Assam taps just 2 per cent of 42-GW potential of renewable energy

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Assam is blessed with a 42 GW (gigawatt) potential of renewable energy, but the state has tapped only around two per cent of its potential despite the government’s thrust in this sector.

Assam stands at an energy crossroads. Power demand is set to nearly triple by 2035-36 — from 10,900 MU today to over 31,200 MU — and peak load is expected to double to 5.5 GW. The question is no longer whether Assam needs to transform its power sector. The question is how fast and how smart the government can transform the power scenario.

Two new studies — Road to Scale Renewable Energy Deployment in Assam and Solar PV Scale-Up in the C&I Sector of Assam — lay out the data, the risks, and the opportunities with clarity.

Assam has an estimated 42 GW of renewable energy potential but has only utilised about two per cent of it. Yet rooftop solar has already surged nearly tenfold – from 42 MW in 2024 to over 400 MW in 2026 – proving that when the conditions are right, Assam can move fast.

To meet its 43.3 per cent renewable consumption obligation by 2029-30, Assam must add more than 3.5 GW of fresh renewable capacity. The state has already announced 5.6 GW of pumped storage projects alone in the pipeline. The building blocks are in place.

As commercial and industrial consumers go solar, DISCOM revenues face pressure. The studies find that a grid sellback tariff of just 4/kWh is enough to flip every high-penetration scenario from loss to profit – turning a threat into an opportunity.

Assam’s DISCOM must evolve from a conventional power seller into a distributed energy aggregator, a storage operator, and a grid services provider. The technology exists. The economics work. What is needed now is policy will and institutional action.

Also read: Assam: NRL and Oil Green Energy sign MoU for Renewable Energy Collaboration