India’s efforts in creating a sustainable world have never been more evident. Invest India reported that the nation’s total installed renewable energy capacity increased by 128% in the last nine years. Its solar energy capacity alone grew 24.4 times in the same period and stands at 66.7 GW as of May 2023, the fourth highest in the world, according to the REN21 Renewables 2022 Global Status Report.
GMI POST spoke with Sumant Sinha, Founder, Chairman and CEO of ReNew, one of India’s leading renewable energy companies, to know more about the country’s clean energy sector, its growth drivers, and areas for collaboration.
“India plays a very important role in the development of the renewable energy sector globally. As one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, India is a very large market for the deployment of renewables, clean energy technology and equipment exchange, and green energy investment opportunities,” Sinha said.
The ReNew chief also highlighted the Indian government’s commitment to clean energy as one of the key drivers for the sector. India has big ambitions in energy transition and plans to have 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based electricity by 2030 and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. He added that the government’s support for the clean energy sector has empowered and incentivized companies and organizations to grow, innovate, and contribute to various social development projects.
“We are proud to contribute towards India’s nation-building. ReNew’s purpose is to create a carbon-free world by accelerating the clean energy transition movement. Everything we do revolves around that. From building hard infrastructure to installing wind farms, we are helping reduce India’s carbon footprint and making meaningful contributions to the society and the community,” Sinha said.
Looking to the future of India’s green energy sector, Sinha said, “The sky is the limit.”
“The Indian market is already the third-largest power market in the world. And given the per capita consumption of energy in India, it's going to grow between 6% and 7% a year, which fundamentally means that in the next 20 to 30 years, India will have a power market of the size of the European Union. And this will need to be done in parallel with meeting India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) commitment to reduce carbon intensity levels. This is where renewables will play an important role, as renewable energy can power economies while producing zero emissions,” he said.
