Making Renewable Energy Markets Work

This policy brief describes the bilateral partnership between the UK and India focused on expanding renewable energy (RE) markets. It details UK-supported initiatives in legislative capacity building, off-grid ventures, offshore wind energy, and solar power to help India reach its 2022 target of 175GW of renewable energy.

• India set a target to achieve 175GW of renewable energy by 2022, supported by a roadmap of regulatory reforms and market-support measures to create a vibrant business climate.
• The UK has provided capacity support to Indian legislators since 2010 through the Climate Parliament to develop decentralized state-level RE policies. This collaboration led to the creation of the "Legislators-Business Forum on Low Carbon Local Area Development" within the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the March 2017 launch of "The Renewable Energy Local Area Development toolkit," approved by India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
• UK support for off-grid renewables has focused on identifying funding mechanisms for public-private partnerships in the states of Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand. Pilots in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh under the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) India Programme demonstrated the business case for using renewables over diesel for mobile towers, though results indicated that a lack of risk guarantees limits sector expansion.
• The UK has assisted India in developing its offshore wind market, including technical advisory for concession competition and financial modeling. This work supported the 2016 National Offshore Wind Energy Policy and involved preparing the state governments of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu for bidding rounds expected to start by 2018.
• To improve the financial viability of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (launched 2010), the UK provided technical assistance to the MNRE and launched the 'Capital Market Climate Initiative (CMCI)' in September 2010 to mobilize private finance. Additionally, the UK worked with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to create regulatory frameworks for large solar parks and provided policy guidance to the states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Odisha.

APA

Climate and Development Knowledge Network (n.d.). Making Renewable Energy Markets Work. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/INDO-UK-Partnership-Renewable-Energy-.pdf

Chicago

Climate and Development Knowledge Network. Making Renewable Energy Markets Work. n.d. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/INDO-UK-Partnership-Renewable-Energy-.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |title=Making Renewable Energy Markets Work |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/INDO-UK-Partnership-Renewable-Energy-.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateanddevelopmentknowledgenetworkndmaking, author = {{Climate and Development Knowledge Network}}, title = {{Making Renewable Energy Markets Work}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/INDO-UK-Partnership-Renewable-Energy-.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }