BusinessWire India
New Delhi [India], July 8: The sixth edition of the Mercom India Renewables Summit concluded last week at the Hyatt Regency in New Delhi, drawing record attendance from across India's clean energy sector. The two-day event brought together industry-leading speakers and panelists across critical sessions, alongside workshops and an Expo Hall showcasing leading clean energy brands and technology innovators from India's energy ecosystem.
Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group, called on policymakers and industry leaders to define India's next phase of renewable energy growth, warning that the country's rapidly expanding solar manufacturing capacity will require significantly greater long-term demand to remain competitive.
Delivering his keynote at the Summit, Prabhu said India has reached a pivotal moment in its energy transition. With the country on track to achieve its 2030 solar deployment target well ahead of schedule, he argued that the industry now needs a new long-term roadmap that matches the scale of investment being made across the manufacturing value chain.
"India has built tremendous momentum over the past few years," said Prabhu. "The challenge now is ensuring that demand keeps pace with manufacturing capacity. The next phase of growth requires long-term policy certainty so manufacturers, developers, investors, and financiers can continue investing with confidence."
Prabhu also noted that while domestic solar module and cell manufacturing capacity continues to expand rapidly, procurement activity has slowed, creating uncertainty for future investment decisions. He said the industry needs greater visibility into demand beyond the current 2030 targets to avoid a growing imbalance between supply and demand.
To address these challenges, he outlined several policy recommendations designed to sustain India's renewable energy momentum.
Establish New National Solar Goals Beyond 2030
Prabhu urged policymakers to announce the next phase of India's solar deployment strategy before current targets are achieved.
According to Mercom's market outlook, India could reach its existing solar target as early as the first half of 2028. Establishing new long-term national goals now would provide manufacturers, developers, investors, and infrastructure planners with the confidence needed to support continued expansion across the renewable energy ecosystem.
Increase Solar Installations to 750-1000 GW Over Next Decade
Prabhu recommended establishing an annual solar installation target of 750 GW to 1000 GW, reflecting the scale of manufacturing capacity currently under development.
He said this level of deployment, equivalent to approximately 750 GW to 1,000 GW of solar installations over the next decade, would better align future demand with India's expanding manufacturing base and provide the long-term market certainty needed to support continued investment.
Expand PM-Surya Ghar to 100 GW
Prabhu also called for expanding the PM-Surya Ghar rooftop solar program to 100 GW.
Distributed solar has the potential to become a major driver of future demand while broadening participation in India's clean energy transition and creating a more balanced market across utility-scale and distributed generation.
Introduce a 100-GW Solar Open Access Target
To drive additional electricity demand from commercial and industrial consumers, Prabhu recommended introducing a national 100-GW solar open access target.
He noted that emerging sectors such as data centers are expected to become significant electricity consumers over the coming years. A larger open access market would provide businesses with a clearer pathway to procure renewable energy while supporting continued solar deployment.
Extend the PM-KUSUM Program and Strengthen Energy Security
Prabhu also urged policymakers to extend the PM-KUSUM program, describing renewable energy as an essential pillar of India's long-term energy security strategy.
Accelerating electrification across transportation, industry, and the power sector, combined with greater deployment of solar and energy storage, would reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and strengthen India's energy independence.
"Recent geopolitical events have reminded us why energy independence matters," Prabhu added. "Renewable energy has become a matter of national security."
Held under the theme "Where Policy Meets Ambition," the Mercom India Renewables Summit 2026 brings together policymakers, regulators, developers, manufacturers, investors, financiers, technology providers, and decision-makers to discuss the policies, investments, technologies, and market trends shaping India's renewable energy future.
The Summit also hosted Mercom India Awards 2026, which recognized excellence across 13 award categories and were presided over by India's Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi, and Mercom Capital Group CEO Raj Prabhu.
