India Weighs Transmission Fee Waivers to Save Stalled Green Energy

The proposed relief targets a critical bottleneck in India’s energy transition: the inability of existing transmission lines to carry the output of new renewable facilities. While the government previously eliminated interstate transmission fees for alternative energy in July 2023, the current proposal aims to address the specific financial burden on those unable to commission projects on time due to grid gaps. Regulators are also weighing whether to extend these protections to battery storage systems.

This initiative supports New Delhi’s ambitious goal of reaching 500 GW of non-hydrocarbon generation capacity by 2030. Despite adding a record 44 GW of new capacity in the 2025/26 financial year, the sector faces mounting pressure. Legislative efforts to curb reliance on Chinese solar components have created a supply mismatch, where local module capacity sits at 200 GW while solar cell manufacturing lags at just 27 GW. Although coal continues to supply roughly 70% of India’s electricity, the government anticipates this share will drop below 50% by 2035 as solar and wind expansion continues to reshape the national grid.