Odisha, MP New Emerging States For Renewables: CEEW Report

Odisha, MP New Emerging States For Renewables: CEEW Report

A latest report by energy think tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) said that Odisha and Madhya Pradesh could soon become the new emerging states to spur the growth of green energy in the country. The study, ‘Unlocking India’s RE and Green Hydrogen Potential: An Assessment of Land, Water, and Climate Nexus’, highlights that deployment beyond 1,500 GW could face critical challenges as multiple constraints intensify, narrowing the runway to reach the net-zero target.

“The CEEW study highlighted that Odisha and Madhya Pradesh, with high RE potential backed by land banks and infrastructure to evacuate renewable power and manage seasonality, could emerge as key players in meeting India’s renewable energy ambitions in the coming decades. Further, a considerable portion of India’s RE potential is in high-climate-risk and high-land-price areas—only 18 per cent of onshore wind potential and 22 per cent of solar potential are located in areas with low climate risks and low land prices, when looked at in isolation. However, the challenges to realising this potential increase too when other constraints such as population density, land conflicts and seasonality of solar power are factored in,” a statement from CEEW said.

Land conflicts & renewables 

Land conflicts further restrict deployment, with only about 35 per cent of onshore wind potential and 41 per cent of solar potential located in areas free from historical land conflicts. However, earthquakes are less of a concern, as 83 per cent of onshore wind and 77 per cent of solar potential are located in low to moderate seismic zones. The CEEW study also identifies states with high unconstrained RE potential such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Ladakh. Rajasthan (6,464 GW), Madhya Pradesh (2,978 GW), Maharashtra (2,409 GW) and Ladakh (625 GW) have significant low-cost solar potential, while Karnataka (293 GW), Gujarat (212 GW), and Maharashtra (184 GW) offer considerable wind potential.

The CEEW report highlighted that India has a renewable energy (RE) potential of over 24,000 GW, but even reaching the ~7,000 GW required to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 will require a holistic approach to addressing challenges such as land access, climate risks, land conflicts, and population density, according to a new independent study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

India currently has an installed RE capacity of 150 GW, and up to 1,500 GW, the constraints are relatively manageable. Renewable energy, including solar, wind, and green hydrogen, is crucial to realise India’s climate goals, but scaling up these technologies will require strategic land use, improved water management, and resilient power grid infrastructure, it said.

India’s RE and green hydrogen potential map

The CEEW study is the first-of-its-kind to map India’s RE and green hydrogen potential by analysing the entire country’s landmass and applying real-world constraints. It does this by using detailed 5×5 km grid cells, which offer a more practical assessment of what can actually be developed and where. The CEEW study finds that population density significantly limits the realisation of India’s RE potential, with only 29 per cent of onshore wind potential and 27 per cent of solar potential located in areas with a population density lower than 250 people/km2.

Dr Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, CEEW, said, “From land conflicts and population density to the unpredictable but undeniable impact of climate change, every step forward will demand resilience and innovation. The CEEW study, for the first time, goes into granular details of the county’s landmass to map out where we can build out renewable energy and green hydrogen projects while addressing the challenges of land, people, and compounding, non-linear climate risks. The scale of the task ahead is monumental, yet it is precisely this challenge that will define India’s legacy as a trailblazer for the Global South—a country that charts a low-carbon pathway to prosperity against all odds.”