With renewables now accounting for 59% of JSW Energy’s total power generation portfolio, the company is pursuing a balanced energy strategy that combines clean energy expansion with efficient thermal capacity to ensure grid stability and reliable round-the-clock power as India accelerates its energy transition.

The company has been recognised as the Most Sustainable Company in Power Generation in the category of Sectoral Excellence in Manufacturing in this year's BT India's Most Sustainable Companies

The strategy comes as JSW Energy commissioned 250 MW of wind, solar and hydro capacity, taking its total operational capacity to 13.7 GW. This marks the early phase of its planned Rs 20,000-crore capital investment programme for the year, with a target to add 3 GW of green energy capacity.

“At JSW Energy, sustainability is central to how we define growth. We have embedded sustainability across the full value chain—from capital allocation and project development to operations and stakeholder engagement,” says Sharad Mahendra, Joint Managing Director and CEO of JSW Energy.

“We are steadily transitioning towards a low-carbon, renewable-led portfolio, while concurrently investing in energy storage and emerging areas such as green hydrogen,” he adds.

Unlike pure-play renewable developers, the company is pursuing an integrated strategy that combines renewable expansion with dispatchable capacity. It maintains that renewable energy, in isolation, cannot yet meet the country’s round-the-clock reliability requirements.

“Our growth is aligned with India’s transition priorities, with a clear focus on scaling renewables, strengthening grid flexibility and ensuring energy security,” Mahendra says. “While we are accelerating renewable capacity supported by storage and hybrid solutions, our efficient thermal fleet continues to provide essential dispatchable power that underpins grid reliability.”

JSW Energy is building a 29.6 GWh locked-in energy storage pipeline across pumped hydro and battery technologies, alongside an operational 25 MW green hydrogen facility in Karnataka.

This approach reflects a broader shift within India’s power sector, where utilities are increasingly combining renewable energy with storage and thermal balancing capacity to manage intermittency and meet rising peak demand.

The operational expansion is also aligned with a wider push within the JSW Group to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into core business strategy and asset development.

“Sustainability leadership is now defined less by commitments and more by the ability to execute at scale with credibility,” says Prabodha Acharya, Chief Sustainability Officer at JSW Group. “In hard-to-abate sectors like power and steel, the transition must balance decarbonisation with reliability and energy security.”

He adds that the group is embedding climate-risk considerations into planning and operations. “Our climate-risk assessments aligned with global frameworks evaluate both physical and transition risks and are integrated into project design and operational decision-making. This is particularly critical in water-stressed and climate-sensitive regions.”

Water stewardship is a key focus area. “We are driving high levels of water recycling, reuse and the adoption of efficient cooling technologies, significantly reducing freshwater dependency across key assets,” Acharya says.

The group has also strengthened its approach to biodiversity and land use. “We follow a clear avoid–minimise–restore hierarchy to ensure responsible siting and ecosystem protection around new developments,” he adds.

Over the next three to five years, JSW Energy plans to continue scaling renewable energy and storage capacity, while maintaining a calibrated level of thermal generation to support system reliability and fund growth.

“Delivering firm, round-the-clock green power at scale remains a key priority,” Mahendra says. “This will be enabled through a combination of renewables, storage and efficient thermal capacity, ensuring we support both India’s decarbonisation goals and its growing energy demand.”

@ neetu_csharma