In India, clean energy comprises under 30% of the electricity, even though it accounts for 50% of the installed capacity

India's Renewable Energy Potential

General Expansion of Renewable Energy:

Capacity increase: 29.52 GW added in FY 2024–25.

Total installed RE capacity: Achieved 220.10 GW as of March 2025 (increased from 198.75 GW).

Aim: Advancing to 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 as per Panchamrit objectives.

Solar Power:

Top contributor: 23.83 GW added in FY 2024–25 (compared to 15.03 GW the prior year).

Overall installed solar capacity: 105.65 GW.

Wind Power:

New capacity increase: 4.15 GW in FY 2024–25 (up from 3.25 GW).

Installed capacity total: 50.04 GW

Bioenergy & Small Hydro:

Total bioenergy capacity: 11.58 GW, comprising 0.53 GW from off-grid/waste-to-energy sources.

Small Hydro capacity: 5.10 GW, with 0.44 GW in progress.

Project Workflow:

Projects currently underway: 169.40 GW

Tenders for projects: 65.06 GW

Innovative solutions: 65.29 GW from hybrid, Round-the-Clock (RTC), peaking power, and thermal+RE integration.

India ranks 4th worldwide in Renewable Energy Installed Capacity, 4th in Wind Power capacity, and 5th in Solar Power capacity (according to the REN21 Renewables 2024 Global Status Report).

Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka are the top states in India for renewable energy capacity.

What obstacles are present?

Low Capacity Utilisation Factor (CUF): Renewable energy sources are variable and reliant on weather conditions. Thus, their true output is significantly lower even with substantial capacity.

Solar CUF: ~20%, Wind CUF: ~25–30%, Coal CUF: ~60%, Nuclear CUF: ~80%.

Coal remains the source of more than 75% of India's electricity needs, particularly during nighttime when solar power is not accessible.

India’s power grid continues to rely significantly on thermal sources for continuous (RTC) electricity.

Storage and Transmission Constraints: The absence of grid-level battery storage hinders the ability to retain excess solar energy generated during the day.

Transmission planning does not align with the speed of renewable energy installation.

Tariff Structures Unaffected by Time: Currently, India does not implement time-of-day (ToD) pricing, which hinders solar use during the day.

What is the reason for enhancing the Capacity Utilisation Factor?

Energy Security: India’s energy needs are projected to double by 2040. Ineffective utilization of renewable energy hampers diversification and raises reliance on coal.

Climate Pledges: As per its revised NDCs (2022), India vowed to:

50% of overall installed capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030 (already accomplished) and a 45% reduction in emissions intensity (from 2005 levels).

However, the present use of clean energy (~28%) threatens to undermine genuine emission reductions.

Air Pollution and Public Health: Ongoing reliance on coal leads to air pollution, as India hosts 13 of the globe's 20 most polluted cities.

Economic Consequences: Suboptimal RE use results in investment underutilization in solar/wind, low returns for developers, and elevated electricity expenses for discoms.

Government Efforts to Enhance Clean Energy Use

Green Energy Corridor (GEC): Seeks to enhance the transmission framework for effectively channeling renewable energy from production sites to consumption locations.

PM-KUSUM Initiative: Encourages setting up solar pumps and grid-integrated solar power systems in rural regions to decrease diesel consumption and assist farmers.

National Green Hydrogen Mission: Aims to encourage the generation and utilization of green hydrogen to lessen dependence on fossil fuels in areas such as refining, steel, and fertilizers.

Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme: Offers monetary rewards for local production of high-efficiency solar photovoltaic (PV) modules and advanced battery storage systems.

Hybrid Renewable Energy Policy: Promotes the establishment of projects that integrate solar and wind energy at the same site to enhance capacity use and dependability.

Path Forward

Grid Modernization and Intelligent Oversight: Allocate resources to advanced grids featuring immediate demand-supply equilibrium.

Implement time-of-day pricing to encourage the use of solar energy during the day.

Battery and Storage Infrastructure: Boost the implementation of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) via Viability Gap Funding (VGF) or Production-Linked Incentive (PLI).

Hybrid Projects (solar-wind-hydro with BESS) must be accelerated.