India has emerged as a major global force in renewable energy, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday, highlighting investor confidence, energy storage, domestic manufacturing and international cooperation as key outcomes.
Addressing media during the culmination of Bharat Renewable Energy (BRE) Summit & Expo 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, Joshi said the summit reinforced India’s position as a resilient clean-energy economy, an attractive investment destination and a global partner for sustainable development.
The four-day event, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 2, brought together participants from 135 countries. It recorded more than 75,000 visitors, over 400 exhibitors and more than 627 speakers across 113 sessions. Around 800 delegates participated, including representatives of partner countries, International Solar Alliance (ISA) members, international organisations and diplomatic missions.
High-level participation included 32 international ministers, six chief ministers and 10 state energy ministers. The summit brought together three major renewable energy events, including the Fourth International Conference on Green Hydrogen and the Ninth Session of the ISA Assembly.
In his inaugural address, PM Modi highlighted the role of sustained renewable energy investments in strengthening India’s resilience to disruptions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the West Asia crisis. He also called on startups, IITs, innovators and entrepreneurs to develop solutions and business models that could meet a greater share of household energy needs through clean energy.
Investors signal confidence in clean energy market
According to the Ministry, India requires approximately $220 billion in investment to achieve its target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity. Discussions at the summit indicated strong investor interest extending beyond the immediate requirements for 2030.
Participation included pension funds, institutional investors and providers of long-term capital, alongside traditional strategic investors. Deliberations focused on bankable power purchase agreements, predictable arrangements for purchasing electricity, clearer allocation of risks and deeper bond markets. Infrastructure Investment Trusts and blended finance were also discussed as ways to mobilise investment.
At a CEO-level clean energy investment roundtable chaired by Joshi, participants identified coordinated planning of generation, transmission, storage and demand centres as a priority. They also called for greater certainty over land availability, approvals and project execution.
Joshi held bilateral meetings with the French Minister Delegate of Ecological Transition and Denmark’s Minister for Business and Competitiveness. More than 100 business-to-business meetings took place on the sidelines of the summit.
Storage and grid readiness emerge as priorities
The summit’s discussions highlighted a shift from expanding installed renewable capacity towards building a reliable, flexible and integrated power system.
With electricity demand rising from industry, cooling, electric mobility and data centres, participants emphasised energy storage, transmission infrastructure, grid flexibility, forecasting and demand response. Discussions also covered artificial intelligence-based systems to forecast wind and solar generation.
Round-the-clock renewable energy and Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy contracts attracted interest from international delegates. A tariff of ₹5.25 per unit discovered in a recent Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) tender was among the examples discussed.
The Ministry said more than a quarter of India’s annual electricity consumption came from renewable energy sources in the last financial year, underscoring the contribution of sustained investment, policy stability, institutional reforms and technological innovation.
Green procurement also featured in discussions on industrial competitiveness, exports and decarbonisation.
Focus on manufacturing and innovation
Participants called for India’s clean energy manufacturing ecosystem to move beyond assembly towards domestic production of materials, components, equipment and advanced technologies.
Shared laboratories, pilot manufacturing lines, demonstration facilities, and testing and certification infrastructure were identified as necessary support. Technologies discussed included next-generation solar cells, perovskites, recyclable wind turbine materials, long-duration storage, electrolysers, fuel cells and floating solar.
The summit also examined ways to bring research into commercial use through public procurement, field demonstrations and closer collaboration between industry and research institutions.
More than 300 startups participated in the RE Hackathon, while the RE GEN Challenge drew participation from students at schools, colleges, universities and IITs. The exhibition’s innovation segment featured 70 startup pods, 40 academic posters and 10 research papers.
Green hydrogen and international solar cooperation
The Fourth International Conference on Green Hydrogen focused on dependable domestic demand, long-term purchase agreements, exports, standards, certification, testing and safety frameworks.
SECI and Rotterdam-based Power2X signed an MoU to advance the supply and offtake of green molecules from India to international markets. The first tranche indicated a potential volume of three lakh tonnes of green methanol annually.
At the Ninth Session of the ISA Assembly, a proposed $200 million Africa Solar Facility was announced to improve access to finance and accelerate solar deployment across African countries.
Discussions examined project aggregation, blended finance, local-currency financing and measures to reduce payment risks. The Africa50 Distributed Renewable Energy Fund and Nigeria DRE Fund were highlighted as financing models, while the Francophone and Sahel Energy Resilience Initiative focused on solar-plus-storage systems, public-facility rooftops and solar applications for agriculture and livelihoods.
Drawing on India’s experience in solarising agricultural pumps, the ISA advanced its ambition to deploy one million solar pumps globally. Its Small Island Developing States Platform aims to facilitate up to 500 MW of solar capacity by 2030. The SUNRISE photovoltaic and battery circularity network has expanded to 35 countries.
The summit also saw the launch of the ISA Academy and the Global Capability Centre–SHINE to support capacity building, digital learning and cooperation on grid-related issues.
A total of 10 MoUs and framework agreements were signed, covering technology, research, capacity building, manufacturing and project implementation. ISA’s partners included Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the India Energy & Climate Center at the University of California, Berkeley, Schneider Electric Foundation, Shakti Pumps and Railway Energy Management Company Limited.
The event also released 37 reports, assessments, guidebooks and digital platforms. These included Ease of Doing Solar, the Renewable Energy State Assessment Framework, the National Hydrogen Survey and a skilling blueprint for the top 100 renewable energy districts.
The Ministry said these resources would help policymakers, investors, developers and utilities identify barriers, strengthen domestic supply chains and plan faster deployment of clean energy projects.
(PIB)
