Net zero needs green corridors, local tech, and R&D push, says top govt and industry leaders
New Delhi: India must scale up its
nuclear energy capacity
to 100 GW by 2047 to stay on track with its
net zero
targets, former power secretary Alok Kumar said at the ET India Net Zero Forum 2025. He flagged a mismatch between solar power generation and evening demand as a major challenge in aligning the country's energy transition pathway.
'India's big challenge is aligning our demand with our resources — we're headed for a solar-led future, but we generate power during the day and consume it in the evening. That's the gap we need to bridge,' said Kumar. He added that achieving 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047 and 250 GW by 2070 would help India stay on track, else the country may need to fall back on carbon capture and green ammonia to run coal plants in a limited way.
NHPC Chairman and Managing Director Raj Kumar Chaudhary said that while renewable energy capacity of 500 GW by 2030 is achievable, unpredictability of generation from solar and wind power poses a risk to grid stability. 'Unpredictability of energy generation via wind, solar energy is a challenge and requires ensuring grid stability as well as generation of more energy from hydrogen and biomass sources,' he said.
Chaudhary added that green energy corridors are being developed to transmit solar power from high-potential zones like Ladakh to demand centres. 'The government is building green energy corridors. To enable this, 50 GW of renewable bids are planned each year till 2028,' he said.
NHPC currently has 8,193 MW of green capacity in operation, 9,843 MW under construction and 9,030 MW in survey stage. The pipeline includes pumped storage projects in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and other states. He also highlighted India's plans to develop hydro projects in Nepal and Bhutan.
Referring to concerns around
environmental impact
, Chaudhary said hydropower development contributes to vegetation growth. 'Hydro projects are often seen as reducing forest cover, but they actually help increase it. We undertake large-scale afforestation, often doubling the area used,' he said.
UN Resident Coordinator in India Shombi Sharp said global deforestation continues at a pace of 10 million hectares a year. 'If this continues, by 2030 we'll need two Earths to meet our consumption needs,' he said. He noted that India, with one-sixth of humanity, has emerged as a key force in
climate action
, and is now the third-largest electricity generator globally.
NABARD Chairman Shaji KV said India's rural population remains vulnerable to climate change. 'India's rural population, which consumes one-fifth of energy produced, is vulnerable to climate change which is impacting production from gross crop area,' he said.
He said farm productivity in India lags 30 per cent behind the global average and that concessional finance and non-market-based solutions are required. 'We can't burden low-income farmers with the cost of net zero—solutions must be concessional, not just market-based,' Shaji said.
He added that with 75 per cent of India's infrastructure yet to be built, it is critical that future development is climate-resilient.
Godrej Industries Managing Director Nadir Godrej said employee involvement helped the group cut costs while meeting sustainability targets. 'We've made strong progress on Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Scope 3 is a challenge, but with supplier collaboration, we're confident of tackling that too,' he said.
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