Adani Green Sees Electrification as Key to India's Energy Security, Says 2,000 GW Capacity Needed Over Two Decades

India must add nearly 2,000 gigawatts of new power generation capacity over the next two decades to meet rising energy demand while reducing dependence on imported fuels, Adani Green Energy Executive Director Sagar Adani said, calling electrification the country's clearest pathway to energy security.

Speaking at the inaugural Adani Green Electrification Dialogue here, Adani said India faces the dual challenge of meeting surging electricity demand while ensuring energy remains affordable, accessible and increasingly clean amid growing geopolitical uncertainty.

"We are talking about a structural leap, adding nearly 2,000 gigawatts of new capacity over the next two decades. All while ensuring that this energy remains affordable, accessible, and increasingly clean. That is the scale of the opportunity. And that is India's defining challenge," he said.

Adani said India consumed about 10,000 terawatt-hours of energy across all fuel sources in 2024, compared with 32,810 terawatt-hours in China, highlighting the scale of India's future energy requirements as incomes and electricity consumption rise.

"For India, the path forward is clear. We must electrify everything, reducing structural dependence on imported energy. We must build an energy backbone anchored in resources that are available within the country," he said.

Calling for a pragmatic approach to the energy transition, Adani said India should leverage "renewables, hydro, efficient thermal and nuclear" power, adding that "without firm, scalable baseload power, the math simply does not work." He credited government reforms over the past decade for improving the investment climate through infrastructure expansion, renewable energy development, transmission upgrades and regulatory changes.

Highlighting the Adani Group's role in the sector, Adani said the conglomerate operates across the electricity value chain, is targeting 50 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, plans to build a 10-GW nuclear portfolio by 2035, and is investing in energy storage, transmission infrastructure and green hydrogen.

"To make this a reality, our Chairman, Gautam Adani, has committed over USD 100 billion towards energy transition - one of the largest private-sector commitments in the world. This is not a set of isolated investments, but an integrated strategy," he said.

Adani said the scale of India's energy transition would require collaboration between governments, industry and financiers.

"The energy challenge and opportunity in front of India is far greater than any one business group can meet alone. It will require collective action across India and the developing world, continued policy innovation and billions of dollars in financing to deliver energy security, energy affordability and energy sustainability," he said.

Adani was speaking at the inaugural Adani Green Energy Dialogue, hosted by Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) in partnership with the Energy Transitions Commission (ETC) at the Science Museum, London, during London Climate Action Week. The dialogue brought together policymakers, investors, business leaders and climate experts to discuss the policy, investment and infrastructure needed to accelerate the clean energy transition.

Addressing the gathering, he said: "Energy security, affordability and sustainability are among the defining challenges of our time.

"Electrification is emerging as one of the most effective pathways to address all three. For countries seeking resilient growth and greater energy independence, accelerating electrification is no longer an option but an imperative." He added: "Renewable energy reaches its full potential when paired with storage technologies such as Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs). They make clean power reliable, affordable and available round the clock. At Adani Green, we are bringing this vision to life as we advance towards 50 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, led by the world's largest renewable energy plant at Khavda, Gujarat, where clean energy is being integrated with large-scale storage." Held during London Climate Action Week, one of the world's largest independent climate events, the dialogue reflected the growing importance of international collaboration in advancing climate action, encouraging policy innovation and mobilising investment for the energy transition.

The programme featured two high-level sessions chaired by Adair Turner, co-chair, ETC; and Nigel Topping, co-founder, Ambition Loop and Chair of the UK Climate Change Committee. Participants included senior leaders from Octopus Energy, Schneider Electric, the Climate Bonds Initiative, the Green Finance Institute and the Adani Group, bringing together expertise across energy, finance, technology and sustainable infrastructure, according to a company statement.

Speaking at the dialogue, Turner said: "To build zero emission economies and limit global warming to manageable levels we need to pull many levers - but by far the most important is clean electrification - electrifying as much of the economy as possible and decarbonising electricity generation as far as possible..

"The good news is that electrification is already economic in many sectors such as road transport, building heating and low temperature industrial heat; but also that technological progress is increasingly making it possible to electrify even the high temperature heat demands seen in heavy industry." Topping said: "Whilst investment in decarbonising power systems continues to accelerate, the real economic and climate benefits come from electrifying parts of the economy still largely powered by fossil fuels. A clear understanding of how technology costs continue to fall and of the role of flexibility in a modern grid are keys to unlocking the large amounts of investment required." The Adani Group has committed more than $100 billion towards the energy transition and related infrastructure, one of the world's largest private-sector commitments of its kind. Alongside renewable energy, the Group continues to invest in transmission, energy storage, green hydrogen, digital infrastructure and next-generation industrial ecosystems to support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Earlier this week, at the Adani Group's annual general meeting (AGM), chairman Gautam Adani reaffirmed the conglomerate's commitment to meeting India's growing energy needs through a diversified energy portfolio spanning renewable energy, green hydrogen, energy storage, transmission, digital infrastructure and nuclear energy.

He also announced plans to develop up to 10 GW of nuclear power capacity as part of the Group's diversified energy portfolio, with nuclear complementing renewables and storage to deliver reliable, affordable and low-carbon electricity at scale.