India’s Solar Surge
For centuries, the Sun Temple of Modhera in Gujarat has drawn pilgrims who honour Surya, the Hindu deity of light. Today, the sun’s generosity takes a more modern form: it now powers the temple and the village around it. Modhera, in Gujarat, has become India’s first settlement to run entirely on solar energy round the clock, reports the Financial Times newspaper in an article, a showcase of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “one sun, one grid” vision and a glimpse of what a cleaner energy future could look like. With more than 6,000 residents, the village now relies on an integrated network of rooftop panels, carport installations and a 15MWh battery storage system that feeds surplus energy into the national grid by day and keeps the lights on after dusk, the newspaper reported.
Modhera is just an example, a symbol of technological progress and a living site for India’s solar ambitions. India’s national power story is slowly moving towards success. In just ten years, the country has increased its solar power capacity more than forty times from about 3 gigawatts in 2014 to nearly 130 gigawatts by late 2025. Solar power has grown so fast that non-fossil energy sources now make up more than half of India’s total installed power capacity. This goal was achieved about five years before India’s 2030 deadline.
India’s push for clean energy has been driven by both strong political messaging and real technical work. At the 2021 climate summit in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a five-point plan called “Panchamrit.” It included targets such as 500 gigawatts of non-fossil power by 2030, half of total power capacity from clean sources, a 45% reduction in emissions intensity, and net-zero emissions by 2070. At the time, many doubted whether these goals were practical. Even fewer expected India to reach some of them early. Yet by 2025, India have already crossed its 2030 target of 50% non-fossil power capacity, nearly five years ahead of schedule. India now ranks third globally in solar installations, fourth in wind and fourth overall in renewable capacity. The PM Surya Ghar programme, one of the more quietly transformative schemes, has encouraged nearly 24 lakh households to install rooftop systems, supported by subsidies and the enticing promise of 300 free units of electricity a month. Farmers, who were earlier tied to subsidised diesel pumps and fragile grid connections, are being nudged toward solarisation under PM-KUSUM, which has already deployed over 9 lakh standalone pumps and solarised more than 10,000 grid-connected ones.
But largesse alone does not build an energy revolution. The government’s domestic manufacturing drive, via its PLI scheme for solar modules, has attracted over ₹52,000 crore in investment and created tens of thousands of jobs, impressive figures, though still miles short of freeing India from its dependence on imported cells and wafers.
India’s solar ambitions are not confined to its rooftops and deserts. Through the International Solar Alliance (ISA), co-founded with France and headquartered in Gurugram, India, is strongly attempting to shape the global rules of the game. Now boasting over 120 signatory nations, the ISA plans to mobilise US$1 trillion in solar investment by 2030 and bring clean energy to a billion people.
At its 8th Assembly in New Delhi this year, India wielded unusual diplomatic influence. Small island nations, African states and emerging economies increasingly see Delhi not just as a rising power, but as a practical partner in the decarbonisation the West likes to lecture about but rarely finances at scale. Global South looks forward to training and capacity building from India and, indeed, their investment and support to their respective developing countries.
Challenges
Yet the success that is real should be seen as fragile; it warrants caution. Even though India continues to take a frog leap in solar energy, the challenge remains that the electricity demand continues to rise as the country’s economic growth and development increase. Coal still produces more than two-thirds of India’s power, a share that has barely budged. we all have seen how the periodic coal shortage in 2022–24 forced New Delhi to have emergency imports, and power cuts in some of the states were frequent. In addition, solar brings its own challenges. Land acquisition for mega-projects continues to remain a challenge, messy and sometimes, politically fraught. Some analysts suggest that power generation has grown much faster than expected. The existing systems needed to carry electricity. Many solar plants produce large amounts of power, but weak transmission lines mean this electricity cannot always reach users, leaving capacity unused, especially in desert areas. Solar power is also not available all the time, which puts pressure on a grid that was designed mainly for steady coal-based power. Energy storage is still costly, and India’s battery manufacturing industry is only at an early stage.
There are also strategic concerns behind the solar boom. India depends heavily on imports for key components such as polysilicon, wafers and solar cells, mostly from one country. India finally needs to progress in building strong and fully connected supply chains like those developed elsewhere over many years. It will be a serious challenge, but one needs to look into self-reliance. Government subsidies alone may not be enough to achieve this.
What India must do
First, modernise the grid. Panels are easy to install; integrating them is the hard part. Smart grids, better forecasting, pumped hydro storage and regulatory clarity for battery projects are now more vital than new solar parks. Secondly, India’s urban rooftops are vast, underused energy assets. Cutting approval delays, stabilising subsidy payments and offering easier financing could let homes and businesses flatten peak demand and ease the burden on DISCOMs. In addition, reality is, coal will not vanish soon, but it must be managed better. Modernise mines, shut loss-making pits and speed up carbon-capture pilots in industrial hubs. India cannot replicate the carbon-heavy path of past industrialisers.
The International Solar Alliance has helped build strong diplomatic ties; now it needs to help bring in real funding. India should push for financing models that mix public and private money to reduce risks for solar investors. In the past, global power was shaped by access to oil and coal. In the future, it may depend on access to renewable energy. A country rich in sunlight but held back by weak power grids is no safer than a country dependent on coal with falling demand.
For now, India’s solar story is one of the brighter spots in a dim global landscape. It is politically popular, economically sound and internationally admired. But it is also incomplete. The energy transition will not be won in megawatts installed, but in systems integrated, industries built and grids strengthened. India could become a nation where reliable, clean power is not an aspiration but an everyday reality. Whether the world moves toward that future will depend heavily on the choices India makes in the next decade, about coal, grids, finance and technology. The sun is rising on India’s energy future. Let us not allow the long shadows to be with the sunshine lest our transition falters.
Surinder Singh Oberoi,
National Editor Greater Kashmir
