Bharat Renewable Energy Summit 2026 Concludes in New Delhi

India's largest gathering on clean power came to a close in the capital. The Bharat Renewable Energy (BRE) Summit and Expo 2026 held its valedictory session in New Delhi on 5 November 2026, addressed by Vice-President C. P. Radhakrishnan and by the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Education and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Pralhad Joshi.

What the Vice-President said

The Vice-President argued that environmental promises are not a brake on growth but a spur to it, and that the past decade has borne out that view through wider energy access, cheaper industrial power, jobs and a smaller import bill. Pressing for closer ties between industry and academia, he remarked that the technologies of 2040 will come out of today's laboratories and start-ups.

The scale of the summit

The Union Minister called it the biggest renewable energy event ever hosted in India. It drew more than 75,000 visitors from 135 countries, over 32 international Ministers, more than eight partner countries and the European Union. Fourteen States and Union Territories came in as partners, along with six Chief Ministers and 10 State Energy Ministers. There were over 400 exhibitors, more than 620 speakers and 113 sessions. The 9th International Solar Alliance Assembly and the 4th International Conference on Green Hydrogen were both folded into it, and 800 international delegates attended. Ten MoUs and framework agreements were signed, among them an agreement involving SECI with the potential to supply 3 lakh tonnes of green methanol a year.

The figures on the sector

Hybrid renewable projects of 15 GW were auctioned in 2025, taking cumulative auctioned capacity to 64 GW, both the highest anywhere. Average tariffs between 2023 and 2025 were around USD 45 per MWh, or Rs 4,260, which is 20 per cent below the average cost of coal-fired electricity. Distributed solar for self-consumption is expected to pass 100 GW by 2030. The figures also appear in the International Energy Agency's India RE Market Report 2026, launched at the summit.

Storage, grids and AI

The Minister pointed to the Union Cabinet's approval a day earlier of a Viability Gap Funding scheme of Rs 14,500 crore for 92 GWh of grid-scale storage, made up of 30 GWh of battery storage, 60 GWh of pumped storage and 2 GWh from newer technologies. He said stronger transmission, more storage and smarter grids must grow alongside capacity, and that AI data centres alone could add 26.3 GW of demand by 2031-32. Clean energy, in his words, will power AI.