Since the early 2010s, India has become a global leader in the deployment of solar energy. The country has set ambitious targets, launched several international initiatives, and seen its installed capacity increase sharply.

The aim of this paper is threefold: first, to identify the dominant political narratives that legitimate this massive deployment; second, to analyze how these narratives have evolved over time; and finally, to investigate how these narratives frame policymaking and exercise material influence across different scales. To do so, we draw on an analysis of federal political discourses from 2010 onwards as well as on six months of multi-sited fieldwork during 2022–2023.

We identify two overarching narratives. The first narrative, “solar nationalism,” posits solar energy development as a national mission aimed toward global green energy leadership. It is synergistic with a certain vision of the nation and with India's desire to brand itself as a leader in environmental protection.

The second narrative, “win-win techno-solutionism,” constructs solar energy as an eco-friendly economic opportunity for generating employment and development in rural areas, enhancing expertise, and expanding business horizons.

Despite clear differences in emphasis from one political majority to another, the overall continuity of the two narratives throughout the study period is noticeable. We argue that these narratives work to legitimate top-down policymaking, the prioritization of quantitative targets over more qualitative indicators, and the promotion of utility-scale solar plants over other scales of deployment.