By Abhishek Goyal, Head, Business, Renewable Energy, Gentari India
The demands of C&I customers are evolving. Where rooftop solar or bilateral open access power purchase agreements (PPAs) once sufficed, the focus today has shifted towards achieving greater reliability and round-the-clock (RTC) clean energy.
Focus on firm, reliable clean energy
A key shift is the C&I sector’s ongoing transition from partial renewable energy procurement towards broader decarbonisation strategies. Solar and wind power have already proven to be cost-competitive, with tariffs discovered under Rs 2.50 per kWh for solar and around Rs 3-Rs 3.50 per kWh for solar-wind hybrids, among the lowest globally. However, their variability poses challenges for industries with continuous operations such as steel, cement and data centres, where downtime is not an option.
As a result, interest is growing in firm, reliable renewable power. This requires energy storage solutions such as advanced lithium-ion batteries, pumped hydro and, in the longer term, green hydrogen-based storage. The Central Electricity Authority estimates an overall energy storage requirement of 411.4 GWh (175.18 GWh from pumped storage projects and 236.22 GWh from battery energy storage systems) by 2032. Meanwhile, hard-to-abate sectors such as steel and cement are beginning to explore green hydrogen as both a fuel and a feedstock.
Gentari is already addressing this emerging demand. At Sewagram in Gujarat, we have India’s first on-site hybrid RTC renewable project, integrating solar, wind and battery storage within a single cement plant. In Tamil Nadu, our Shiva wind-solar hybrid is set to provide reliable clean energy to C&I customers. These projects demonstrate how clean energy can move beyond variability and deliver true operational assurance to industries.
Integration with clean energy ecosystems: Batteries, hybrids and hydrogen
Developers today are evolving from power suppliers to transition partners, offering solutions that can integrate seamlessly with customer operations. Hybrid projects, combining solar, wind and storage, are becoming the preferred model for large-scale procurement. Gentari’s ISTS-connected plant in Rajasthan has been instrumental in demonstrating the viability of large-scale clean power supply to industries across state borders.
Meanwhile, green hydrogen, which is still at pilot scale, is gaining early traction in sectors such as refining and fertilisers under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, which targets 5 metric tonnes per annum of green hydrogen by 2030. Gentari is advancing projects in green hydrogen and ammonia, positioning itself to serve hard-to-abate sectors that are beginning to explore hydrogen as both fuel and feedstock. For C&I customers, these technologies are not isolated options but part of a broader ecosystem where electricity, storage and fuels work together to ensure reliability and competitiveness.
From vision to execution: Making the transition work
For business leaders, the critical question is no longer whether clean energy is viable, but how to implement it at scale while effectively addressing operational risks. Three factors have emerged as decisive. First, load profiles vary across industries. A cement manufacturing unit’s energy demand curve is not the same as that of an IT park.
Second, with the cost of capital often contributing more than half of renewable tariffs, innovative financing is as important as technology. Projects aligned with environmental, social and governance (ESG)-linked financing and global climate capital flows are more likely to gain traction.
Third, reliability depends on high plant load factors, digital integration through supervisory control and data acquisition and AI-enabled predictive maintenance, and robust safety and life cycle protocols for batteries and hydrogen solutions.
The imperative of transition
For India’s C&I sector, the shift towards higher shares of clean energy is not a question of if, but when. With India targeting 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, and global supply chains increasingly demanding low-carbon operations, clean energy is evolving from an ESG commitment into a driver of corporate competitiveness.
For developers, the opportunity lies in anticipating this changing demand and delivering solutions that are technologically robust, financially viable and operationally sound. The path forward requires deep partnerships where customers and developers co-create transition road maps, integrating batteries, hybrids and hydrogen to enhance energy reliability and independence. In the decade ahead, the businesses that thrive will be those that view clean energy not as a procurement exercise, but as a strategic pillar of resilience and growth.
