New Delhi

India needs to move from only adding solar capacity to changing its full power system, a new Tata Power report said. The study warned that rapid demand growth will require distributed solar, energy storage, microgrids, and smarter electricity networks across the country.

The report said solar power will sit at the heart of India’s competitiveness by 2035, supporting industries, homes, smart cities, and millions of jobs. India is expected to see the world’s biggest rise in energy demand in coming decades, making clean, affordable, and reliable power essential.

Microgrids could support rural factories, digital classrooms, modern health centres, and local electric mobility. Distributed solar can also take clean energy beyond large cities, but this will need policies that enable faster rollout, modern grids, and long term investment confidence.

Tata Power listed six policy priorities to guide the shift. These include clear resource planning rules, mandatory storage buying, incentives for domestic manufacturing, smooth green open access with digital approvals, better power forecasting standards, and recycling rules for old solar panels.

The report said states must plan firm power supply along with renewables to keep systems reliable. This creates space for hybrid projects and storage backed solutions as solar use rises. New rules are expected to push battery and pumped hydro storage to manage supply swings, cut power waste, and enable round the clock clean energy.

Tata Power also stressed joint work on research, advanced modules, workforce skills, and grid upgrades. India is now third globally in solar capacity and fourth in renewables, adding 26.6 gigawatts of solar in the first nine months of 2025, up 54 percent from a year earlier. The shift aims to balance growth, reliability, jobs, and climate.