Renewables Under Modi. A Success Story Validated by Industry Stakeholders.

Despite policy reversals and various other operational challenges faced by the industry, a bulk of the respondents are optimistic about its growth prospects.

The Indian renewable industry has given a pass certificate to the five years under Modi government rule with 78 percent of the respondents in a survey of CEOs of the industry feel that this government has set in motion the industry growth and transition by increasing the renewable target to 175 GW.

Despite policy reversals and various other operational challenges faced by the industry, a bulk of the respondents (73 percent) are optimistic about its growth prospects, the survey, conducted by consultancy firm Bridge to India, finds.

“Modi government has failed in maintaining a consistent policy and business environment. The imposition of trade barriers and GST has added uncertainty and confusion. The industry expects the new government to improve business execution and provide policy stability,” the firm said in a statement on the highlights of the CEO Survey.

It added that India is expected to add 80 GW of renewable energy capacity in the next 5 years and a bulk of this capacity addition (47 GW) is expected in the utility-scale solar segment while floating and grid-scale storage is also expected to pick pace. 

However, the most pressing issue for the industry is an off-take risk, followed by challenges in land acquisition and uncertainty in the overall policy environment, according to the CEO survey. 

“49 percent of the industry feels that bidding in the sector is irrationally aggressive. The industry remains unenthusiastic about the prospects of domestic manufacturing. However, in comparison to last year, the outlook has considerably improved,” according to the survey.

Based on the survey, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka top the list of preferred states on the overall ease of doing business whereas Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana occupy the bottom three spots.

Bridge to India Managing Director Vinay Rustagi said that the survey paints an optimistic picture for the renewable energy sector’s growth and if effective measures for DISCOM reform and network connectivity are put in place, one can expect much higher capacity addition in coming years.