Over the last decade, India has seen an influx of steady capital, falling prices and the emergence of new technologies. All these factors have led to an exponential growth in the renewable energy sector.

On the backdrop of a highly conducive policy environment, the government decided to shift to a lower-emission electricity system and declared an ambitious target of 175 GW from renewables by 2022.

To answer the government’s ambitious target, the renewable industry started ramping up capacity, increasing at an annual growth rate of 17.5% between 2014 and 2019. Thus, leading to an increase in the share of renewables in India’s total energy mix from 6% to 10%.

This tremendous growth has coincided with a sharp increase in investment from both domestic and foreign sources. The sector has witnessed more than $42 billion of investment since 2014 and around $7 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) between April 2000 and June 2018 as per the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

Initiatives by the government such as strengthening macroeconomic fundamentals, ensuring policy stability and introducing several fiscal incentives have led significant FDI across solar and wind power generation, electric vehicles and storage projects. Moreover, India allows 100% FDI for renewable energy projects to facilitate easy transfer of capital and technology.

Being home to one-sixth of the world’s population, the demand for electricity is going to rise. With rapid economic growth, urbanization and rising incomes, the growth in energy demand is set to double to around 11% by 2040. To meet this demand, India will have to double its electricity output by 2030 and it relies heavily on renewables.

With an installed renewable capacity of 83 GW, 31 GW under development and an extra 35 GW out for tender, India is among the top-five clean-energy producers globally and is well on course to surpass its original target. In fact, it is now eyeing 225 GW from renewables by 2022 and a target of 40% clean energy by 2030.

India’s renewable energy sector is growing from strength to strength; and with such numbers it’s not going unnoticed.