India’s renewable energy capacity increased by 165% over the past decade, according to Pralhad Joshi.
India’s installed renewable energy capacity has surged by 165 percent over the past decade, climbing from 76.38 Gigawatts (GW) in 2014 to 203.1 GW in 2024, stated Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Tuesday.
During a debate in Rajya Sabha on budget requests for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Joshi pointed out that India now holds the fourth position globally in renewable energy capacity, with notable progress in solar and wind energy. “I am pleased to announce that India has reached the 4th position globally in RE Installed Capacity. We are 4th in Wind Power capacity and 5th in Solar PV capacity,” Joshi remarked.
“For the first time, we have surpassed 200 GW capacity from non-fossil fuel sources, which includes 85.47 GW of solar power, 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 continued.
He highlighted that solar energy capacity has grown significantly from 2.82 GW in March 2014 to 85.47 GW by June 2024, representing an approximately 30-fold increase.
Joshi stressed that renewable energy has become an essential component for India’s sustainable growth and development. “India has experienced one of the fastest growth rates in the renewable energy sector among major economies globally. We align with developed nations and have secured the 4th position in the world in total RE installed capacity,” he said.
He also referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment at COP26 to achieve 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.
“Energy security is one of the 9 key priority areas of this Government. Consequently, the budget allocation for the Ministry of Renewable Energy has nearly doubled from Rs 10,000 crores last year to over Rs 20,000 crores this year,” Joshi added.
The proportion of Thermal sources in the total Installed Capacity has decreased from 67.69 percent in 2013-14 to 54.46 percent in 2024-25 (up to June 2024), while the share of non-fossil fuels has increased from 32.30 percent to 45.54 percent. He also noted that total RE generation in India has risen from 193.50 billion units (BU) in 2013-14 to 359.89 BU in 2023-24, an 86 percent increase. Solar power tariffs have dramatically reduced from Rs 10.95 per unit in 2010-11 to Rs 2.60 in 2023-24.
