It is said that change is the only constant. This holds true not only for India’s renewable energy sector but also for Renewable Watch, which celebrates its 15th anniversary with this issue.
We have indeed evolved. While in the initial years we predominantly focused on standalone solar and wind, in recent years, the magazine’s narrative has shifted to include greater content on green hydrogen, energy storage, round-the-clock (RTC) renewables, emerging biofuels, renewable manufacturing and critical minerals that are needed for the energy transition.
A glimpse of this transition is seen in the Rewind 2010-2025 section of this issue. Looking back, there was a time when interstate transmission system (ISTS)-connected wind projects and solar parks were making renewable headlines; today, it is large-scale floating solar installations, green hydrogen, and standalone battery energy storage system projects – that are drawing industry-wide curiosity, interest and investment.
Over the years, feed-in-tariffs (FiTs) have made way for competitive bidding across several sectors, prices of renewable components have fallen, substantial foreign investments have flowed in, new sources of finance have been tapped, the government’s capacity addition targets have become even more ambitious, budgetary allocations for renewables have grown, and in the manufacturing space, companies are increasingly tapping the export markets. Several incentives for the sector are being gradually phased out (ISTS waivers), while several new ones have been introduced (for green hydrogen, offshore wind, manufacturing, etc.), and the rationale for continuing certain incentives (particularly must-run status for renewables) is often debated. Developers and manufacturers have walked a tightrope with the government’s demand and supply-side policies, including consumption obligations, blending and co-firing mandates, tariff and non-tariff barriers, and production-linked incentives.
New models of renewable procurement have been explored over the years. Apart from the traditional long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs), open access projects have proliferated through captive, group captive and third-party arrangements; green markets at power exchanges have been introduced, and merchant renewable power plants are being set up to sell power to the exchanges; and corporates are now exploring virtual PPAs, while residential consumers are becoming prosumers.
Price reductions have been a defining trend. During the initial years of the magazine, the FiT for solar was around Rs 18 per unit. Over the years, the cost of standalone solar and wind energy reached grid parity, and now RTC renewables are moving towards this milestone.
Of course, it has not been an easy journey. Along the way, some challenges have persisted, including land acquisition; the risk of evacuation infrastructure not being completed on time, leading to curtailment; non-payment of dues; restrictions on open access, net metering, limits on sanctioned load and capacity of rooftop systems imposed by discoms and state governments; and policy flip-flops. While the central and state governments have indeed worked towards finding solutions, many of these issues still linger. In 2020, the outbreak of Covid-19 added to the sector’s woes. The renewables sector experienced severe supply chain shocks, leading to pressure on tariffs and commissioning timelines. When it rains, it pours. Soon after, the Russia-Ukraine conflict further created supply chain disruptions and volatility in energy markets. It took some time to weather the storm. Since then, many companies have diversified their supply chains and manufacturing operations and adopted the “China+1” strategy. On their part, Indian policymakers have ensured that the country’s renewable manufacturing companies tap this opportunity.
The dynamics of the Indian renewables market are constantly evolving. Solar has become increasingly decentralised, with projects being set up on waterbodies, along highways, on agricultural fields and the rooftops of residential and commercial and industrial (C&I) customers. Solar panel efficiencies have improved, with the industry moving from polycrystalline to monocrystalline and bifacial modules, and now to perovskite, TOPcon and HJT technologies. Wind turbines have moved from kW-scale to MW-scale, and at the same time, several pilots of small-scale vertical-axis turbines have been implemented across India. Compressed biogas uptake and ethanol blending have revived the bioenergy segment, while pumped hydro has done the same for hydropower.
Stakeholders in the sector are keen to keep the momentum going. There is ambition to tap the oceans, rooftops, canals, reservoirs and wastelands for renewable project development. Even abandoned mines are being explored for carbon capture, utilisation and storage projects. Today, no conversation happens without the mention of energy storage, diversification into green hydrogen and its derivatives, and strengthening the domestic manufacturing base. Carbon markets have become the talk of the town.
On our part, we have been on our toes to report, analyse and deliberate on all these trends, disruptions, government initiatives, technologies, players’ plans, successes and failures.
The past year was no different for us. The cover stories covered a diverse set of segments and topics. From grid-connected utility-scale solar (October 2025) to a completely different model – green energy open access (June 2025). We covered mature and emerging technologies in our cover stories, from hydropower (February 2025) and compressed biogas (July 2025) to green ammonia (September 2025). We also like to crunch data to give actionable insights to our readers. We did this in two of our cover stories – on energy subsidy trends (May 2025) and the pipeline of renewable energy projects (August 2025).
Years ago, writing stories about a simple robotic cleaning technology seemed futuristic; now, artificial intelligence’s (AI) on-ground applications in the renewables operations and maintenance space have become a common topic of discussion with our readers. We have given more coverage to AI’s role in renewables, not just in these pages but also in our dedicated conference on “AI in Renewables”.
There is no end to learning. The Renewable Watch team undertook several site visits in the past year to better understand the sector’s nuances. We visited the Raghanesda Solar Park in Gujarat; a utility-scale solar project in Sanawara, Rajasthan; a solar open access project in Jaimalsar village, Rajasthan; and solar manufacturing facilities across Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. These visits were thought-provoking, and we reported our learnings in the magazine. Developers’ challenges with the forecasting and scheduling of renewables, especially during extreme weather conditions, was a key issue that surfaced from the visits. Thus, we decided to dedicate the March 2025 cover story to this topic.
Gender equity is key for us and we have consistently worked towards promoting this diversity in our magazine’s content and conferences. Over the years, we have invited more women to voice their opinions, and ensured that women leaders are well represented in our magazine’s People section and in panel discussions at our conferences.
We are also adapting to the demands of our readers and the next generation, who are constantly on the move. We have launched the Renewable Watch Podcast and are currently at the end of Season 1, featuring a diverse set of guests and topics, including battery storage, the global solar market, renewable mini grids, greenwashing, RTC renewables, C&I renewables and green jobs.
Over the years, we have strived to provide value on every page, making sure each editorial, cover feature, story, data, interview, guest article and forum informs our readers about the topical matters and inspires them to think differently. We try to ensure that each issue features a variety of technologies and viewpoints, and that the content is promoted well on social media.
We hope that in our own way, we are contributing to India’s energy transition journey, through knowledge sharing and by providing stakeholders a forum to discuss diverse viewpoints. Over the years, we have not been shy in highlighting the challenges faced by various stakeholder groups, the gaps in on-the-ground implementation vis-à-vis targets, and policy areas that need re-evaluation. Going forward, we will continue to act as the fourth pillar, steadfastly supporting the Indian renewable energy sector.
Sarthak Takyar