India Can Hit 2030 Energy Milestone If Pace Of Renewables Additions Continues

India is on the cusp of hitting its ambitious 2030 energy targets, if the country can continue to add renewables at the same record-setting growth seen in the last year, according to a new report from Global Energy Monitor. 

In 2024, renewables accounted for nearly three-quarters of the record 35 gigawatts (GW) of power capacity brought online, with the vast majority of this capacity coming from new solar photovoltaics. Data in the Global Integrated Power Tracker show that if India replicates last year’s annual wind and solar deployment until the end of the decade, the country’s renewables fleet would expand around 80% to 378 gigawatts (GW). 

With an additional 24 GW of hydropower capacity slated to come online by 2030, India would be about 100 GW short of its 500 GW target of non-fossil power capacity by 2030. Closing this gap with wind and solar would require annual capacity additions to grow year-on-year at about 15%. 

Post-pandemic wind and solar growth rates have tracked slightly above this level, suggesting that renewables expansion in line with the 500 GW target is attainable if the recent pace of growth can be maintained. Such growth would see annual wind and solar additions more than double the record levels in 2024 by 2030.

The new GEM report also shows that the combined capacity of wind, utility-scale solar, and hydropower in development — projects that have been announced or are in the pre-construction and construction phases — is on track to overtake operating coal capacity within the next two years. Utility-scale solar projects comprise nearly half of all renewables in development, with more capacity in the construction phase than for coal projects.

Still, despite the strong year, renewables only made up around one-fifth of the total increase in power generation in 2024, with fossil power contributing more than two-thirds. A significant uptick in renewables deployment is required to eat into coal’s dominance. This is because renewables tend to generate less readily than fossil sources, particularly wind and solar, which average a utilization rate of 17–22% across the year, compared to coal’s 70%.

James Norman, Project Manager for the Global Integrated Power Tracker at Global Energy Monitor, said, “The impressive growth of renewables in the last year, especially solar, shows how serious India is taking its climate targets. The clean energy transition is well underway, but without continued and sustained growth of wind and solar coal will continue to reign supreme.”

Contact

James Norman

Project Manager, Global Integrated Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor

[email protected]