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India’s revenue from wind turbine component exports witnessed around twofold increase in 2023 compared to 2019, underscoring the nation’s escalating role as a global manufacturing hub for renewable energy equipment, as per S&P Global Commodity Insights. With a robust production base, India is emerging as a key exporter, particularly for standardised and labour-intensive components like towers and blades, and increasingly for nacelles.

S&P Global Commodity Insights additionally emphasises on India’s potential to meet the global demand for wind turbines. The report projects an oversupply of approximately four times the expected average annual wind additions of around 4 GW between 2024 and 2030.

In the manufacturing landscape, the western turbine makers dominate, supplying markets outside China, especially in Europe and the US. Companies such as Vestas and TPI Composites have significantly upgraded their Indian facilities, intending to leverage them as export hubs.

In the solar PV sector, India leads expansions beyond mainland China, driven by local incentive programmes and duties. Jessica Jin, Principal Research Analyst of Gas, Power, and Climate Solutions at S&P Global Commodity Insights, noted, “India has significant solar PV module manufacturing to serve the growing domestic market and export to international markets, mostly the US.” The introduction of basic custom duty in April 2022 and the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme has spurred domestic production, with India aiming for module self-sufficiency before 2026.

By the end of 2023, module capacity in India surpassed expectations by 10 GW, with an additional 40 GW in the pipeline. This expansion is supported by favorable local manufacturing policies and the potential to serve international markets, especially the US.

S&P Global Commodity Insights also released a report on the Top 10 Trends in Clean Energy Technology in 2024, anticipating a 15% increase in clean energy technology investments, led by the solar sector. Philippe Frangules, Head of Gas, Power & Climate Solutions at S&P Global Commodity Insights, emphasised the role of policy as the top driver of investments in Clean Energy Technology (CET). Frangules highlighted the significance of new technologies like carbon capture and storage (CCUS), carbon dioxide removal (CDR), and hydrogen.

The report further predicts a 15% to 20% decline in the cost of integrating clean energy technologies into the world’s power grids by 2030, with a focus on the increasingly competitive battery energy storage system manufacturing sector. With global wind and solar installations expected to reach one terawatt (TW) in the next two years, the need for more flexible power systems becomes urgent. This marks a notable year for offshore wind with over 60 GW of new capacity set to be auctioned in at least 17 different markets.

Alongside renewable energy equipment, India anticipates a significant increase in its energy storage capacity, requiring around 12 GW in FY24, expected to rise to 70 GW by FY30, as reported by CareEdge Ratings. This expansion aligns with new Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) and Energy Storage Obligations (ESO) norms to support the country’s renewable energy goals. To achieve the target of 425 GW installed Renewable Energy (RE) capacity, along with 19 GW in pumped storage projects (PSP) and 42 GW in battery-enabled storage solutions (BESS) by 2030, an estimated Rs. 14 lakh crore in incremental debt financing is required.

India has set ambitious renewable energy targets for the medium and long term. In 2021, Prime Minister Modi addressed the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow and announced the ‘Panchamrit’ or the five-point agenda to combat climate change. 

The targets announced at COP26 include reaching 500 GW non-fossil energy capacity by 2030. This includes fulfilling 50% of its energy requirements through renewable energy by 2030; reducing total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now to 2030; reducing the carbon intensity of the economy by 45% by 2030 over 2005 levels; achieving the target of net zero emissions by 2070. In addition to focusing on these goals, recently, the interim budget for 2024 includes several key initiatives in the green energy sector, as remarked by the Union Finance Minister.