Green Economics: Can India Afford to Go Fully Renewable?

By Neeti Daryapurkar

India stands at a crucial position in the energy journey. Being one of the fastest growing economies in the world and the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases , India faces a challenge to balance between the two. So the question often arises - Can India afford to go fully renewable?

India has abundant natural resources , which includes 300 sunny days a year , vast wind corridors , hydropower potential and an emerging  biomass sector. India’s renewable energy capacity has grown widely over the last decade with solar and wind leading the change. This fully renewable change can offer India a lot of benefits. These benefits include energy security , lower emissions , job creation,  etc.

But the question still remains. Can we afford it or not? Well transitioning to 100% renewable is not without a cost. Critics argue that transition cannot be possible without jeopardizing the growth this is due to the developmental priorities India has right now.  However studies suggest that solar energy in India is now among the cheapest in the world. Actually,  the real economic problem is not affordability but storage , infrastructure modernization, etc.

While producing renewable energy is affordable, the bigger hurdle lies in storing and delivering it reliably. Because solar and wind are intermittent, India needs large-scale storage solutions like batteries, pumped hydro, or emerging technologies such as green hydrogen—yet these remain costly or geographically limited. At the same time, renewable-rich regions like Rajasthan or Tamil Nadu are often far from major demand centers, requiring heavy investment in new transmission lines, smarter distribution networks, and modernized grids. Without these upgrades, clean energy cannot flow efficiently across the country or provide round-the-clock supply.

In conclusion,  the real question isn't whether India can afford to go renewable , but whether it can afford the cost of doing so.