India Secures $400 Billion Renewable Energy Investment Commitments

India has secured long-term renewable energy investment commitments of approximately $400 billion from companies operating in the sector, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said on Wednesday as per a Business Standard report.

Joshi said domestic and foreign investments worth ₹6 trillion to ₹7 trillion had already flowed into the sector over two years.

He expressed confidence that an additional ₹21 trillion required by 2030 would materialise, supporting India's target of 500 gigawatts (GW) of installed non-fossil fuel capacity.

The investment would cover renewable generation, transmission, storage and manufacturing projects.

Joshi welcomed Cabinet approval for a ₹14,500 crore viability gap funding (VGF) scheme supporting 92 gigawatt-hours of grid-scale energy storage during financial years 2026-27 to 2030-31.

The programme is expected to encourage pumped hydro and battery storage projects.

India's solar-cell manufacturing capacity, currently 47 GW, is projected to reach 70 GW by December 2026 and 100 GW by May-June 2027.

Ingot and wafer manufacturing capacity has reached 9 GW, while the government is considering support for domestic polysilicon production.

Solar module manufacturing capacity has increased from 2 GW a decade ago to 172 GW, Joshi said.

The government is targeting 800 GW of non-fossil fuel power-generation capacity over the next decade.

Joshi acknowledged challenges involving land acquisition, rising land prices and right-of-way permissions for transmission projects.

The approved Green Energy Corridor Phase-III scheme aims to develop 51,126 circuit kilometres of intra-state transmission lines, enabling evacuation of up to 135 GW of renewable power.

The minister indicated that existing substations would be strengthened, alongside the development of 10,000 to 15,000 new facilities.

He also addressed concerns about China's restrictions on solar manufacturing technologies, saying India had overcome similar challenges previously.

Joshi maintained that continued investment and infrastructure expansion would support the country's renewable energy ambitions.