NEW ENERGY: FROM EVALUATION TO ADOPTION
5 August 2026 | India International Centre, New Delhi
On 5 August 2026, Think Change Forum convened a national seminar titled "New Energy: From Evaluation to Adoption" at the India International Centre, New Delhi. The seminar brought together policymakers, industry leaders, financiers, researchers and innovators around a single question: India has built world-leading clean-energy capacity how does it now integrate and use that capacity at scale?
Across keynotes, expert panels and fireside chats, the discussion moved past targets to the real bottlenecks including grid integration, storage, financing and demand, converged on four priority actions to accelerate adoption.
Knowledge Partner- Delhi Research Implementation and Innovation (DRIIV)
About DRIIV
Delhi Research Implementation and Innovation is the umbrella body of the Delhi Science & Technology Cluster and a flagship initiative of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, set up on the recommendation of PM-STIAC. Strategically housed at IIT Delhi, DRIIV brings together academia, industry, start-ups and government to bridge the critical gap between lab-scale innovation and large-scale deployment. DRIIV's mandate is to accelerate the journey of sustainable and future-ready solutions from concept to commercialisation, enabling validation, pilot testing, industry adoption and realworld impact.
Supporting Partner: IFEVA
IFEVA, established in 2019, the International Federation of Electric Vehicle Association i-FEVA is India’s First Federation of Electric Vehicle and its non-profit organization with the objective of promoting electric vehicle in India , research, development and deployment of electric vehicles. i-FEVA is a part of Testing Instruments Indian Chambers of commerce Industry.
How the Day Unfolded
Dr. Ajay Mathur- Former Director General, International Solar Alliance; Bureau of Energy Efficiency; Professor of Practice, School of Public Policy, IIT Delhi
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- The technology works but the real question now is adoption. Crossing from pilot to commercial scale takes three things: proof of performance, bankability, and buyer confidence
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- Adoption is an ecosystem challenge, no single ministry, PSU or bank can deliver it alone; regulators should create sandboxes to test new tech at scale.
Mr. A.K. Saxena — Senior Director, TERI
New technologies keep emerging but they only scale when the full system is ready.
- Six enablers must line up for any new tech: policy, standards, skills, finance, business models and demand.
- Agri-PV and CSP-plus-storage are maturing fast and ready for wider deployment.
Panel 1: Building the Adoption Ecosystem for New Energy Solutions
The panel consisted of Moderator: Mr Gaurav Choudhury (CEO, Ear Shot Media).
Panellists:
- Dr Srikanta K. Panigrahi (IISD)
- Mr J.S. Chandok (CEO, ONGPL)
- Dr. Vishal Choudhary (Scientist F, Office of the PSA)
- Dr Deepti Mahajan (Shiv Nadar University)
- Dr Pankaj Lal (CESAC, Montclair State University)
- Ms Shilpi Samantray (Energiva Ventures)
- Mr A.K. Saxena (TERI) Planned around startups, ROI and affordability
The discussion centered instead on why proven solutions still don't scale. The real gap is execution, not ambition; breaking institutional silos is the biggest structural fix, with PSUs acting as demand creators and de-riskers. State-level bottlenecks (capacity, coordination, finance, approvals) stall delivery and adoption should be incremental, commercially framed, and paired with a just transition.
Fireside Chat- Innovation Spotlight: From Solution to Scale
Mr. Kumar Subramanian (MD & Founder, Sculpt Partners) with Mr. Jiwesh Nandan (Retd. IAS; Distinguished Fellow, TERI; Founding CEO, EESL
How EESL turned demand aggregation into more than 50 billion kWh of energy savings.
- Government must take the early risk to prove a market, then step aside for the private sector — “it's the market and the mandate” together that drive change.
- Crowding in commercial capital needs risk-guarantee funds, greener procurement rules and carbon pricing to close the green premium.
Innovation Showcase
Mr. Ashish Goel- Co-Founder, Optimist
Showcased one of the country's most efficient air conditioners. A live example of the proof-of-performance, bankability and buyer-confidence formula cited in the opening keynote.
Partner Introduction- International Federation of Electric Vehicle Association (IFEVA)
Dr Rajeev Mishra- President, IFEVA
Introduced IFEVA and its role in accelerating electric-mobility adoption by connecting innovators, industry and policy across the EV ecosystem.
Fireside Chat- From Policy Intent to Project Reality
Dr. Rahul Walawalkar (Netzero Energy Transition Association) with Mr Raj Singh Niranjan (Managing Partner, Trans India Law Associate
The biggest barrier to solar isn't technology, it's land and regulation.
- Because land is a State subject, there can be no single national solar policy only state-level frameworks; transmission adds “right of way” challenges.
- Investors back only what is bankable, risk-free and transaction-ready, which comes down to mastering land, law, policy and standards.
Special Keynote
Mr. Upendra Tripathy- Retd. IAS; Former Director General, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; Founding DG, International Solar Alliance; Advisor (Climate Change) to the Hon'ble CM of Karnataka
The inside story of India's 100 GW solar target from “no funds, no land, no demand” to global leadership.
- Emerging innovation keeps resetting the limits from higher-efficiency solar cells to night-time power from stored solar heat.
- Technology never travels alone; it carries people, values and culture, and succeeds only when it fits them.
Panel 2: Legacy Companies, Energy Efficiency & Carbon Reduction
Moderator: Dr Rahul Walawalkar (Netzero Energy Transition Association).
Panellists:
Ms Disha Agarwal (Fellow, CEEW)
Mr Sandeep Kanda (Consultant, World Bank)
Mr Vishwas Surange (CEO & ED, Powerlinks Transmission)
Mr Arindam Ghosh (Partner, Nangia Andersen)
Ms Rupal Jain (Technology Policy – Nuclear, Reliance Industries)
Mr Raj Singh Niranjan (Trans India Law Associates)
There's no silver bullet, the transition needs several fronts advancing together.
•Even proven tech takes 20–30 years to reach scale, so build the business case on value, not just falling prices — and use digitalisation (India Energy Stack, smart meters) as the software layer for decarbonisation.
•Nuclear revival, transmission innovation and carbon markets must scale in parallel — from Reliance's “sand to electrons to green molecules” to Powerlinks' pioneering PPP grid to carbon markets catalysing biomass power.
