India aims to have 50 per cent share of non-fossil fuel based power in its total installed power capacity mix by 2030. Further, the government is working towards installation of a total of 500 GW non-fossil fuel based power by the end of this decade. The country currently has roughly 170 GW of installed renewable energy capacity, and thus, urgent efforts are required to boost growth to reach the impressive targets.
The renewable energy growth has faced a series of ups and downs over the past few years. The covid pandemic brought in new uncertainties related to supply chains and put a severe dent in capacity additions, and the ripples of this disruption are still being felt. Imposition of import duties, escalation of GST, and existing issues of tariff approvals, land acquisition, payment delays, and transmission unavailability have further limited growth.
However, on the positive side, the government has taken many policy steps to ensure continued growth of the sector and given a boost to emerging segments like distributed renewables, green hydrogen, domestic manufacturing, energy storage and offshore wind. The industry has also remained resolute and kept on announcing projects, such that roughly 82 GW of renewable energy capacity is under implementation as of March 2023 and another 40 GW is under tendering.
To boost sector growth that is in line with the targets, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has recently announced a trajectory for renewable power bids which directs bids for renewable energy capacity of 50 GW per annum to be issued between 2023-24 and 2027-28 to reach the desired capacity by 2030. Further, it directs at least 10 GW of this capacity to be allocated for wind power projects, which has been suffering for some time due to restricted capacity. A clear timeline has also been issued for the current year.
This is an encouraging step taken by the ministry which will significantly help to sustain investor confidence and provide visibility for future capacity additions.
