AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT | 23rd OCTOBER 2026 | The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) — a homegrown institution headquartered in New Delhi and one of the world’s leading climate think tanks — today hosted a knowledge-sharing roundtable in Ahmedabad on “Energy Transition and Solid-Waste: Opportunities to Build a Self-Reliant and Climate-Resilient India.” CEEW researchers highlighted that the move to clean energy is changing India and making its energy supply more secure.
In just 30 years, India has made two big leaps. Almost every home now has electricity, and the power grid is getting greener. By 2022, 99 per cent of homes had electricity. Each person used 3.5 times more electricity than before. Power lines had tripled in length. Power generation capacity had grown six times, and renewable energy made up a growing share of it.
Dhruvak Aggrawal, Senior Programme Lead, CEEW, said that Gujarat had 55.5 GW of renewable energy capacity in September 2026. This is the highest of any state and 18 per cent of India’s total. Gujarat also has the highest wind capacity in India, at 17 GW in September 2026. Over 6.8 lakh homes in the state have rooftop solar under PM Surya Ghar. The state aims to reach 100 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
A clean energy transition does not just provide clean energy for homes and industries, but also creates new jobs. For instance, a 2026 CEEW and NRDC study, Driving Energy Transition: Workforce, Skills, and Gender in India’s Renewable Energy Sector, estimates that meeting India’s 500 GW non-fossil capacity target and the National Green Hydrogen Mission goals could create over 44 lakh full-time equivalent jobs. Biomass power and small hydro create the most jobs per megawatt, and rooftop solar alone would account for about 43 per cent of the estimated jobs.
The session also looked at jobs and economic opportunities in waste management. India’s cities produce 1,71,000 tonnes of waste every day, and about half of it is organic. CEEW study, Organic Waste Circular Economy for Viksit Bharat: Jobs, Investment, and Emissions Pathways to 2047, shows that a circular economy for India’s organic waste sector could become 26 lakh direct jobs and unlock a ~USD 51 billion in investment by 2047, under an enabling policy scenario. On a small scale, it can be turned into compost, which can replace chemical fertilisers and improve soil. On a large scale, it can be turned into biogas for transport, cooking and electricity, which also leaves behind organic fertiliser.
Priyanka Singh, Senior Programme Lead, CEEW, said, “India has already built a strong policy base for organic waste management. Our study finds that around 16 ministries and government bodies are involved through nine programmes, three policy guidelines, and seven schemes. The Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban, National Bioenergy Programme, and GOBARdhan have helped shift the conversation from waste disposal to resource recovery. The next challenge is coordination and execution. Cities need reliable waste data, contracts that reward quality rather than just quantity, assured source-segregated feedstock, and credible offtake markets for compost, fermented organic manure and bio-CNG.”
CEEW is bringing What On Earth! to Ahmedabad Cultural Week. Starting today, the four-day event offers climate cartoons, hands-on workshops and interactive sessions. All sessions are free and run until 26 October 2026 at Shreyas Foundation, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad.
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