India emerging as renewable energy powerhouse

The country added 2.3 GW of new renewables in November 2024 alone.

India expressed confidence that it is becoming one of the world’s leaders when it comes to the deployment of renewable energy.

“What India does in renewable energy is not only keenly watched by the world, but also adopted by several countries,” said Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi.

The official said that between April and November this year, India added nearly 15 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity, almost double the 7.54 GW added last year. Last month alone, 2.3 GW of new capacity was added which was a four-fold increase from the 566 megawatts last year.

India’s total installed capacity in the non-fossil fuel energy sector has also reached 214 GW, up 14% compared to the same period last year.

Joshi reiterated the government’s commitment to achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based capacity by 2030. Despite having one of the largest coal resources globally, India maintains one of the lowest per capita emissions, at one-third of the global average.

The minister also outlined several key steps taken by the Union Government to boost the growth of renewable energy sector in India such as the introduction of the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, with an outlay of INR 24,000 crore. There is also an ongoing initiative to establish 50 solar parks, with a cumulative capacity of 38 GW by 2025 to 2026.

Additionally, the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana scheme is targeting 1 crore installations by 2026 to 2027, with an outlay of INR 75,021 crore.