Digitalisation, reactive power management, and network strengthening are not supporting acts in India’s clean energy story – they are the main stage. Without them, India’s 500 GW non-fossil fuel ambition risks becoming an infrastructure bottleneck rather than an energy milestone.
India has committed to achieving 500 GW of non-fossil energy capacity by 2030, positioning itself among the world’s most ambitious clean energy markets. Yet, while renewable capacity additions dominate the conversation, a more urgent reality remains under-addressed: renewable ambitions cannot be delivered on legacy grid infrastructure.
The energy transition is often viewed as a race to install more solar panels, wind turbines, and battery systems. However, generation capacity alone does not guarantee reliability. Renewable energy introduces variability into power systems. Solar output fluctuates with weather and daylight conditions, while wind remains inherently intermittent. Without a grid capable of managing this variability in real time, the risks of congestion, curtailment, voltage instability, and outages increase significantly.
India’s Economic Survey 2025–26 highlighted that renewable energy curtailment is increasingly linked to transmission gaps and evacuation constraints. High-renewable states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu reported curtailment levels of 10–30% in 2025 due to transmission unavailability. This reflects a fundamental challenge: India’s grid was originally designed for centralised thermal generation delivering predictable baseload power through one-directional networks. Today, it must support a decentralised, intermittent, and digital energy ecosystem.
This makes grid modernisation foundational not optional.
A major challenge in renewable integration is reactive power management. Renewable-heavy grids experience frequent voltage fluctuations, which can weaken transmission efficiency, increase losses, and compromise system stability. To address this, India sanctioned transmission investments worth ₹38,849 crore in 2025 to strengthen renewable evacuation infrastructure. The Ministry of Power has also acknowledged the need for networks capable of handling over 500 GW of renewable capacity by 2030.
Digitalisation is equally critical. Traditional grid operations depend on manual monitoring, fragmented systems, and reactive interventions. Renewable-rich grids, however, require predictive intelligence. Smart grids, digital substations, SCADA systems, IoT-enabled asset monitoring, and AI-driven forecasting are helping utilities move from reactive maintenance to predictive operations. India’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) is already accelerating this shift through smart metering and data-led planning frameworks.
Yet, grid readiness is not only about large-scale systems and software – it is also about strengthening critical high-voltage components.
Transformer bushings, though often overlooked, are essential to grid reliability. They provide the insulated pathway that safely channels high-voltage conductors through grounded equipment such as transformers,. As India expands transmission infrastructure to support 400 kV, 765 kV, and HVDC systems, the quality and reliability of transformer bushings become increasingly important.
Industry studies indicate that bushing-related issues contribute significantly to transformer failures globally. In many cases, a bushing failure can result in total transformer damage, extended downtime, and high replacement costs. In a renewable-intensive grid environment, such failures are not isolated equipment issues – they are grid stability risks.
This is particularly relevant as India’s renewable energy output continues to accelerate. Renewable power generation grew sharply in 2025, while capacity additions reached record highs. This momentum is encouraging, but it also increases operational stress on transmission networks if grid upgrades do not keep pace.
The future of energy is not merely renewable – it is intelligent, flexible, and resilient. This requires investment not only in generation assets, but also in transmission corridors, reactive compensation systems, digital controls, automation, and dependable high-voltage equipment.
Grid modernisation is not a parallel agenda to the energy transition; it is the prerequisite that enables it.
India’s clean energy transition will not be won by capacity targets alone. It will be won by the resilience of the network that carries energy where it is needed – and by every component that makes that network reliable.
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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