India’s renewables capacity hits nearly 220 GW

Solar and wind logged record-breaking additions.

India has reported that its total non-fossil fuel based energy capacity has reached 217.62 gigawatts (GW) as of 20 January.

Solar and wind energy continued to drive the expansion, reporting record-breaking 24.5 GW and 3.4 GW of additional capacity, respectively, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

Solar energy remained the dominant contributor to the country’s clean energy mix, accounting for 47% of the total installed capacity.

In terms of utility-scale solar, a total of 18.5 GW were installed last year. Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu were the top-performing states, contributing 71% of India’s total utility-scale solar installations.

Meanwhile, Gujarat with 1,250 megawatts (MW), Karnataka with 1,135 MW, and Tamil Nadu with 980 MW led wind energy installations. They accounted for 98% of the new capacity additions.