India's renewable energy expansion is set to unlock a significant opportunity for the real estate sector, with solar and wind energy projects expected to drive $10-15 billion in land investments by 2030, according to a report by Colliers India. The country's installed renewable energy capacity stood at 251 gigawatts (GW) in 2025, with solar and wind accounting for nearly three-fourths of the total. With India targeting 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, Colliers estimates that another 270-300 GW of solar and wind capacity will be added over the next few years. As per Colliers India, this scale-up will create significant opportunities for the real estate sector, particularly in land and industrial and warehousing segments, while also driving development of growth corridors and investment destinations across the country.
The renewable energy expansion is expected to translate into large-scale demand for land aggregation, industrial parks, warehousing, worker housing and supporting infrastructure. According to the Colliers India report, upcoming solar and wind projects could require nearly 7 lakh acres of land across the country by 2030, creating a substantial opportunity for developers, land aggregators and infrastructure firms. Land acquisition and aggregation typically account for 10-12 per cent of overall renewable energy project costs, with projected investments of $110-120 billion in the renewable energy sector over the next few years. For solar projects, majority of the land is aggregated and acquired either by private developers or central/state-level nodal authorities in case of relatively larger parks, while for wind projects, land is primarily acquired for construction of electrical substations and other critical infrastructure, with the area around turbine sites often secured through leasing arrangements.
The industrial and warehousing segment is expected to emerge as a major beneficiary of the renewable energy boom. Renewable energy original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) leased about 6.1 million square feet (msf) of grade A industrial and warehousing space across the top eight cities during 2021-2025, with their share in overall leasing demand rising from 3 per cent in 2021 to 8 per cent in 2025. According to Colliers, annual warehousing demand from renewable energy OEMs could rise to 4-7 msf by 2030, accounting for 10-15 per cent of overall industrial and warehousing demand. Cities such as Chennai and Pune have emerged as key hubs for renewable manufacturing and storage facilities, with the OEM segment likely to account for a significant share in overall demand for industrial and warehousing spaces in India as renewable projects expand.
As reported by Colliers India, annual leasing by renewable energy OEMs has surged nearly 4X times to around 3 million sq ft of industrial & warehousing space uptake in 2025. The growth is driven by domestic manufacturing of solar modules, wind turbines, battery storage systems and semiconductors. Beyond land and logistics, the renewable energy buildout is also expected to spur demand for affordable housing, rental accommodation, office spaces, industrial townships and training centres around emerging clean-energy hubs, particularly across tier-II and tier-III cities. With non-fossil sources (renewables and nuclear energy) accounting for 51 per cent of the existing installed capacity and rapid advancements in domestic manufacturing capabilities, India is well positioned to comfortably achieve its target of 500 GW non-fossil-based capacity by 2030.
