Data from the Central Electricity Authority shows that India's renewable energy sector has made significant strides in recent years aligned with the country's objective to triple its green energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030
India has made significant strides in the green energy sector over the last decade, with renewable power constituting 43 percent of the total installed power capacity in 2022–23, up from 31 percent in 2014–15, data from the Central Electricity Authority showed.
The total installed renewable energy capacity reached 180 gigawatts (GW) in 2023, up from 75.5 GW in 2014, as per the data. The percentage of fossil fuel-based power has decreased to 57 percent from 69 percent in 2014–15.
The government has now set a target to triple its renewable energy share to 500 GW by 2030, aiming to add 50 GW of renewable energy capacity annually.
On their part, government agencies like the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), SJVN, and NHPC have actively been tendering out contracts for solar, wind, and hydro capacity additions in recent months to work on this front.
The government is also targeting to address the lagging pace of the addition of transmission lines, as the installed renewable energy capacity will only be viable if it has a proper distribution channel.
The interregional transmission capacity added during 2017–22 (up to March 31, 2022) was 37,200 MW. As of March 2023, the inter-regional transmission capacity in the country was 112,250 MW, as data from CEA's annual report showed.
India's total transmission lines in 2022–23 stood at 471,341 circuit kilometres (km) against 313,437 ckm in 2014–15. For the current financial year, the government has targeted an addition of 16,602 ckm of transmission lines, compared with 14,625 ckm added in FY23.
However, experts believe tripling RE capacity to 500 GW by 2030 is a stiff target. The peaking and subsequent phasing out of coal-fired power may get delayed. This is because of a sharper-than-expected rise in domestic demand for power and the realisation that renewable capacity addition could lag the tall targets.
There are also concerns about the vast intermittency and variability of renewable-based generation. Efficient integration of the green capacities into the grid to meet peak power demand is also a challenge.
Moreover, realising that renewable energy capacity may take more than a decade to be fully operational, India has affirmed its position in continuing the use of fossil fuels to meet the rising power demand of its citizens. In its latest National Electricity Plan, the country has envisaged increasing the share of non-fossil-based capacity to 57.4 percent by 2026–27 and to 68.4 percent by the end of 2031–32 from around 42.5 percent.