production, suitable codes and standards are adopted and
transportation of materials, on-site construction, implemented. MNRE should guide minimum
assembling, operation, maintenance, dismantlement, performance standards, which incorporate reliability,
and decommissioning may be associated with global durability, and performance.
warming, and there is a lag in this consideration. A well-established renewable energy certificates (REC)
Large utility-scale solar plants require vast lands that policy might contribute to an efficient funding mech-
increase the risk of land degradation and loss of anism for renewable energy projects. It is necessary
habitat. for the government to look at developing the REC
The PV cell manufacturing process includes hazardous ecosystem.
chemicals such as 1-1-1 Trichloroethene, HCL, H2SO4, The regulatory administration around the RPO needs
N2, NF, and acetone. Workers face risks resulting to be upgraded with a more efficient “carrot and stick”
from inhaling silicon dust. The manufacturing mechanism for obligated entities. A regulatory
wastes are not disposed of properly. Proper precau- mechanism that both remunerations compliance and
tions during usage of thin-film PV cells, which contain penalizes for non-compliance may likely produce bet-
cadmium—telluride, gallium arsenide, and copper- ter results.
indium-gallium-diselenide are missing. These mate- RECs in India should only be traded on exchange.
rials create severe public health threats and environ- Over-the-counter (OTC) or off-exchange trading
mental threats. will potentially allow greater participation in the
market. A REC forward curve will provide further should be fulfilled. Moreover, STUs should be
price determination to the market participants. penalized if they fail to fulfill their responsibilities.
The policymakers should look at developing and The coordination and consultation between the
building the REC market. developers (the nodal agency responsible for the
Most states have defined RPO targets. Still, due to the development of renewable energy) and STUs
absence of implemented RPO regulations and the should be healthy.
inadequacy of penalties when obligations are not
satisfied, several of the state DISCOMs are not
Financing the renewable sector
complying completely with their RPO targets. It is
necessary that all states adhere to the RPO targets set
The government should provide enough budget for
by respective SERCs.
the clean energy sector. China’s annual budget for
The government should address the issues such
renewables is 128 times higher than India’s. In 2017,
as DISCOM financials, must-run status, problems
China spent USD 126.6 billion (INR 9 lakh crore)
of transmission and evacuation, on-time payments
compared to India’s USD 10.9 billion (INR 75500
and payment guarantees, and deemed generation
crore). In 2018, budget allocations for grid
benefits.
interactive wind and solar have increased but it is
Proper incentives should be devised to support utilities
not sufficient to meet the renewable target.
to obtain power over and above the RPO mandated by
The government should concentrate on R&D and
the SERC.
provide a surplus fund for R&D. In 2017, the
The tariff orders/FiTs must be consistent and not
budget allotted was an INR 445 crore, which was
restricted for a few years.
reduced to an INR 272.85 crore in 2016. In
2017–2018, the initial allocation was an INR 144
Transmission requirements
crore that was reduced to an INR 81 crore
during the revised estimates. Even the reduced
The developers are worried that transmission facilities
amounts could not be fully used, there is an
are not keeping pace with the power generation. Bays
urgent demand for regular monitoring of R&D
at the nearest substations are occupied, and
and the budget allocation.
transmission lines are already carrying their full
The Goods and Service Tax (GST) that was introduced
capacity. This is due to the lack of coordination
in 2017 worsened the industry performance and has
between MNRE and the Power Grid Corporation of
led to an increase in costs and poses a threat to the
India (PGCIL) and CEA. Solar Corporation of India
viability of the ongoing projects, ultimately hampering
(SECI) is holding auctions for both wind and solar
the target achievement. These GST issues need to be
projects without making sure that enough evacuation
addressed.
facilities are available. There is an urgent need to
Including the renewable sector as a priority sector
make evacuation plans.
would increase the availability of credit and lead
The solution is to develop numerous substations and
to a more substantial participation by commercial
transmission lines, but the process will take
banks.
considerably longer time than the currently under-
Mandating the provident funds and insurance companies
construction projects take to get finished.
to invest the fixed percentage of their portfolio into the
In 2017–2018, transmission lines were installed under
renewable energy sector.
the green energy corridor project by the PGCIL, with
Banks should allow an interest rebate on housing loans
1900 circuit km targeted in 2018–2019. The
if the owner is installing renewable applications such as
implementation of the green energy corridor project
solar lights, solar water heaters, and PV panels in his
explicitly meant to connect renewable energy plants
house. This will encourage people to use renewable
to the national grid. The budget allocation of INR 6
energy. Furthermore, income tax rebates also can be
billion for 2018–2019 should be increased to higher
given to individuals if they are implementing renewable
values.
energy applications.
The mismatch between MNRE and PGCIL, which are
responsible for inter-state transmission, should be
rectified. Improvement in manufacturing/technology
State transmission units (STUs) are responsible for
the transmission inside the states, and their fund The country should move to domestic manufacturing.
requirements to cover the evacuation and It imports 90% of its solar cell and module
transmission infrastructure for renewable energy requirements from Malaysia, China, and Taiwan, so it
is essential to build a robust domestic manufacturing An increase in the number of qualified/trained

basis. personnel might immediately support the process of
India will provide “safeguard duty” for merely 2 years, installations of renewables.
and this is not adequate to build a strong Renewable energy employers prefer to train employees
manufacturing basis that can compete with the global they recruit because they understand that education
market. Moreover, safeguard duty would work only if institutes fail to give the needed and appropriate skills.
India had a larger existing domestic manufacturing The training institutes should rectify this issue. Severe
base. trained human resources shortages should be
The government should reconsider the safeguard duty. eliminated.
Many foreign companies desiring to set up joint Upgrading the ability of the existing workforce and
ventures in India provide only a lukewarm response training of new professionals is essential to achieve
because the given order in its current form presents the renewable goal.
inadequate safeguards.
There are incremental developments in technology at Hybrid utilization of renewables
regular periods, which need capital, and the country
should discover a way to handle these factors. The country should focus on hybrid power projects
To make use of the vast estimated renewable potential for an effective use of transmission infrastructure
in India, the R&D capability should be upgraded to and land.
solve critical problems in the clean energy sector. India should consider battery storage in hybrid projects,
A comprehensive policy for manufacturing should be which support optimizing the production and the power
established. This would support capital cost reduction at competitive prices as well as a decrease of variability.
and be marketed on a global scale. Formulate mandatory standards and regulations for
The country should initiate an industry-academia hybrid systems, which are lagging in the newly
partnership, which might promote innovative R&D announced policies (wind-solar hybrid policy on
and support leading-edge clean power solutions to 14.05.2018).
protect the globe for future generations. The hybridization of two or more renewable systems
Encourage the transfer of ideas between industry, along with the conventional power source battery
academia, and policymakers from around the storage can increase the performance of renewable
world to develop accelerated adoption of technologies.
renewable power. Issues related to sizing and storage capacity should be
considered because they are key to the economic
viability of the system.
Awareness about renewables Fiscal and financial incentives available for hybrid
projects should be increased.
Social recognition of renewable energy is still not very
promising in urban India. Awareness is the crucial Conclusion
factor for the uniform and broad use of renewable The renewable sector suffers notable obstacles. Some of
energy. Information about renewable technology and them are inherent in every renewable technology; others are
their environmental benefits should reach society. the outcome of a skewed regulative structure and market-
The government should regularly organize awareness place. The absence of comprehensive policies and regulation
programs throughout the country, especially in frameworks prevent the adoption of renewable technologies.
villages and remote locations such as the islands. The renewable energy market requires explicit policies and
The government should open more educational/research legal procedures to enhance the attention of investors. There
organizations, which will help in spreading knowledge of is a delay in the authorization of private sector projects be-
renewable technology in society. cause of a lack of clear policies. The country should take
People should regularly be trained with regard to new measures to attract private investors. Inadequate technology
techniques that would be beneficial for the and the absence of infrastructure required to establish re-
community. newable technologies should be overcome by R&D. The
Sufficient agencies should be available to sell renewable government should allow more funds to support research
products and serve for technical support during and innovation activities in this sector. There are insuffi-
installation and maintenance. ciently competent personnel to train, demonstrate, maintain,
Development of the capabilities of unskilled and and operate renewable energy structures and therefore, the
semiskilled workers and policy interventions are institutions should be proactive in preparing the workforce.
required related to employment opportunities. Imported equipment is costly compared to that of locally
manufactured; therefore, generation of renewable energy be- Availability of data and materials
comes expensive and even unaffordable. Hence, to decrease Not applicable.
the cost of renewable products, the country should become

Ethics approval and consent to participate
involve in the manufacturing of renewable products. An- Not applicable.
other significant infrastructural obstacle to the development
of renewable energy technologies is unreliable connectivity Consent for publication
to the grid. As a consequence, many investors lose their faith Not applicable.
in renewable energy technologies and are not ready to invest
in them for fear of failing. India should work on transmis- Competing interests
The authors declared that they have no competing interests.
sion and evacuation plans.
Inadequate servicing and maintenance of facilities and Received: 15 September 2018 Accepted: 27 November 2019
low reliability in technology decreases customer trust in
some renewable energy technologies and hence prevent
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Kumar.

J and Majid Energy, Sustainability and Society (2020) 10:2

REVIEW Open Access

Renewable energy for sustainable

Introduction efficiently and at a reasonable cost. According to the

Gross installed capacity of renewable energy—according

Fig. 1 Target share of renewable energy in India’s power consumption

Table 7 The estimated renewable potential in India [40]

Table 11 The installed capacity of renewable energy in India—source-wise (MW) [43]

The national energy storage mission—2018 Small hydropower—3-year action agenda—2017

Table 14 Cumulative electricity generation from renewable energy—region-wise [48]

Table 16 Cumulative energy generation from renewable energy—source-wise, 2014–2019 [48]

Fig. 5 Off-grid solar applications [52]

Table 20 Economic opportunity from battery manufacturing

Table 28 Leading FDI investments in the renewable energy sector [74]

Table 30 Targets relevant for renewable energy development [76]

Fig. 8 Renewable energy employment in selected countries [79]

Table 34 Wind energy job classification based on education levels

Table 35 Solar energy job classification based on education level

Table 36 Bioenergy job classification based on education levels

Table 37 Small hydropower job classification based on education levels

conventional fuels is of a higher priority than that from Technological obstacles

is essential to build a robust domestic manufacturing  An increase in the number of qualified/trained

the cost of renewable products, the country should become

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is essential to build a robust domestic manufacturing An increase in the number of qualified/trained