India Secures $386 Billion for Renewable Energy Push; Reliance and Adani Pledge Major Commitments
India is set to connect a record 35 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind energy to its power grid by March 2025, as part of its efforts to accelerate clean energy adoption after missing its 2022 renewable energy target. This move comes as the nation, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, aims to achieve its ambitious 2030 clean energy goals.
Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, the top official at India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, revealed that the country will add 30 GW of new solar capacity and 5 GW of wind capacity during this fiscal year. This marks a significant increase, especially after the slowdown in large solar farm projects in recent years.
In the first five months of the current fiscal year (April to August 2024), India added 10 GW of renewable energy capacity, bringing the total to about 153 GW. Bhalla expressed optimism, stating that next year’s additions would surpass the current year’s.
The country, which is the third-largest solar power producer globally, also sees growing demand for battery-linked storage projects, with more tenders for such initiatives expected soon. Despite its progress, India remains 13% short of its 2015 Paris Agreement pledge to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022.
As the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, India faces the challenge of ramping up its clean energy efforts. To meet its 2030 target of 500 GW of non-fossil power capacity, the nation will need to increase its annual renewable capacity additions by 30%.
To support these efforts, Indian financial institutions have pledged $386 billion for renewable energy projects by 2030. Major Indian conglomerates have also made significant commitments, with Reliance Industries promising 100 GW of additional renewable capacity by 2030, and Adani Green Energy committing 38.8 GW.
These pledges underscore India’s growing focus on clean energy as it seeks to balance its energy needs with environmental sustainability, despite its continued reliance on coal to meet surging power demand
