India's renewable energy capacity grew by 165% in 10 years: Pralhad Joshi

Joshi noted that solar energy capacity has expanded dramatically from 2.82 GW in March 2014 to 85.47 GW by June 2024, marking an increase of approximately 30 times

India's installed renewable energy capacity has increased by 165 per cent over the past decade, rising from 76.38 Gigawatts (GW) in 2014 to 203.1 GW in 2024, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Tuesday.

Replying to a debate in Rajya Sabha on demands for grants related to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Joshi highlighted that India now ranks fourth globally in renewable energy capacity, with significant advancements in solar and wind power.

"I am proud to share that today, India has achieved 4th position globally in RE Installed Capacity. We stood 4th in Wind Power capacity and 5th in Solar PV capacity," Joshi said.

 

"For the first time, we have crossed 200 GW capacity from non-fossil fuel sources, that include 85.47 GW of solar power and 46.93 GW of large hydro 46.66 GW of wind power, 10.95 GW of biopower, and 5.00 GW of small hydropower," he added.

He noted that solar energy capacity has expanded dramatically from 2.82 GW in March 2014 to 85.47 GW by June 2024, marking an increase of approximately 30 times.

Joshi emphasized that renewable energy is no longer a choice for India but a necessity for the nation's sustainable growth and development.

"India witnessed one of the fastest rates of growth in the renewable energy sector among all large economies of the world. We are aligned with the developed Nations and achieved 4th position in the world in total RE installed capacity," he said.

He also referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi's COP26 commitment, to reach 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.

"Energy security is among the 9 key priority areas of this Government. For this, the budgetary allocation of M/o Renewable Energy has almost doubled from Rs10,000 crores last year to more than Rs20,000 crores this year," Joshi said.

The share of Thermal sources in the total Installed Capacity has come down from 67.69 per cent in 2013-14 to 54.46 per cent in 2024-25 (up to June 2024), while the share of non-fossil fuel in the total installed capacity has increased from 32.30 per cent to 45.54 per cent, he said.

He added that total RE generation in India has increased from 193.50 billion units (BU) in 2013-14 to 359.89 BU in 2023-24, an 86 per cent increase. Solar power tariff has drastically come down from Rs.10.95 per unit in 2010-11 to Rs.2.60 in 2023-24.