How Renewable Energy Can Revolutionize India’s Real Estate Sector

The document outlines how real estate developers, building owners, and tenants in India can transition to renewable energy to reduce Scope 2 and Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions. It highlights various procurement mechanisms, including net metering, green tariffs, open access, and virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs). Using Lodha as an example, it discusses the challenges and opportunities for different user types, such as the limited rooftop space for residential tenants and the potential for commercial tenants to use open access or green tariffs. The text also emphasizes the importance of combining renewable energy with energy-efficient building design to achieve net-zero goals.

• Real estate developers like Lodha are utilizing a combination of on-site and off-site renewable energy pathways to eliminate Scope 2 emissions, employing mechanisms such as net metering, the Green Tariff mechanism, and open access.
• The Ministry of Power's "Green Energy Open Access" rules have lowered the contracted demand threshold from 1 MW to 100 kW, enabling a broader range of electricity consumers to procure renewable energy through open access.
• Residential high-rise buildings (typically 20–25 stories) generally possess sufficient rooftop space to power common areas entirely with renewable energy, supported by net metering banking facilities or green tariffs.
• Residential tenants face significant barriers to renewable energy adoption due to lack of rooftop space and the premium costs associated with green tariffs; community solar via virtual net metering is proposed as a potential solution, though its legality varies by jurisdiction.
• Commercial tenants can achieve decarbonization through green tariffs, open access (for loads exceeding 1 MW), or net metering for those with sufficient roof space, such as industrial or warehousing tenants.
• Additional market-based mechanisms for procuring green energy include the green term-ahead market (GTAM) for short-term trading without long-term agreements, and the purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs) via power exchanges.

APA

RMI (2023). How Renewable Energy Can Revolutionize India’s Real Estate Sector. https://rmi.org/resources/how-renewable-energy-can-revolutionize-indias-real-estate-sector/

Chicago

RMI. How Renewable Energy Can Revolutionize India’s Real Estate Sector. 2023. https://rmi.org/resources/how-renewable-energy-can-revolutionize-indias-real-estate-sector/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=How Renewable Energy Can Revolutionize India’s Real Estate Sector |date=27 March 2023 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/how-renewable-energy-can-revolutionize-indias-real-estate-sector/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2023how, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{How Renewable Energy Can Revolutionize India’s Real Estate Sector}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2023}, month = mar, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/how-renewable-energy-can-revolutionize-indias-real-estate-sector/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }