Developers of renewable energy projects in India face progressively more difficult obstacles every year. This prompts the query of whether India requires new objectives or encouraging regulations. In this article, we discuss the problems and challenges facing the renewable energy sector in India. This topic is relevant for the IAS exam environment as well as energy segments of GS Paper III.

Renewable Energy in India

• India had previously aimed to install 175 GW of variable renewable energy sources (VRE) by 2022. 
• 100 GW of this was generated by solar energy, 60 GW by wind energy, 10 GW by bioenergy, and 5 GW by small hydropower.
• By the fiscal year 2027–2028, India set a new tendering goal of 250 GW of renewable energy. This is more than twice as many annual bids as were previously requested to build solar power plants and wind farms.
• Solar will make up the majority of the record 50 GW of renewable energy bidding over the next five years, with a record-high 10 GW allotted for wind capacity.
• India now has 82 GW of additional renewable capacity under various phases of development, while another 41 GW are in the tendering process. This consists of 64 GW of solar electricity, 42 GW of wind power, and roughly 11 GW of biomass power.

Challenges Associated with Renewable Energy Generation

• Since 2019, India’s yearly renewable energy auctions have decreased by 30%.
• There are significant import fees as well as other obstacles, like the need that solar panels be sourced domestically.
• High taxes have had an effect on capital expenses as well. For instance, module prices increased by 10–15% from the previous financial year, and capital expenses increased by 20–25%.
• An unstable global economy, higher finance costs, and supply chain problems are also causing India’s goals to diverge.
• The 50 GW a year of tendering aim needs to be supported by legislative measures if India wants to achieve net zero by 2070 and produce half of its electricity from non-fossil fuels.

 Way forward 

• Instead of concentrating on installations, the business requires legislative enablers, grid upgrades, and incentives for green financing.
• The government should research the causes of India’s missed targets and the slowdown in renewable additions rather than setting new objectives.
• The government must upgrade the grid infrastructure also.

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