New Delhi: India's renewable energy capacity has surged by 165 percent over the past ten years, growing from 76.38 Gigawatts (GW) in 2014 to 203.1 GW in 2024, according to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Joshi noted that India now stands fourth in the world for renewable energy capacity, with major improvements in solar and wind power.

"I am proud to share that today, India has achieved 4th position globally in RE Installed Capacity. We stood 4th in Wind Power capacity and 5th in Solar PV capacity," Joshi said.

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"For the first time, we have crossed 200 GW capacity from non-fossil fuel sources, that include 85.47 GW of solar power and 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 added.

Solar energy, in particular, has seen remarkable growth. Its capacity soared from 2.82 GW in March 2014 to 85.47 GW by June 2024—an increase of about 30 times. Joshi stressed that renewable energy is essential for India's future growth and sustainability.

"India witnessed one of the fastest rates of growth in the renewable energy sector among all large economies of the world. We are aligned with the developed Nations and achieved 4th position in the world in total RE installed capacity," he said.

He also highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pledge from the COP26 summit, aiming for 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.

"Energy security is among the 9 key priority areas of this Government. For this, the budgetary allocation of M/o Renewable Energy has almost doubled from Rs10,000 crores last year to more than Rs20,000 crores this year," Joshi said.

Joshi pointed out that the share of thermal energy in India's total installed capacity has decreased from 67.69% in 2013-14 to 54.46% in 2024-25, while the share of non-fossil fuel sources has risen from 32.30% to 45.54%.

Renewable energy generation in India has grown massively, increasing from 193.50 billion units (BU) in 2013-14 to 359.89 BU in 2023-24—an 86% rise. Additionally, the cost of solar power has dropped sharply from Rs.10.95 per unit in 2010-11 to Rs.2.60 in 2023-24.

Agencies