By Sandeep Jadhav, Director Operations, India, ENGIE
India’s renewable energy journey is entering an exciting new phase. In the first half of 2025, solar generation grew by 25 per cent and wind by nearly 30 per cent. Renewables grew more than three times faster than electricity demand, preventing 24 million tonnes of carbon emissions. For a country that was once debating whether renewables could ever scale, these numbers underline the extraordinary progress we have made. But growth also brings complexity. As renewables claim a larger share of the grid, the question is shifting. It is no longer only about how much capacity we can build. It is about how consistently that energy can be delivered to industries, households and communities.
Reliability is the new benchmark
Every successful energy system rests on reliability. When supply is steady and affordable, it fuels industrial competitiveness and social progress. When it falters, the costs multiply quickly. Grid operators, when confronted with sudden swings in renewable generation, are forced to reduce output to maintain balance. For developers, that means lost revenue. For industries, it can trigger production downtime or expensive reliance on backup fuels. For households, it weakens trust in the very transition we are building.
Forecasting and predictive operations and maintenance (O&M) are therefore moving from the background to the centre of the renewable conversation. For grid operators, better forecasting helps in anticipating variability and integrating more renewables, smoothly. For developers, predictive maintenance ensures optimum asset performance, protecting long-term value. For consumers, the outcome is simpler: power that is cleaner and more reliable.
Solar forecasting at the core
Solar, which already accounts for the largest share of India’s renewable pipeline, makes the case for forecasting even stronger. Accurate solar forecasting enhances plant performance by anticipating weather-driven variability and allowing operators to maximise generation during peak irradiance hours. It also sharpens asset management by identifying the best windows for maintenance, optimising resource use and reducing lifecycle costs. At the grid level, forecasting reduces uncertainty for system operators, limiting curtailment and improving the balance between supply and demand.
Global lessons, Indian opportunities
The good news is that India does not have to start from scratch. Markets such as Texas, Germany and Australia have shown how forecasting plays a pivotal role in balancing high-renewable systems. But India must develop models suited to its own realities. Demand here is growing at a pace few countries can match. The geography spans deserts, coastlines and highlands. The complexity deepens when climate-driven monsoons, which shape our seasons, also reshape our generation profile.
Innovation is already showing what is possible. Robotic cleaning in Indian desert regions is conserving scarce water while keeping panels efficient. AI-enabled monitoring centres are tracking asset performance across states in real time, flagging problems before they escalate. Together, these innovations are pushing O&M from a reactive function to a predictive discipline – one that ensures solar assets deliver consistently and efficiently, and remain bankable.
The grid gameplan
If the last decade of the renewable journey was about adding capacity, the decade ahead must be about strengthening reliability. Solar will remain the backbone of India’s clean energy mix, but on its own, it cannot meet the demand for round-the-clock power. The way forward lies in hybrid systems that combine solar, wind and storage to balance variability and deliver energy more consistently. Storage ensures that surplus generation can be banked and released during peak demand. Forecasting, meanwhile, provides the intelligence to knit these resources together, turning intermittent inputs into dependable supply.
This shift from standalone projects to integrated, hybrid solutions is more than a technical transition. It is how India can reinforce its energy security, reduce waste and give industries the dependable clean power they need to remain globally competitive. Achieving this will require more than technology. Regulators and utilities must establish clear standards for forecasting and incentivise reliability. Developers will need to embrace digital tools and predictive operations. And corporates must demand not just green energy, but green energy they can count on. Only when all parts of the ecosystem move together will India be able to build a grid that is both renewable and resilient.
The future we must build
India has proven it can scale renewables at speed. The task now is to ensure that this energy is consistently available. Forecasting and predictive maintenance may operate quietly behind the scenes, but they are the unsung heroes of the transition.
