Ten years ago, India’s renewable energy capacity was at 75.52 Gigawatts (GW), while today, we have come a long way, and now the country has an installed green energy capacity of a whopping 232 GW. This renewable energy capacity growth of threefold has made India one of the top nations in green energy running.  Even this has brought down the tariff of the grid-connected solar power plants by 80% to ₹10.95 per unit for the 170 MW production at Neemuch. So, how did India become one of the frontrunners in the renewable energy space? Let’s find out. 

Continuous Growth Through 10 Years

The growth in this renewable energy space has resulted from continuous efforts. In March 2014, when the installed solar energy capacity was just 2.82 GW, today it stands at 108 GW, which is a multifold growth in this space. Similarly, the Wind Energy capacity stands at 51 GW today, while ten years ago it was at 21 GW. 

The present government has taken multiple steps towards boosting renewable energy production in the country. In its target to achieve Net Zero by 2070, this government has been putting a lot of effort into building green energy a part of the sustainable lifestyle of this generation. 

One of the most important reasons cited by the officials for the renewable energy capacity growth is domestic production of solar cells and wafers. It was not happening ten years back, but now India has its own 25 GW of solar cell production and 2 GW of wafer production. This has led the super solid base for the sustainable development in the country. The fully integrated production also reached 3.2 GW, which is another milestone.  

The Prime Minister Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Scheme has got immense popularity. It is helping 13.3 lakh homes across the country. Only in the past ten months, there have been 12 lakh installations. 

Even compared to 2023, in 2024, India increased its renewable energy capacity by 25 GW which is 34.63% higher than 2023’s 18.57 GW addition. 

Growth Across All Spheres

It is not only solar or hydro, or wind power, but India has also marked its supremacy in biopower generation. It has surged by 42% to 11.5 GW from 8.1 GW ten years ago. Earlier in 2014, only one compressed biogas project that used to produce 8 tons of CBG per day, while today, a whopping 150 projects are running to produce 1211 tons per day of compressed biogas. The country is trying to explore all the renewable energy sources to reach its targets.  

Renewable Energy Outlook 

The stakes are high as the country is on a mission to make it greener and more sustainable. India has a target of producing 500 GW of green energy by 2030. This could be achieved with even 50 GW additional every year for the next six years. 

For the solar energy capacity, India has a clear target of 150 GW by 2030. The government has also planned to increase the solar cells capacity to 100 GW by 2030 and the wafer capacity to 40 GW. This would further strengthen the game as India would be self-reliant with lesser dependency on imports. 

Source: CNBC TV18

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