Supporting Organizations Included:
The Signature Partner for the Summit was SAEL, and Platinum Partners were REC Limited, Atlanta Electricals Limited, GenX Private Limited, and Emmvee Solar. The Chair Branding & Badge Partner was Gautam Solar, and the Legal Partner was SKV Law Offices. Gold Partners were Vikram Solar, Saatvik Green Energy Ltd., DhaSh PV Technologies Ltd, Goldi Solar, Envision Group, Soleos Energy, Premier Energies, and Sunsure Energy, and the Session Partners were RCT Solutions, KIWA, August Energy, Khaitan & Co, Rays Power Infra, Avaada, Rayzon Solar, ENGIE, KOSOL Energie, Grew Solar, and Raana Semiconductors.
The Summit was also supported by: Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC), Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA), Sustainable Projects Developers Association (SPDA), India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), Rajasthan Solar Association (RSA), and Solar Ancillary Manufacturers' Association (SAMA).
Event participants were made up of the who's who of India's clean energy sector, including:
- Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi, Honorable Cabinet Minister, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy
- Raj Prabhu, CEO & Co-Founder, Mercom Capital Group
- Wendy Prabhu, President, Mercom Communications & Co-Founder, Mercom Capital Group
- Sivakumar V Vepakomma, Director (Power System), Solar Energy Corporation of India
- Sishir Garemella, Head - International Business Development, Kiwa PVEL
- Sunil Sharma, Director (NRE, RCM), Ministry of Power
- Vishal Jain, Managing Director, August Energy India
- Prof. Juzer M. Vasi, Professor Emeritus, Department of Electrical Engineering & NCPRE, IIT Bombay
- Bhupendra Singh Rawat, CEO, Dhash Green Energy
- Sukumar Reddy Madugula, Country Head - India, RCT Solutions
- Divya Chaturvedi, Partner, Khaitan & Co
- Sridhar Narayan, Founding Partner, GEF Capital Partners
- Khalid Nadeem, COO, Solar IPP Business, SAEL
- Bhaveshkumar Rathod, Founder & Managing Director, Soleos Energy
- Harsh Vardhan Govil, COO - Solar Manufacturing, SAEL
- Vipul Shah, Head BESS India, Envision Energy India
- Ruchi Kukreja, Head - Advocacy, Hindalco Industries
- Dr. R.K. Tyagi, Director General, Power Foundation of India
- Prashant Mathur, CEO, Saatvik Green Energy
- Suhas Donthi, President & CEO, Emmvee Group
- Satish Talmale, CEO, Energrid
- Sumit Kishore, Managing Director - Institutional Equities Business, Axis Capital
- Akhil Jain, Partner, Fullerton Management Fund
- Varun Gupta, Director, Triveni Renewables
- Prashant Shah, Executive Director, IMC India
- Shri Venkatesh, Founding Partner, SKV Law Offices
- Ayush Misra, Co-Founder & CEO, AmpereHour Energy
- Prashant Choubey, President & Head, Green Hydrogen/Ammonia, Avaada Group
- Naveen Bohra, COO, Goldi Solar
- Nimish Jain, Executive Vice President - Sales & BD, Vikram Solar
- Amit Barve, CEO, Rayzon Solar
- Abhishek Ranjan, CEO, BRPL
- Avinash Hiranandani, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, RenewSys India
- Gyaneshwar Prasad Payasi, Executive Director, Power Grid Corporation of India
- Vinay Rustagi, Chief Business Officer, Premier Energies
- Vish Iyer, Managing Director - India & West Asia, Caelux
- Srivathsa, GM - Sales & Technical Operations, GenX PV
- Joshit Ranjan Sikidar, Director (Finance), Solar Energy Corporation of India
- Rajasekar Elavarasan, Founder & CEO, Raana Semiconductors
- Kayan Kalthia, Director, Kosol Energie
- Saurabh Gupta, Head of Revenue, India & SEA, ENGIE India
- Niral Patel, CMD, Atlanta Electricals
- Krishan Dutt Tiwari, Chief Projects Officer - BESS, Adani Green Energy
- Hardip Singh, COO, Grew Solar
- Tarun Singh, Scientist E, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
- Abhishek Shukla, Strategic Business Development, ReNew
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