India's Race to Ramp Up Renewable Energy

India is set to connect 35 GW of solar and wind energy to its grid by March 2025, aiming to meet its 2030 clean energy target. While coal use still dominates, new solar and wind capacities are being added. Financial institutions and conglomerates pledge billions to support renewable projects.

India is on track to connect a record 35 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind energy capacity to its grid by March 2025, in an effort to achieve its 2030 clean energy target after failing to meet its 2022 renewables goal. The world's fastest-growing major economy has focused on coal to cope with rising power demand, with coal-fired power output expected to surpass renewable energy generation this year.

The commissioning of large solar farms has slowed in recent years, leading to the slowest growth in solar power generation in six years during the first half of 2024. However, Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, India's top bureaucrat at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, expects fresh additions of 30 GW of solar capacity starting this fiscal year. India, the third largest solar power producer globally, will also add around 5 GW of new wind capacity, increasing its total renewables capacity to approximately 153 GW.

Bhalla shared these projections during RE-Invest, India's largest renewable energy conference, indicating upcoming tenders for battery-linked storage projects due to market demand. Despite being 13% short of its 2022 renewable goal, India aims to increase its non-fossil power capacity to 500 GW by 2030. Financial institutions have pledged $386 billion for renewable projects, and conglomerates like Reliance Industries and Adani Green Energy committed to significant additional capacity.

(With inputs from agencies.)