Fractured/Earth

In early February, as the market was absorbing the immediate impact of Hindenburg’s exhaustive report on Adani’s alleged improprieties, cabinet minister RK Singh struck a sanguine note. Speaking at a press conference, Singh, India’s minister for New and Renewable Energy, dismissed concerns that the Adani Group’s current crisis might hurt India’s clean energy plans. 

“I have the most robust renewable energy capacity in the world and that means that I have at least 15-16 large companies which are at the level of global companies,” he said, adding: “It will not impact us in any way.”

Even at first glance, the minister’s words seem counterintuitive. Scan any part of India’s energy sector—coal, gas, RE, hydrogen or solar—and you will find an oversized imprint of Adani’s presence. 

Not only is the group one of the biggest RE developers in the country, it’s one of three firms chosen by the Indian government for the solar module manufacturing PLI. The group is also an early mover into sectors considered critical by India’s NDA government—like pumped storage and hydrogen. For the latter, it aims to be the largest fully integrated green hydrogen player in the world. It’s the only large firm vying with RIL chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani to create a clean energy ecosystem in India spanning solar, wind, batteries and electrolysers. 

For this reason, India needs a more careful answer to the question reporters had asked Singh. Given the short-selling attack, what happens to the group’s clean-energy plans? What does that mean for India’s own low-carbon ambitions?

This report was written for CarbonCopy, and cross-posted here by the good folks at The Wire. Also see this, if you have the stomach for it, my interview with Unequal, a podcast brought out by fellow reporter Kabir Agarwal.
The Adani saga has been centre-stage even at the energy newsletter I write for CarbonCopy. See sometime, Part One, Part Two, and now, Part Three. Ironic. The year had started with me mulling over the emerging battle between Adani and Ambani — their views on how India’s electricity markets will evolve is entirely dissimilar — and look at where we are now.