Evolution of India’s Solar Energy Industry at the Beginning of the 21st Century

The author examines the development of solar energy in India. The first state institutes for solar energy were established in the late 1980s, but the high cost of installing solar panels and the energy generated from them, as well as the lack of state support hampered the progress of the industry. The situation changed in the mid-2010s, which was influenced by several factors: the cost of installing solar panels and the energy generated from them decreased; N.Modi, who had been paying special attention to solar energy since his time as Chief Minister of Gujarat, became the Prime Minister of the country; India signed the Paris Climate Treaty (2016). The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry was overcome swiftly enough, and the industry has compensated for the decline in capacity growth caused by the pandemic in 2021–2022. Although renewable energy sources currently play an insignificant role in the country’s overall energy balance, their importance will increase, with solar energy remaining the main source of capacity growth in the medium term.

COVID-19, India, renewable energy, solar energy, COVID-19