India’s Solar Story :
From Globally Unmatched Rates to a Paradox of Plenty
The Glorious Narrative (Report A)
Union Minister Piyush Goyal recently declared that India now offers round-the-
clock renewable energy at globally unmatched rates 【Economic Times†(A)】. With
a target of 500 GW by 2030, Make in India panels, and resilient supply chains,
India positions itself as the G20’s sustainability leader.
On paper, it’s a triumph. In global forums, India shines as the flagbearer of COP21
commitments fulfilled.
The Grim Reality (Report B)
But scratch beneath the solar-glazed speeches, and another story emerges:
According to Down To Earth 【Report B】, 44 GW of renewable capacity stands
ready, but there are no takers. DISCOMs refuse to sign Power Purchase
Agreements (PPAs). Storage remains expensive, demand sluggish, coal still
dominant.
In other words: We produce green power, but we can’t consume it.
Déjà Vu – I Said So
This paradox is not new. I foresaw it years ago.
Back in 2018, I asked bluntly: Is Sun Setting on Solar?.
I wrote then:
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Solar projects were ready, but transmission lines were missing.
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DISCOMs were backing out of signed PPAs.
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Bankers feared NPAs even before commissioning.
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Rooftop solar was stuck at “plinth level.”
My radical suggestion? Create a Solar Bank to channel black money into clean
energy, and amend the Electricity Act so anyone can generate, sell, anytime, to
anyone.
Did policymakers listen?
The DISCOM Bottleneck
Fast forward to 2021, I flagged in Choices to Buy: Choices to Sell?:
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DISCOM monopolies distort the market.
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Net metering caps, gross metering rules, and tariff rigidity choke rooftop
growth.
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I argued for Co-operative Farming of Solar Power (CFSP), modeled on
Amul – citizens owning panels in deserts or Ladakh, consuming the power in
Mumbai or Kolkata.
Yet, as Down To Earth reminds us, DISCOMs remain the weakest link.
Out of the Well
In 2021, in No Godfather for Rooftop Solar?, I urged:
https://myblogepage.blogspot.com/2021/06/no-godfather-for-rooftop-solar.html
“It is high time we stop limiting our vision like a frog in the well. Solar is
not just rooftops – it is deserts, lakes, highways, rail tracks, even space-
based solar farms beaming energy back to Earth.”
I called this SETI – Solar Energy Trading Infrastructure.
Not just energy generation, but energy trading across time, space, and demand.
The Solar Paradox Explained
So here we are in 2025, oscillating between:
Narrative A: Globally unmatched renewable rates.
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Narrative B: 44 GW stranded with no buyers.
This is not a contradiction, but the inevitable result of ignoring structural
reforms I flagged years ago.
Without:
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Solar Bank financing to derisk capital,
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Electricity Act amendments to enable open access,
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SETI infrastructure for energy trading,
…our solar revolution risks becoming a solar illusion.
Conclusion
India’s solar journey is both inspirational and paradoxical. We are the world’s
cheapest producer of renewable power – and simultaneously, a nation where green
gigawatts rot in limbo.
The irony?
Our problem is not the Sun, but the system.
Until we reform DISCOMs, enable open markets, and think beyond rooftops,
deserts, and lakes – India’s solar story will remain a tale of two headlines.
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With Regards,
Hemen Parekh
www.HemenParekh.ai / www.IndiaAGI.ai / www.My-Teacher.in / 05 Sept 2025
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