GameChange Solar specialises in high-performance trackers, racking, and Balance of Systems (BOS) systems for the renewable energy sector. Reflecting on his journey in the context of India’s solar transformation, Vikas Bansal, CEO, GameChange Solar, says when he entered the renewable energy sector around 2010-11, solar and wind were widely viewed as alternative sources of energy, whereas today they sit at the centre of national energy strategies across the world. He notes that the transition from a fringe technology to a mainstream energy source has been one of the sector’s most significant transformations over the past 14 years.
Solar, Storage and Green Hydrogen Form the Next Phase
According to Bansal, the clean energy transition can broadly be understood in three phases. Around 15 years ago, the first stage involved simply injecting solar and wind-generated electricity into the grid, despite major limitations around intermittency and cost. Renewable energy at the time depended heavily on government subsidies and policy incentives. Today, however, both challenges have evolved considerably. Storage technologies and green hydrogen are increasingly enabling renewable energy to become dispatchable, while rapidly improving economics mean governments now primarily need to provide stable policy frameworks rather than direct financial support.
Bansal says the next decade is likely to see a gradual shift in baseload power generation from coal towards a combination of solar, storage and eventually green hydrogen. He argues that solar alone cannot sustain a reliable grid because of intermittency concerns, but pairing low-cost solar generation with storage and hydrogen creates a system that is simultaneously green, cost-effective and reliable.
India’s Policies Evolve Beyond Solar-Only Expansion
He explains that discussions around renewable penetration have also changed substantially. Fifteen years ago, most markets believed solar and wind penetration could not rise beyond 20-25 per cent without destabilising grids. Since then, policy frameworks — particularly in India — have evolved to support round-the-clock renewable power through combinations such as solar-plus-storage and fixed dispatchable renewable energy (FDRE).
Referring to the “duck curve” phenomenon associated with California’s electricity grid, Bansal says India recognised early that similar challenges would emerge domestically as solar penetration increased. Policymakers therefore began encouraging solutions such as battery storage and, eventually, green hydrogen integration. He explains that green hydrogen production itself depends entirely on renewable electricity, with solar and wind power feeding electrolysers to produce hydrogen for hard-to-abate industries.
Technology Aims to Flatten the Curve
Bansal believes the broader industry challenge is not merely the shape of the curve — whether termed a duck curve or canyon curve — but how renewable energy generated during limited daylight hours can be distributed efficiently across the day. He identifies transmission infrastructure as a major bottleneck, noting that grids cannot economically rely on assets utilised for only a few hours daily.
He adds that technologies such as solar trackers are increasingly important in flattening generation curves. Comparing trackers to sunflowers that follow the sun throughout the day, Bansal says such systems increase electricity generation during mornings and evenings, reducing the amount of storage required while improving overall grid efficiency.
Consistency and Grid Planning Differentiate Successful Markets
From his experience across nearly 25 global markets, Bansal identifies consistency in policy, long-term planning and parallel grid development as the key differentiators between countries managing the energy transition successfully and those struggling to sustain momentum. He contrasts India’s relatively stable renewable policy environment since the launch of the National Solar Mission in 2010-11 with other markets where policy enthusiasm faded after initial deployment phases.
He also highlights India’s parallel investments in transmission infrastructure and renewable energy zones, which he says have helped avoid the curtailment issues seen in several other countries. In his view, these factors have enabled India to add roughly 40-45 GW of solar capacity annually.
India’s Opportunity Extends Beyond Domestic Demand
Discussing India’s global position, Bansal says the country’s opportunity now extends beyond domestic renewable deployment towards exporting expertise, technology and manufacturing capabilities internationally. He notes that India has emerged as a major engineering and manufacturing hub for GameChange Solar, with products increasingly being manufactured locally and exported globally.
Bansal argues that global supply chain diversification has become a priority following the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly as many clean energy supply chains remain heavily concentrated in a single geography. He believes India is well positioned to emerge as an alternative manufacturing and technology hub, especially as domestic PV module and cell manufacturing capacities continue to expand.
While he acknowledges that this transition has progressed more slowly than expected over the past few years, Bansal says the shift towards India as a global clean energy manufacturing and technology base is already underway, both for GameChange Solar and for the broader renewable energy industry.
