India sets targets to reach green power capacity

The decision of the government to add 50 GW of RE capacity each year from hereon is significant as well as challenging because until now, the country has managed to add only a maximum of about 15 GW annually.

India has set an ambitious target of having 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, for which the government will award 50 GW of renewable energy projects every year starting FY 2024.

Chasing an ambitious target of having 500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy (RE) capacity by 2030, the government has released a detailed agency-wise break-up on inviting bids for RE projects totalling 50 GW for 2023-24.

India’s current total renewable energy capacity, excluding large hydro and nuclear plants, reached 125 GW (125,159.81 MW) in March 2023, the latest monthly report by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) showed. At present, RE has a share of 26.53 percent of the total installed generation capacity in the country.

As per the latest trajectory released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) on April 25, tenders will be floated for 15 GW each in the current quarter (Q1 – April-June 2023) and the second quarter of FY 2024 (July-September 2023). In the third (October-December 2023) and fourth quarter (January-March 2024), bids would be invited for 10 GW each.

The MNRE has appointed NTPC Ltd, Solar Energy Corporation Of India (SECI) Ltd., NHPC Ltd and SJVN Ltd as the renewable energy implementing agencies (REIAs) for floating the tenders and opening of bids. As per the trajectory, SECI and NTPC will have to invite bids for 15 GW each of RE projects, while NHPC and SJVN will have to do 10 GW each in the ongoing financial year.

The REIAs would be permitted to bring out the bids with or without storage for solar, wind, solar-wind hybrid, round-the-clock (RTC) RE power and so on.

The decision of the government to add 50 GW of RE capacity each year from hereon is significant as well as challenging because until now, the country has managed to add only a maximum of about 15 GW annually.

As of now, nearly 82.62 GW  is under implementation and 40.89 GW under tendering process, as per government data. MNRE officials told Moneycontrol that the bids for these RE capacity additions will be over and above the RE capacities that are coming up under the government’s rooftop solar and PM-KUSUM schemes.

India’s electricity demand is growing at 6 percent annually. However, if we only look at last year, the demand increased by almost 10 per cent, as per government data.