Energy Sovereignty in an Age of Conflict: Why India Must Fast Forward Owning Its Clean Energy Supply Chain

The recent escalation of tensions in West Asia, particularly the conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States, is a sharp reminder of a reality India cannot afford to ignore: energy security is national security. For a country that imports over 85 percent of its crude oil requirements, geopolitical instability in the Gulf is an economic risk that India cannot afford.

At the same time, India faces a parallel vulnerability in the clean energy ecosystem. While we have made commendable progress in scaling renewable capacity, much of the upstream solar manufacturing supply chain remains concentrated in China, a country we have a long history of adversarial relationship. In a world where trade tensions, border disputes, and strategic rivalries define international relations, dependence for oil, technology or components for Energy production creates structural risk.

The lesson from today’s geopolitical climate is clear: India must accelerate not just the clean energy transition, but the ownership of its clean energy supply chain and core technologies.

The Gulf region supplies a significant portion of India’s crude imports. Any disruption due to military conflict or shipping chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz, immediately pushes up global oil prices.

Further complexity arises from global sanctions regimes. We saw that when India diversified its crude sourcing by increasing purchases from Russia, the country faced US wrath in the form of penal duties and Europe publicly aired its disapproval. The risk of secondary sanctions or financial restrictions creates uncertainty for refiners, banks and insurers.

Energy import dependence therefore leaves India exposed on two fronts: physical supply disruptions and financial or diplomatic coercion. This vulnerability underscores the urgency of transitioning toward domestically controlled, renewable energy systems.

While renewables offer a pathway away from oil dependence, they bring their own strategic challenges. Today, China dominates over 80 percent of the global solar module supply chain, including polysilicon, wafers, cells and modules. Even where India has expanded module manufacturing capacity, upstream integration remains limited.

This concentration risk is not merely commercial, it is strategic as China can put trade restrictions or export curbs at will and cause supply chain disruptions, stalling India’s energy transition plans. Solar power, which is central to India’s target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, cannot rely indefinitely on external control of critical components.

True energy sovereignty requires vertical integration so that polysilicon, wafers, cells, modules, and energy storage systems are built within India or in trusted supply partnerships.

India has already taken important policy steps: Production Linked Incentives (PLI), Basic Customs Duties (BCD), and the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) framework have catalysed domestic manufacturing. But the next phase must go deeper.

First, we must fast forward upstream manufacturing of polysilicon, wafering and high-efficiency cell technologies such as TOPCon and HJT. These are capital-intensive segments, but they are where supply chain resilience is built.

As renewable penetration increases, storage and grid intelligence will define energy reliability. Hence the Second strategic action that India must take is to own critical clean energy technologies beyond modules such as battery storage, power electronics, grid management systems, and green hydrogen electrolysers.

Third, under-investment in research and development has been India’s bane for far too long and it must be prioritised. Long-term competitiveness cannot rely only on short-term measures such as tariff protection or approved vendor lists. Indigenous innovation in materials science, manufacturing processes, and energy management software will determine whether India becomes a global exporter of clean energy technologies or remains a domestic assembler.

The clean energy transition is not just about decarbonisation; it is about economic resilience. Domestic manufacturing creates employment, strengthens supply chains, reduces forex outflows, and builds industrial depth. Most importantly, it insulates the economy from external shocks.

India stands at a pivotal moment. Solar installations are scaling rapidly. Policy momentum exists. Global investors are actively seeking alternatives to China-centric supply chains. If India accelerates integration now, it can emerge as a trusted global manufacturing hub. However, delay carries risk. Overcapacity globally could compress margins, making future upstream investments harder. Strategic capital allocation today will define our position in the next decade.

The imperative is clear. We must move beyond importing energy and components toward building, owning and exporting them. In an uncertain world, energy sovereignty is foundational to economic stability and strategic autonomy.

                                                                                               - Paritosh Ladhani, Co-Founder LNK Energy