India's ambitious drive to nearly double its clean energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030 is stumbling amid bureaucratic hurdles and financial roadblocks, with banks reluctant to provide loans and state utilities dragging their feet on promotion efforts.
The Ministry for New and Renewable Energy launched a subsidy programme for residential solar panel installations in February 2024, offering coverage of up to 40 per cent of the costs to boost uptake among households.
Despite the incentives, progress has lagged significantly. Data from the programme's website shows only 2.36 million residential installations completed, falling well short of the ministry's target of 4 million by March.
“Banks’ reluctance to lend and states’ hesitance to promote the schemes could derail India’s efforts to transition away from coal,” warned Shreya Jai, lead energy analyst at research firm Climate Trends in New Delhi.
These challenges threaten to prolong India's heavy dependence on coal-fired power, undermining the nation's broader push to expand solar and other renewable sources as part of its 500-gigawatt clean energy goal.
The shortfall in residential solar adoption highlights deeper issues in financing and implementation, as state-level hesitance and banking caution hinder the momentum needed for a swift energy transition.
