Building India’s Clean Energy Backbone: The Unsung Role of Project Developers
Projects are typically more successful with attention to detail during the development stages and early execution phases, especially with risk mitigation. The developers of the projects are most important in this regard.
May 21, 2025. By News Bureau
As of March 31, 2025, India's total installed renewable energy capacity reached an impressive 220.10 GW. This is an increase when compared to the previous fiscal year, where the capacity was 198.75 GW. India already has 105.65 GW of solar power and 50.04 GW of wind power. The fiscal year 2024-25 experienced a record increase of 29.5 GW of renewable energy.
Out of that, 23.83 GW was from solar energy, which by itself is a wonderfully emphatic statistic. Alongside the monumental growth in capacity, the renewable energy industry ushered in about 1.02 million jobs in 2023. This makes it clear that more and more jobs will be available by the end of this decade.
Government Policies Driving Expansion
In addition to this growth, the government’s strategic policies have been instrumental in supporting the expansion of the renewable energy sector. According to the Union Budget for 2025-26, the government has allocated INR 26,549 crore to enhance the renewable energy sector in India.
The funding is intended for infrastructure development, innovation and research, and subsidies for installing solar panels on rooftops. Also, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued the 2025 Quality Control Order. This order mandates compliance with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for solar PV modules and inverters.
This is meant to improve durability and performance of solar projects. The government is extending the Solar Park Scheme to enhance LTHS (Large Through Solar) installations. It also supports Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects. This action is complemented with other initiatives like ‘PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana.’ This scheme provides subsidised rooftop solar installations for residential consumers. This supports decentralised solar energy.
The Unrecognised Champions: Project Developers
While these policies and investments are crucial, it is also important to recognise the unsung champions behind this transition—project developers. Financial institutions and Independent Power Producers (IPPs), who typically operate and fund large-scale renewable energy ventures, receive much attention. However, recognising the significance of the shift, developers will evoke more appreciation. These developers turn marginal opportunities into feasible investments and clean energy aspirations into operational power plants. They are the backbone of the clean energy infrastructure in India.
Intricacies of Project Development
The successful development of renewable energy projects is rooted in a multi-faceted approach, where developers navigate through complex layers of timebound deliverables. The vertices of a project arise from the intersection of multidisciplinary domains that culminate in its completion. These include proprietary tasks specific to the project, such as acquiring funds, project finance, design, and construction, like other civil and electrical works. Cross-disciplinary or multi-domain intersections, such as energy generation, are also an example of this.
Prior to achieving completion as to acquiring funds, project financing, design, and construction, developers partake in preliminary works that include site selection, unlocking corresponding met masts, and evaluating the site as a whole through the lens of industry standards set for various data, including feasible wind resources, topography, environmental conditions, and solar radiation, alongside bounding heightened evaluation of data.
Fundamentals include assessing a site’s viability, determining its energy generation capabilities, and supporting the infrastructure to facilitate its projects. Supporting the groundwork development includes secondary frameworks from external and internal electrical systems to internal control, supporting substations dedicated to the project, and grid connections. Developers differ in part due to a variety of complex challenges they encounter, including elusive permit systems and easements related to transmission lines.
Accomplishing Project Objectives While Minimising Risks
Once the groundwork is laid, developers focus on ensuring the successful execution of the project by addressing potential risks. Projects are typically more successful with attention to detail during the development stages and early execution phases, especially with risk mitigation. The developers of the projects are most important in this regard.
Such professionals anticipate various risks, including the nuanced challenges of land titles, permits, both environmental and grid connection-related issues, and regulatory hold-up concerns. Rightfully resolving these issues as early as possible in the development process helps prevent costly delays along with expensive scope alterations later. This improves the financial viability of the project. It ensures timeliness in meeting project milestones and controlling expenditures. Meticulous attention to detail on the part of the developers during the development stage results in better project execution.
Changing Trends in Project Development
As the renewable energy sector grows, so do the practices and processes within project development. The India renewable energy project development value chain in India is now more advanced than ever. The processes were previously characterised as a loose sequence of activities, but currently they have become more streamlined and structured. This change is caused by the active participation of both local and foreign investors of considerable stature. Such investors demand a high level of transparency, uniform operational protocols, and detailed due diligence processes.
This development underscores the growing importance of experienced and sophisticated development firms. These companies are the ones who capture and assemble the organisational infrastructure, the requisite skills, and the funding needed for the project. In addition, they provide an understanding of the regulatory framework needed for active and efficient maneuvering in intricate project ecosystems. These firms operate within systematic frameworks. This ensures that projects are completed to high technical, environmental, and social standards.
To summarise, while the efforts of IPPs and investors are important, the work of project developers is essential to turning renewable energy goals into reality. Their expertise in site selection, risk management, and infrastructure development lays the foundation for successful renewable energy projects. With systematic growth, India will be able to meet its energy targets, thanks in large part to the diligent work of these unsung heroes.
- Narayan Kumar, CEO, Kshema Power
please contact: contact@energetica-india.net.
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