India Ranks Third Globally in Renewable Energy Capacity, Surpasses Brazil

India has overtaken Brazil to become the world’s third-largest renewable energy market, with installed renewable energy capacity reaching 250.52 GW by the end of 2025, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency’s Renewable Energy Statistics 2026.

India now trails only China and the United States. China leads with 2,258.02 GW of installed renewable energy capacity, followed by the United States at 467.92 GW. Brazil has slipped to fourth place with 228.20 GW.

Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said India added a record 55.29 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity in FY2025-26, the highest annual increase ever recorded. The previous high was 29.5 GW in FY2024-25.

India’s total installed non-fossil power capacity stood at 283.46 GW as of March 31, 2026. Renewable energy accounted for 274.68 GW of this total, while nuclear power contributed 8.78 GW.

Solar remained the largest contributor to India’s renewable energy portfolio, with installed capacity rising to 150.26 GW. Wind capacity stood at 56.09 GW, followed by large hydro at 51.41 GW, bioenergy at 11.75 GW and small hydro at 5.17 GW.

India achieved another milestone in June 2025, when non-fossil fuel sources accounted for 50 percent of the country’s installed electricity capacity, meeting its Paris Agreement target five years ahead of schedule.

In July 2025, renewable energy met 51.5 percent of India’s electricity demand of 203 GW, the highest share recorded so far.

India generated 1,845.92 billion units of electricity in FY2025-26. Non-fossil sources contributed 538.97 billion units, or 29.2 percent of total generation, while renewable energy, including large hydro, accounted for 26.2 percent.

Electricity generation from fossil fuel sources fell 4.12 percent to 1,306.95 billion units during the year. In contrast, generation from renewable sources excluding large hydro rose 21.1 percent to 308.81 billion units.

Solar power generation increased 20.38 percent  to 173.53 billion units, while wind power generation rose 27.29 percent to 106.09 billion units.

India added a record 44.61 GW of solar capacity in FY2025-26, nearly double the 23.83 GW added in the previous year. Total installed solar capacity crossed the 150 GW mark for the first time.

Utility-scale projects accounted for 110.43 GW of total installed solar capacity. Rooftop solar contributed 25.73 GW, while PM-KUSUM and off-grid projects added 14.10 GW.

Distributed solar emerged as a major growth driver, contributing 16.31 GW during the year, or 36 percent of total solar additions. This included 8.71 GW of rooftop solar and 7.67 GW under the PM-KUSUM scheme.

More than 42 lakh households have benefited from rooftop solar installations so far. Under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, 34.3 lakh households have been covered, including 22.7 lakh during FY2025-26 alone.

The number of installations under the scheme rose to 18.71 lakh in FY2025-26, compared with 8.51 lakh in the previous year. The government attributed the increase to faster approvals through the national portal, easier access to bank financing and the launch of a rooftop solar programme in 41 cities.

Banks sanctioned 13.7 lakh loan applications for rooftop solar during the year and disbursed 11.3 lakh loans.

Under PM-KUSUM, 13.94 lakh solar pumps were installed or solarised in FY2025-26, taking the cumulative total to 25 lakh. The scheme added 7,672 MW of capacity and is estimated to have saved 734.52 million litres of diesel.

India also recorded its highest-ever annual wind capacity addition in FY2025-26, with 6.05 GW added, compared with 4.15 GW in the previous year.

Total installed wind power capacity rose to 56.09 GW, making India the world’s fourth-largest wind market. Commercial and industrial users, including captive consumers, accounted for around 4.5 GW, or 75 percent, of the year’s wind additions.

Domestic wind turbine manufacturing capacity increased to 24 GW from 18 GW. The government identified around 66 GW of potential wind project sites and set up a task force to address delays related to land acquisition, grid connectivity and regulatory approvals.

India’s solar module manufacturing capacity rose to 172 GW by March 2026, up from 74 GW a year earlier and just 2.3 GW in 2014. Wind turbine manufacturing capacity has increased from 10 GW in 2014 to 24 GW.

At the same time, solar module imports fell sharply to USD 758 million in FY2025-26 from USD 2.15 billion in the previous year. The decline was driven by higher domestic production, production-linked incentive schemes, stricter local sourcing requirements and duties on imported solar glass.

The government reduced the GST rate on renewable energy equipment and components from 12 percent to 5 percent in September 2025. It also extended customs duty exemptions on capital goods used to manufacture lithium-ion cells for battery storage systems until March 2028.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy launched a Renewable Energy Equipment Import Monitoring System in October 2025 to track imports of critical equipment.

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission introduced transmission charge waivers for renewable energy and battery storage projects and revised grid connectivity rules to improve the use of transmission networks.

The government also issued guidelines for virtual power purchase agreements and launched a 500 MW pilot programme for renewable energy projects under a contract-for-difference model.

The National Green Hydrogen Mission also gathered momentum during FY2025-26. The mission targets annual production of 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030 and is expected to attract more than INR 8 lakh crore in investment.

SECI completed auctions for 724,000 tonnes a year of green ammonia supply to fertiliser companies. The lowest green ammonia price discovered during the year was INR 49.75 per kg for supply to IFFCO in Odisha.

A separate tender for green hydrogen supply to Numaligarh Refinery in Assam discovered a price of INR 279 per kg. The government also finalised long-term green ammonia purchase and supply agreements covering 670,000 tonnes annually.

Kandla, Paradip and Tuticorin have been designated as green hydrogen hubs.

The government released nearly INR  787 crore in FY2025-26 under the Green Energy Corridor programme to strengthen transmission infrastructure for renewable energy projects. Seven states have completed the first phase of the programme, while the ministry has identified 345 GW of additional renewable energy zones beyond the current 500 GW transmission plan.

The Union Cabinet has also approved a INR 2,584.6 crore Small Hydro Power Development Scheme for FY2026-27 to FY2030-31. The scheme is expected to support around 1,500 MW of new small hydro capacity, particularly in hilly and northeastern states.

The government is targeting 500 GW of installed non-fossil electricity capacity by 2030.