Legal and Regulatory Challenges in Advancing Solar Energy Development in India

A Path towards Sustainable Energy Transition

Abstract

The central aim of this research is to examine the existing laws and regulations that are obstacles to the growth of solar energy in India. In particular, the study looks at some factors that can block prevention or carry out this type of project, for example, very long land acquisition procedures, too strict environmental policy, or licensing processes that are too complicated, among others. In addition, the research wants to study the disorientation and the impact of the over regulation of investment by the central and state authorities in order to settle on an appropriate investment regime. Firstly, desk study methods will involve scrutinizing various legal instruments, policy materials, and literature in order to conceptualize the scope of the existing regulations. This will include, inter alia, scrutiny of the National Solar Mission, its implementation in different states, and its guiding principles in relation to environmental management, among others. Secondly, semi structured interviews will be conducted with a diverse group of stakeholders, including relevant government ministry officials, solar energy company executives, and local community members in leadership positions. The qualitative data collected will then be subjected to thematic analysis to work out the structure of causes, patterns, and different opinions on the regulation difficulties. Lastly, instances of some solar energy initiatives, both those that have succeeded and those that have failed, will be used to demonstrate better the implications of legal limitations and divergences in regulations, further deepening the scope of the study.