Billionaire shows world’s largest green energy park ‘visible from space’

India’s second-richest man, Gautam Adani, who is developing the world’s largest green energy park in the Rann of Kutch desert in the Gujarat state bordering Pakistan, has shared a glimpse of the project that he claims will power 20 million homes. 

Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Adani stated that the “monumental project” is “visible even from space.” “We will generate 30 GW to power over 20 million homes,” Adani said in his post, adding that it marks a “significant milestone” in India’s journey towards sustainable energy. 

Adani Group’s green energy arm has an operating portfolio of 8.4 GW of wind and solar generation, the largest in India, spread across 12 states. The company is reportedly looking to invest $22 billion to expand capacity by more than five times by 2030.

In the past year alone, it added 1.1 GW hybrid generation (solar and wind) and over 200 MW of solar and wind power projects each. Earlier this week, Adani announced raising $1.36 billion from a consortium of eight international banks for the Kutch project, taking its total funding pool to $3 billion since the initial project financing started in March 2021. 

According to a report released earlier this year by Ernst & Young and Confederation of Indian Industries, the total pipeline for domestic energy transition investments, including supply chain innovation and manufacturing, is about $240 billion. The report also noted the country’s growing role as a manufacturing hub for renewable energy technologies and critical components. “Over the past few years, India has increasingly positioned itself as an alternative global hub for renewable energy innovation,” it added.  

As per the REN21 Renewables 2022 Global Status Report, the country stood fourth globally in renewable energy installed capacity. At the ongoing climate conference (COP28) in Dubai, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government continues moving towards targets of achieving net zero emissions by 2070. At COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, Modi pledged that India’s non-fossil fuel capacity would reach 500 GW by 2030.   

The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted last month that the share of solar power in the country’s total generation mix will increase from the current 6% to 18% by 2030. 

However, experts note that despite India being one of the fastest growing renewable energy markets, there are still concerns about the affordability of renewable energy for industries and the population, the slow pace of developing infrastructure to transmit and store renewable energy, as well as an inconsistent policy and regulatory environment.

Where India Meets Russia – We are now on WhatsApp! ‎Follow and share RT India in English and in Hindi