India’s energy transition in 2025 marked a clear shift from intent to execution. The focus moved beyond headline targets to the on-ground challenge of installing, commissioning, and operating renewable assets at scale. As renewable capacity expanded rapidly, workforce demand followed the realities of project execution—where installation timelines, safety compliance, and grid connectivity emerged as decisive factors.
Renewable Energy Capacity
India made further headway in the renewable energy (RE) sector, with total installed RE capacity reaching 262.7 GW as of November FY26, accounting for more than half of the country’s total installed electricity generation capacity. Solar power remained the dominant contributor, with installed capacity reaching 132.85 GW, driven by utility-scale solar parks, rooftop installations, and hybrid projects.
Despite this progress, the path to 2030 remains demanding. India has committed to achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, implying that nearly 240 GW of additional capacity must be installed over the next five years. Achieving this scale will depend not only on capital availability and land access, but on sustained workforce mobilisation across installation, electrical works, commissioning, and transmission integration.
India on the Global Renewable Stage
Globally, China and the United States continue to lead in absolute renewable capacity. China has crossed 1,800 GW, while the US has exceeded 400 GW. India, now among the top renewable energy markets globally, stands out for the pace, cost efficiency, and scale-readiness of its installations.
India’s advantage lies in potential. High solar irradiation, expanding wind corridors, improving transmission infrastructure, and declining storage costs position India to be one of the largest contributors to incremental global renewable capacity additions by 2030. This also strengthens India’s role as a long-term hub for renewable project execution talent.
Union Budget Announcements in 2025
The Union Budget reinforced renewable energy as the cornerstone of India’s transition strategy, with continued policy and financial support for solar, wind, and hybrid projects, and for transmission corridors, directly strengthening installation activity and project execution capacity. At the same time, the Budget recognised the need for a broader clean energy system to support rising renewable penetration. This included emphasis on energy storage to manage intermittency, green hydrogen as a low-carbon fuel produced using renewable power for hard-to-abate industries, and nuclear energy as a non-fossil baseload source to ensure grid stability.
Workforce Evolution in 2025
Workforce demand in 2025 was led overwhelmingly by installation and execution roles, reflecting the surge in projects moving from tendering to construction. Hiring was strongest across:
● Solar and wind project installation crews
● Electrical erection, cabling, and testing teams
● Civil works, foundations, and mounting structures
● Commissioning engineers and grid-synchronisation specialists
● EHS and site-level compliance personnel
As commissioning timelines tightened, employers prioritised workforce availability that could mobilise quickly, adhere to safety standards, and deliver projects on schedule. Installation productivity became a direct determinant of project economics and return timelines.
With rising installed capacity, hiring intent in the power and energy sector remained positive at +4.0% (per Teamlease EOR H2FY26), supported by record peak demand and accelerated additions to renewable capacity. Strong solar and wind auctions are sustaining demand for grid planners, HV substation staff, SCADA engineers, and renewable O&M roles, while storage and hybrid parks are creating new requirements for EMS/BMS compliance and safety functions that support asset uptime, performance monitoring, and regulatory compliance. This reflects the sector’s gradual shift from build-only cycles to long-term asset management.
Green Energy Expansion and Decentralised Deployment
Alongside large projects, green energy adoption gained momentum through rooftop solar, distributed renewable systems, and EV-linked charging infrastructure. These initiatives created employment closer to consumption centres and relied on faster installation cycles, repeat deployments, and local service teams.
Green hydrogen pilots, supported by policy incentives, also progressed across select industrial clusters. While still at an early stage, these projects began generating demand for installation, safety, monitoring, and maintenance roles linked to renewable-powered hydrogen production.
Outlook for 2026: Execution Will Define Momentum
Looking ahead to 2026, renewable energy growth is expected to remain strong, driven by:
● Accelerated installations aligned with the 2030 target trajectory
● Expansion of solar-wind hybrid and storage-linked projects
● Greater focus on commissioning discipline and grid readiness
Workforce strategies will increasingly align with installation milestones, commissioning schedules, and operational continuity, rather than announcements alone. Installation crews, commissioning teams, and O&M personnel will remain central to converting targets into megawatts on the grid. India’s green shift is firmly underway. As renewable capacity expands, green energy adoption deepens, and clean energy systems stabilise the grid, execution will remain the defining factor. In this transition, installation-led workforce demand will continue to power India’s renewable energy journey through 2026 and beyond.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.
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