As per Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, India’s installed renewable energy capacity increased from 76.38 Gigawatts (GW) in 2014 to 203.1 GW in 2024.
Current Status of India
- Ranks fourth globally in renewable energy capacity.
- 4th in Wind Power (46.65 GW) capacity and 5th in solar photovoltaic power (85.47 GW).
- First time crossed 200 GW capacity from non-fossil fuel sources.
Steps taken to achieve this growth
- Foreign Direct Investment: Permitted up to 100% under the automatic route.
- Waiver Inter State Transmission System charges: of Solar/wind projects, green hydrogen, offshore wind projects.
- Dedicated programmes: PM-KUSUM, PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, etc.
- Others: Offshore Wind Energy Lease Rules, 2023; Green Energy Open Access Rules 2022;etc.
Challenges in growth of RE
- Legacy infrastructure costs and high transmission and distribution losses trap discoms in coal dependence, hindering renewable investments.
- Grid Reliability and high Cost of Transition as per Central Electricity Authority’s draft plan.
- Low access to low-cost financing
- Energy Storage capacity is low and expensive for RE which is an intermittent sources of power supply.
Way Forward: Promote Hybrid wind and solar plants, focusing on new Energy-Storage Systems like Pumped Storage Hydropower, Battery, etc.