Powering a cleaner future: India achieves 100 GW Milestone of Installed RE Capacity

(Words 602)

“India has now graduated from megawatts to gigawatts in terms of renewable energy production”

~ Prime Minister Narendra Modi

The power and energy sector are the biggest constituents of the infrastructure sector. With each passing day, India is getting closer to achieve the envisaged goal of creating a sustainable nation and advancing economic development, improving energy security and improving access to energy along with it. India’s push for green energy has borne results, as the country has crossed the milestone of 100 gigawatts (GW) in the total installed renewable energy capacity.

The green energy trajectory for the nation has been on an upswing given that India has a total power generation capacity of 383.73 GW. India is on an ambitious target – a target to achieve a capacity of 175 GW worth of renewable energy by the end of the year 2022, and further, expanding this target to 450 GW by 2030. This is by far, the world’s largest expansion plan in renewable energy.

Another landmark day in the history of the Indian Power Sector. Our installed Renewable Energy capacity (excluding large Hydro) has crossed 1,00,000 Megawatts. Under the visionary leadership of PM @narendramodi ji, we shall continue to be global leaders in Energy Transition.

— R. K. Singh (@RajKSinghIndia) August 12, 2021

Remarkable Feat achieved in Renewable Energy sector

As of 2021, India’s installed renewable energy capacity has increased by over two and a half times. It stands at more than 141 GW, including large Hydro, which contributes to about 37% of the country’s total capacity. On the other hand, the installed solar energy capacity, which stands at 41.09 GW, has increased by over 15 times. Some of the major highlights are:

– 5th largest installed capacity of renewable energy in the world
– 4th largest installed capacity of wind power in the world
– 5th-largest solar installed capacity in the world

Growth Drivers contributing to the feat:

1. Double Power Demand: As per the International Energy Agency, India, by 2030, will overtake the European Union as the world’s third-largest energy consumer as India will make up the biggest share of energy demand growth at 25% over the next two decades. Of any country, India foresees the largest increase in energy demand with an ever-expanding economy, population, urbanisation and industrialisation.

2. Proposed Solar cities & parks: In the last five years, Solar power capacity has increased by five times upswing from 6.7GW to 40 GW in 2021. The government has further proposed solar parks and cities to boost the RE capacity. 42 solar parks of aggregate capacity of 23,499 MW had been approved in 17 states. Solar Parks in Pavagada (2 GW), Kurnool (1 GW) and Bhadla-II (648 MW) are included in the top 5 operational solar parks of 7 GW capacity in the country. The world’s largest renewable energy park of 30 GW capacity solar-wind hybrid project is under installation in Gujarat.

3. Atmanirbhar Bharat: The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi gave a nod to introduce the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme in High-Efficiency Solar PV Modules with a financial outlay of Rs 4,500 for enhancing India’s manufacturing capabilities and further enhancing exports under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

Key Sub-Sectors of Interest:

– Wind-Solar Hybrid: First-of-its-kind National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy released in May 2018 which carried 2 GW earmarked capacity for hybrid projects. 160 MW tender released for Wind-Solar-Battery hybrid (40 MW wind, 120 MW solar, 20 MWh battery component).

– Offshore Wind: National Offshore Wind Policy released to tap potential along India’s 7,600 Km coastline. The National Institute of Wind Energy has released a 1 GW Expression of Interest, while the 30 GW target of offshore wind energy is set to be achieved by 2030.

– Solar Power: 50 Solar Parks of 40 GW have been set to be achieved by 2022. 47 Solar Parks of 26+ GW have already been sanctioned. India is Asia’s largest market for off-grid products.