grist.org · 1 day ago

A First Among Major nations, India Is Industrializing with Solar | Grist

A decade ago, India seemed determined to power its economic rise with coal, but something quieter has been unfolding: the world's most populous nation is becoming the first major country to industrialize predominantly on solar energy. As one analyst observes, "China built on coal; India is building on sun" - a shift made possible by plummeting solar costs and India's abundant sunshine, resulting in solar capacity growing 40 percent annually. The transformation isn't seamless; outdated grids waste nearly 40 percent of solar power at times, farmers face displacement, and steel production still demands coal's heat. Yet across 280 square miles of salt desert, where robots clean millions of panels each night and batteries store sunlight for darkness, a different path forward is taking shape - one that could show other emerging economies how to close the gap with wealthy nations without repeating their carbon-heavy mistakes.