India’s energy landscape is on the verge of a transformative shift, driven by the urgent need to address climate change, ensure energy security, and foster economic growth. The transition to renewable energy, supported by policy initiatives, technological advancements, and international collaboration, is an urgent national imperative.

While the country has made significant progress toward meeting this goal, it still faces challenges arising from policy and regulatory uncertainty, access to low-cost funding, transmission infrastructure constraints, and domestic manufacturing gaps.

These overarching issues relating to the Indian renewables sector were discussed on the first day of the two-day  Mercom India Renewables Summit 2025 at the session, “From Ambition to Action: India’s Clean Energy Roadmap and Strategies for 2030 and Beyond,”.The panel discussion featured industry experts Sarit Maheshwari, CEO at NTPC Green Energy, Simarpreet Singh, Executive Director and CEO at Hartek Group, and Raj Prabhu, CEO and Co-Founder at Mercom Capital Group.

Priya Sanjay, Managing Director at Mercom Communications India, who moderated the session, began by noting India’s ambitious target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030.

Maheshwari stated that India is firmly on track to achieve the 500 GW target. He acknowledged that the early years of renewable expansion were less complicated but warned that the next phase would be defined by new hurdles, especially transmission delays and integration gaps. While generating assets, such as solar projects, can be developed within 18 to 24 months, transmission infrastructure takes significantly longer to plan, acquire land for, and construct. This disconnect is creating a risk of stranded assets that are ready to generate but unable to dispatch power due to insufficient evacuation capacity.

Maheshwari noted that energy lost due to grid bottlenecks is a direct financial and operational loss to developers. He called for an urgent focus on storage and grid balancing mechanisms. As solar and wind capacity increases, the need for battery and pumped storage systems to ensure a stable, round-the-clock supply is becoming more pressing. He pointed out that storage has been included in recent policy initiatives but suggested that stronger incentives and clearer roadmaps are required to accelerate deployment.

Singh reinforced these observations with practical insights from the field. He described the growing stress in the power systems supply chain, particularly the lack of timely availability of equipment such as transformers, isolators, and control relay panels. While significant attention has been given to the domestic manufacturing of solar modules, other components essential to the transmission and distribution ecosystem have not received adequate policy or investment focus. Singh said that equipment delivery timelines are now one of the top reasons for project delays.

He also highlighted the recurring challenge of land acquisition and right-of-way approvals, which are slowing both solar and transmission project execution. Singh advocated for a plug-and-play model where state or central governments provide ready land parcels and pre-cleared transmission connectivity. This would significantly reduce the development burden on new entrants and improve the speed of project commissioning.

Beyond infrastructure, Singh highlighted a more fundamental challenge facing the sector: the need for execution discipline. While many companies have announced ambitious plans and large order books, few have demonstrated consistent project delivery. According to him, the next five years should focus on execution rather than expansion. He said that the industry must stop celebrating announcements and instead focus on completing quality projects on time. For Singh, sustained sectoral leadership will depend not on capacity targets but on operational reliability and stakeholder accountability.

Prabhu focused on the need for long-term policy visibility. He said that while the 2030 goals are likely to be met, investors and manufacturers need a clear understanding of what comes after. Companies are making capital and hiring decisions today that will affect capacity a decade from now. Without clarity on post-2030 ambitions, there is a risk of underinvestment or misalignment in project planning.

He also addressed the issue of global market exposure. With recent tariff announcements by the U.S. that include India, he warned that export-led strategies are increasingly risky. Both India and the U.S. are now prioritizing domestic manufacturing under “Make in India” and “Made in USA” policies. In such a scenario, manufacturers relying heavily on exports could find themselves squeezed. He recommended focusing on building a strong domestic brand and competitive advantage in quality, rather than betting too heavily on foreign demand.

The discussion also covered the structural limitations of the power procurement process. Maheshwari pointed out that state distribution companies are becoming more cautious in signing long-term power purchase agreements, especially when tariffs are seen as high. This reluctance could become more pronounced if distribution companies begin factoring in the long-term operation and maintenance costs associated with firm renewable energy. He urged intervention to create market confidence and reduce the financial hesitation among state buyers.

The panelists were unanimous about storage becoming  the most critical enabling technology for the coming decade. While hydrogen and offshore wind are being explored in pilot formats, they are still seen as long-term plays with high costs and uncertain scalability. Storage, on the other hand, is commercially viable and essential for grid reliability today.

Maheshwari described how NTPC is investing in battery storage, hydrogen mobility, and carbon capture to future-proof its clean energy portfolio. The company is already running hydrogen-powered buses and is exploring hydrogen-based locomotives.

Singh emphasized that India needs to be ready not just with technology but also with people. He noted that a major constraint in scaling projects is the lack of trained, project-ready engineers and technicians. Despite a large pool of graduates, most require significant retraining to meet real-world project needs.

On manufacturing, Prabhu warned that companies risk becoming complacent. Many may say they are currently sold out for the year, but that should not be seen as a guarantee of long-term success. He called on manufacturers to invest in branding, quality control, and research and development. He said India must avoid repeating the mistakes of the solar module sector, where it waited too long for prices to fall, losing its competitive edge to other countries. According to him, India must lead in technology development, not just adoption.

He also emphasized that India’s financial ecosystem must evolve. Risk-averse lending practices are limiting the growth of newer technologies. Startups in advanced battery storage, hydrogen equipment, or clean mobility components often struggle to access capital, particularly for scaling up manufacturing. Prabhu said that without better financial backing, many Indian innovators will remain stuck at the pilot stage while global peers commercialize at scale.

Looking ahead, Maheshwari proposed that India could consider revising its net-zero target from 2070 to 2050, citing recent progress and strong government-industry alignment. He noted that past targets were achieved well ahead of schedule and that with sustained momentum, a more ambitious timeline is feasible. He also pointed out that NTPC is forming joint ventures with several state governments to develop large-scale solar parks and renewable hubs. These initiatives, he said, would help the company comfortably surpass its original 60 GW target.