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India’s Carbon Trading Platform Set for September 2026 Rollout to Strengthen Renewable Energy Growth

India is expected to operationalise its carbon trading platform by September 2026, a development anticipated to accelerate renewable energy adoption—particularly within the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment. The update was shared by Ghanshyam Prasad, Chairman of the Central Electricity Authority, during the 4th edition of the India Energy Transition Summit held at Federation House in New Delhi.

He noted that the proposed platform could play a crucial role in sustaining renewable capacity expansion at a time when the pace of power purchase agreement (PPA) signings has moderated. According to him, additional market-driven mechanisms are also under consideration to facilitate large-scale renewable integration and enhance grid balancing. Among the measures being explored is an incentive framework to promote flexible operations of coal-based power plants, enabling greater absorption of renewable electricity into the grid.

Speaking at the summit, Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy, emphasised that India’s energy transition is progressing steadily, supported by defined targets and policy initiatives. Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, the country has set a goal of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2070.

Naik highlighted that India’s total installed power capacity has surpassed 520 GW, with non-fossil sources accounting for more than half of the mix. He attributed this progress to the expansion of rooftop solar, development of green energy corridors, strengthening of domestic manufacturing, and implementation of the National Green Hydrogen Mission. He further underlined the need to prioritise transmission infrastructure upgrades, energy storage deployment, grid flexibility measures, and the financial health of distribution companies to maintain growth momentum.

Organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the two-day event convened policymakers, industry stakeholders, international institutions, and technology experts. Key discussions revolved around accelerating renewable energy deployment, reinforcing grid resilience, scaling up storage and financing solutions, and advancing industrial decarbonisation, alternative fuels, carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS), and the evolving role of nuclear energy.