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This policy brief argues that India is uniquely positioned to lead in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production by utilizing its low-cost solar power and abundant agricultural residue. The authors propose the power-and-biomass-to-liquids (PBtL) pathway as a cost-competitive alternative to fossil jet fuel and other SAF technologies, offering benefits for energy security, air quality, and climate targets.

This policy brief by RMI evaluates the techno-economic potential of hydrogen trucking in India, comparing fuel cell electric trucks (FCETs) and hydrogen internal combustion engine (ICE) trucks against diesel, battery electric (BET), and LNG alternatives. The analysis finds that while FCETs are projected to be more cost-competitive than diesel for long-haul, heavy-duty applications by 2040, they currently face high total cost of ownership (TCO) due to expensive hydrogen fuel, infrastructure, and taxation. The document recommends a coordinated roadmap involving policy incentives, strategic infrastructure planning, and tailored financial solutions to enable hydrogen to complement electrification in decarbonizing India's freight sector.

The Indian States’ Electricity Transition (SET) 2026 report evaluates 21 Indian states across three dimensions: decarbonisation, power ecosystem readiness and performance, and market enablers. It finds that progress is fragmented, with no single state demonstrating consistently strong performance across all three areas, highlighting the need for coordinated, dimension-specific interventions to achieve a system-wide transition.

This report chapter details the growth of electric vehicle (EV) adoption in India between FY2020 and FY2025, highlighting the role of central and state government subsidies and the specific vehicle segments driving the transition.

This report by RMI analyzes the techno-economic pathways for green hydrogen production in India, examining 17 states to evaluate the impact of national and subnational policies on production costs. It compares various project configurations—including stand-alone on-site, CTU-connected, and STU-connected projects—and highlights the critical role of transmission charge waivers and capital subsidies in achieving cost competitiveness against grey hydrogen.

This case study examines the 'Varanasi model' for scaling rooftop solar (RTS) in India under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. By coordinating state, district, and city administrations with utilities and banks, Varanasi significantly increased RTS installations between February and December 2024, providing a blueprint for other Indian districts to achieve renewable energy targets.

This briefing by RMI explores how distributed solar, particularly rooftop solar (RTS) and decentralized renewable energy (DRE), can alleviate the financial distress of India's electricity distribution companies (Discoms) while helping the country meet its 2030 renewable energy targets and modernize its grid.

The 2024 Indian States’ Electricity Transition (SET) report, published by IEEFA and Ember, assesses the progress of 21 Indian states across three dimensions: Decarbonisation, Readiness and Performance of the Power Ecosystem, and Market Enablers. The report identifies Gujarat and Karnataka as consistent top performers, while highlighting structural challenges in states like Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. It recommends strengthening state-level regulatory frameworks and developing specific state-level transition plans to accelerate the shift toward clean electricity.

This executive summary describes the States’ Electricity Transition (SET) Scoring system developed by Ember to evaluate the electricity transition across 16 Indian states, which represent 90% of India's annual power requirement. The analysis focuses on four dimensions: decarbonisation, power system performance, power ecosystem readiness, and policies and political commitments. While some states like Karnataka show strong performance across all metrics, others, particularly Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, require significant improvements in decarbonisation and system performance to meet national targets.

This report by Ember analyzes India's progress toward its 2022 renewable energy (RE) target of 175 GW and its 2030 target of 450 GW, highlighting a strong reliance on solar growth and significant disparities in progress across different states.

This report by Ember analyses state-wise renewable energy (RE) capacity in India as of March 2022, evaluating progress toward the national target of 175 GW by December 2022. It highlights significant regional disparities, with a small number of states driving most of the new capacity while many others fall well behind their targets.

This supplementary annex to 'Mapping India’s Energy Subsidies 2021' provides detailed background and financial data for specific energy subsidies that changed significantly since 2020, covering electric buses, energy conservation, and oil and gas infrastructure and research.

This report analyzes electricity subsidies in India from FY 2016 to FY 2019, evaluating the impact of the Ujjwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme. It finds that direct tariff subsidies increased by 32% during this period, reaching INR 110,391 crore in FY 2019, while most electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs) failed to meet financial performance targets regarding revenue recovery and loss reduction.

This briefing, produced by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), examines the intersection of energy affordability and electricity pricing reform in India following the COVID-19 pandemic. It discusses the financial instability of electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs), the socio-economic impact of lockdowns on low-income households, and potential strategies for rationalizing tariffs and subsidies to ensure social sustainability during economic recovery.

This policy brief by RMI examines the 'undergrid minigrid' model piloted in Mokoloki, Nigeria, and discusses its potential application to improve electricity reliability for underserved rural communities in India. The model involves a privately owned solar minigrid sharing existing distribution infrastructure with a utility company to provide reliable last-mile service.

This executive summary from Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) outlines a roadmap for increasing electricity system flexibility in India to support the deployment of renewable energy and reduce overall system costs. The report argues that flexibility needs are growing faster than energy demand and that a balanced portfolio of demand-side flexibility, powerplant upgrades, and energy storage can reduce system costs by 5% to 8% and carbon emissions by 8% to 12% by 2030.

This fact sheet from the Climate Bonds Initiative details a USD 500 million green bond issued by Adani Green Energy UP Limited on June 10, 2019, specifically for the refinancing of solar projects in India.

This report proposes redirecting India's kerosene subsidies toward off-grid solar products to provide reliable, clean energy to marginalized households. It demonstrates that solar lanterns, home systems, and microgrids are cheaper over their lifespan than subsidized kerosene and would reduce government fiscal risk and indoor air pollution. The report outlines three implementation pathways—subsidizing households, manufacturers, or financial institutions—and emphasizes the need for targeted eligibility and robust after-sales service to ensure a successful transition.

This guide provides policymakers with a framework for designing retail tariffs and subsidies to incentivize private sector investment in mini-grids, primarily in Africa. It highlights the 'viability gap' where high costs and low rural revenues hinder commercial viability. The document details various tariff approaches (uniform, cost-reflective, and case-by-case) and subsidy structures (input, output, and auction-based), emphasizing that confidence in timely disbursement and a balance between verification and effectiveness are key to successful implementation.

This report proposes a "kerosene to solar subsidy swap" in India, suggesting that savings from the phased removal of inefficient and polluting kerosene subsidies be used to fund off-grid solar lighting for vulnerable households. It identifies pico solar PV as a viable replacement and suggests Uttar Pradesh and Odisha as potential locations for pilot studies.