India Solar Open Access Growth Stalled by Land Acquisition
⚡ Quick Read
- What happened: India added 7.8 GW of solar open access capacity in 2025, remaining nearly flat compared to the 7.7 GW added in 2024 due to persistent land acquisition bottlenecks.
- Why it matters: EPC contractors and developers face project delays of 6-12 months solely for land aggregation, which severely impacts project financial closure and client delivery timelines.
- Watch: Industry calls for digitized land records, government-backed land banks, and renewable energy zones to streamline the development process.
Background and Context
The Indian solar open access market is currently navigating a critical phase as developers struggle to scale operations despite robust demand from commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers. While corporate decarbonization goals and the search for predictable long-term energy pricing have driven interest, the sector is hitting a ceiling. India added 7.8 GW of solar open access capacity in 2025, a marginal increase from the 7.7 GW recorded in 2024. Industry experts attribute this stagnation primarily to complex land acquisition processes that hinder the rapid deployment of large-scale projects.
Key Details
Land acquisition remains the most significant hurdle for developers. According to Surendra Kumar Sharma, Head of Project Development at Jindal India Renewable Energy, the aggregation and conversion process alone consumes six to 12 months of the project lifecycle. Developers are frequently forced to navigate fragmented land ownership, where small parcels owned by multiple farmers lead to negotiation-intensive and time-consuming processes. Furthermore, Soubhik Das, Senior Director at AMPIN Energy Transition, highlights that outdated or incomplete land records often lead to legal complications, including disputes over ownership titles and unrecorded land transfers.
The requirement for contiguous, litigation-free land parcels adds another layer of complexity. Manish Mehta, Co-founder and CCO at Sunsure Energy, emphasizes that finding large, unencumbered land tracts—free from government, forest, or disputed status—near substations is increasingly difficult. As a result, developers are moving projects to remote, resource-rich regions. While this solves the land availability issue, it introduces new challenges, including higher transmission infrastructure costs, longer evacuation distances, and complex right-of-way (RoW) negotiations.
What This Means for EPCs and Developers
For EPC contractors and developers, these roadblocks directly impact project economics and delivery schedules. Timely commissioning is essential for C&I consumers to realize cost savings; any delay in land acquisition directly defers the value proposition of the project. The shift to remote locations, while necessary, risks eroding the tariff competitiveness that makes open access solar attractive to C&I clients. Developers are now urging the government to implement structural reforms, including the digitization of land records, the creation of centralized land banks, and the establishment of dedicated renewable energy zones to mitigate these risks.
What Happens Next
As the India renewable energy sector continues to target ambitious capacity additions, the focus is shifting toward policy-driven solutions. Developers are advocating for faster conversion approvals and the promotion of alternative solutions like floating solar where land is scarce. Without systemic improvements in land administration, the pace of solar open access growth may continue to face headwinds, potentially impacting the broader transition goals of the nation.
