India’s Renewable Energy Capacity Hits 152.65 GW

India's renewable energy sector continues to demonstrate robust growth, with notable advancements across various segments. As per the latest MNRE data, between April and August 2024, the country achieved a total installed renewable energy capacity of 9 GW, bringing the cumulative installed capacity to 152.65 GW.

The solar power sector has been the dominant contributor, adding 7.62 GW during this period, which raises its total installed capacity to 89.43 GW. As per the report, a breakdown of solar power installations reveals significant contributions from different sub-sectors. Ground-mounted solar plants account for the largest share at 69.19 GW, while grid-connected solar rooftops contribute 13.89 GW. Hybrid projects, which include a solar component, add another 2.59 GW to the mix. While, off-grid solar installations also play a role, with a cumulative capacity of 3.76 GW. This diverse mix highlights the growing adoption of solar technologies across various applications and scales, from large utility-scale projects to smaller, distributed rooftop systems.

Further, Wind power also made a meaningful contribution, with 1.31 GW of new capacity installed in the first five months of FY 2024-25, bringing the cumulative total to 47.19 GW. Meanwhile, the small hydro power sector saw a modest increase, with 0.07 GW of new capacity, raising the total to 5.07 GW.

In the bioenergy sector, there has been no new capacity addition for biomass cogeneration from bagasse or non-bagasse sources, which remain at 9.43 GW and 0.92 GW, respectively. Similarly, the waste-to-power segment has seen no growth, with cumulative capacities holding steady at 0.25 GW. However, off-grid waste-to-energy projects saw a slight increase of 0.02 GW, bringing the total to 0.35 GW.

Overall, the latest data reflects significant progress India is making in expanding its renewable energy portfolio, particularly in the solar and wind sectors. However, it also highlights the need for more balanced growth across all renewable sources to achieve a sustainable and diverse energy mix.