The Green Pivot: How India Inc Is Turning Climate Goals Into Capital Expenditure

India’s corporate climate ambitions are increasingly being reflected in capital allocation decisions. From power utilities and steelmakers to renewable equipment manufacturers, large Indian companies are committing significant capital towards clean energy, storage, hydrogen and low-carbon manufacturing.

An independent study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) estimates that India could attract Rs 341 lakh crore in cumulative green investments by 2047, creating 48 million full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs. The assessment also projects a potential Rs 91 lakh crore annual green market by 2047, underlining the scale of the opportunity.

Tata Power has outlined one of the largest clean-energy investment plans among Indian utilities, proposing a Rs 1.25 lakh crore capital expenditure over the next five years. The investment is aimed at scaling total generation capacity to around 30 GW by FY30.

Nearly 65% of the planned capex will be directed toward clean and green energy, including expanding renewable capacity to over 20 GW, strengthening transmission infrastructure, and developing new-age businesses such as solar manufacturing and EV charging networks. Managing Director and CEO Praveer Sinha has said the programme will focus on renewable generation, transmission upgrades, distribution reforms and emerging energy solutions.

JSW Energy has commissioned India’s largest green hydrogen manufacturing plant under the government’s National Green Hydrogen Mission. Located alongside JSW Steel’s Vijayanagar plant in Karnataka, the facility will supply green hydrogen to the steelmaker’s direct reduced iron (DRI) unit, enabling low-carbon steel production.

Under a seven-year offtake agreement, JSW Energy will supply 3,800 tonnes per annum (TPA) of green hydrogen and 30,000 TPA of green oxygen to JSW Steel. This forms part of the company’s 6,800 TPA allocation under the SIGHT programme run by SECI.

The company has also signed an MoU to scale supplies to 85,000–90,000 TPA of green hydrogen and 7.2 lakh TPA of green oxygen by 2030, aligned with India’s goal of producing 50 lakh tonnes of green hydrogen annually by the end of the decade.

JSW Energy currently has 30.5 GW of locked-in generation capacity and 29.4 GWh of locked-in energy storage capacity. It is targeting 30 GW of generation capacity and 40 GWh of storage by FY30, with a longer-term goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

ONGC Green, a wholly owned subsidiary of ONGC formed in 2024, is tasked with delivering the parent company’s 10 GW renewable capacity target by 2030.

The subsidiary is expected to contribute Rs 6,000 crore in Ebitda by 2030, nearly 9% of ONGC’s standalone Ebitda in FY24, according to CEO and Executive Director Sanjay Kumar Mazumder. The numbers highlight how renewables are becoming financially meaningful even for legacy hydrocarbon companies.

Waaree Energies is deploying capital across storage, electrolysers and inverters to support the clean-energy ecosystem. Nearly Rs 8,000 crore has been earmarked to expand its lithium-ion advanced chemistry storage cell and battery energy storage systems (BESS) capacity from 3.5 GWh to 20 GWh.

The company is also increasing electrolyser manufacturing capacity from 300 MW to 1,000 MW with a capex of Rs 125 crore, and expanding its inverter manufacturing capacity from 3 GW to 4 GW with an additional Rs 50 crore investment.

Waaree said the investments are intended to strengthen its clean-energy and allied businesses amid rising domestic and global demand. The company’s shares have gained nearly 47% over the past year.

JSW Steel plans to invest Rs 50,000–60,000 crore over the next three to four years to build 10 million tonnes of capacity at its Salav Works unit in Maharashtra, now housed under JSW Green Steel.

The output will primarily cater to exports to Europe, where the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) comes into effect from 2026, placing a premium on low-carbon manufacturing.

According to Rishi Shah, partner at Grant Thornton Bharat, reallocating capex toward climate-aligned projects is economically prudent. Studies show that green spending multipliers exceed those of traditional capex, supported by higher domestic content and labour intensity.

With India requiring nearly Rs 33 lakh crore in renewable financing by 2030, strategic government leadership and policy clarity could help catalyse private investment through risk-mitigation and demonstration effects.