The government will soon announce a utility-led program under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana to enable households without suitable rooftop space to benefit from the program, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said. He was speaking before presenting the Mercom India Awards at the Mercom India Renewables Summit 2025. Joshi said 1.72 million rooftop solar systems have been installed under the PM Surya Ghar program as of date. “These numbers reveal the real progress on the ground.” Listing out India’s achievements in the energy transition, he said the country had already met 50% of the target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based renewable energy capacity, five years ahead of schedule. “The 500 GW goal is not merely a slogan; we will achieve it.”

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) amended the ‘incentive to local bodies’ component of the Implementation Guidelines under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. The National Programme Implementation Agency (NPIA) will disburse funds to the State Implementation Agencies (SIAs) according to the number of rooftop solar installations undertaken in their respective areas under the program. The SIA will disburse the funds to local bodies within 60 days of receiving the funds from the NPIA. Earlier, the Departments of Panchayat and Rural Development and Urban Administration and Development were required to upload their authorized account details on the National Portal.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission approved a tariff ranging from ₹4.48 (~$0.051)/kWh to ₹4.56 (~$0.052)/kWh for NHPC’s 1.2 GW firm and dispatchable renewable energy (FDRE) projects. The Commission, however, refused NHPC’s request for a trading margin of ₹ 0.07 (~$0.0008)/kWh. It stated that the trading margin will be determined according to the power sale agreements (PSAs) yet to be signed between NHPC and the distribution companies. NHPC floated a tender for the selection of renewable energy power generators to supply 1.2 GW of FDRE from the interstate transmission system-connected renewable energy projects. It received bids from five companies, and four qualified for the e-reverse auction.

Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) issued a tender to develop a 2,000 MW/4000 MWh standalone Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project across Gujarat under the build-own-operate model. The project falls under Phase VII of GUVNL’s BESS program. The proposed BESS installations will be connected to Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation, including substations at Charanka, Shapar, and Bhogat, among others. The project will receive viability gap funding of ₹1.8 million (~$20,862)/MWh of awarded capacity. The VGF will be disbursed in three tranches: 20% at financial closure, 50% at commercial operation date (COD), and 30% one year post-COD upon certification. Bids must be submitted by September 11, 2025. Bids will be opened on September 17.

The winners of the fifth annual Mercom India Awards have been announced. These prestigious awards, presented to the winners by Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi at the ongoing Mercom India Renewables Summit 2025 in New Delhi, honor the exceptional contributions of organizations driving India’s clean energy transition through remarkable innovation and visionary leadership. The awards recognize the uniqueness, challenges, and complexities of each project, as well as its economic and environmental impacts.

SJVN issued three tenders for setting up 7.82 MW of rooftop solar projects with battery storage on union government buildings across the country’s eastern, southern, and northern regions under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. Projects in this region will have a cumulative capacity of 1.5 MW. They will be set up in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal. These solar projects will be installed on the buildings of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions.

India set a target of 1,800 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2047, said Sudeep Jain, Additional Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, at the Mercom India Renewables Summit 2025. India had hit the target of 50% non-fossil fuel-based power capacity by 2030, five years in advance. However, India would require 1,800 GW to 2,000 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2047 to support its growing demand, he said. In his keynote address to the Summit, Jain added that India is now generating power from 243 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity. Earlier in his opening address, Raj Prabhu, CEO, Mercom Capital Group, had urged the government to set targets for renewable energy beyond 2030 so that the industry can have a 10-year visibility for investments. “For this industry to grow in a meaningful, predictable way, we need visibility for the next five to 10 years.”

India’s energy landscape is poised for a transformative shift, driven by the urgent need to address climate change, ensure energy security, and promote economic growth. The transition to renewable energy, supported by policy initiatives, technological advancements, and international collaboration, is an urgent national imperative. While the country has made significant progress toward meeting this goal, it still faces challenges arising from policy and regulatory uncertainty, access to low-cost funding, transmission infrastructure constraints, and domestic manufacturing gaps. The session titled “From Ambition to Action: India’s Clean Energy Roadmap and Strategies for 2030 and Beyond,” at Mercom India Renewables Summit 2025, covered challenges to India’s Renewable Energy transition goals, such as policy and regulatory uncertainty, access to low-cost funding, transmission infrastructure constraints, and domestic manufacturing gaps.