India is the third largest producer of electricity in the world. During the fiscal year (FY) 2021–22, the total electricity generation in the country was 1,719 TWh, of which 1,484 TWh was generated by utilities.
Wind power generation capacity in India has significantly increased in recent years. As of 31 March 2023, the total installed wind power capacity was 42.633 gigawatts (GW), the fourth largest installed wind power capacity in the world. Wind power capacity is mainly spread across the southern, western, and northwestern states.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is a ministry of the Government of India, headed by current Union Cabinet Minister Raj Kumar Singh, that is mainly responsible for research and development, intellectual property protection, and international cooperation, promotion, and coordination in renewable energy sources such as wind power, small hydro, biogas, and solar power.
Solar power is a fast developing industry in India. The country's solar installed capacity was 66.78 GWAC as of 31 March 2023. Solar power generation in India ranks fourth globally in 2021.
India is world's 3rd largest consumer of electricity and world's 3rd largest renewable energy producer with 40% of energy capacity installed in the year 2022 coming from renewable sources. Ernst & Young's (EY) 2021 Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI) ranked India 3rd behind USA and China. In FY2023-24, India is planning to issue 50 GW tenders for wind, solar and hybrid projects. India has committed for a goal of 500 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030.
The National Solar Mission is an initiative of the Government of India and State Governments to promote solar power. The mission is one of the several policies of the National Action Plan on Climate Change. The program was inaugurated as the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 11 January 2010 with a target of 20 GW by 2022. This was later increased to 100 GW by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2015 Union budget of India. India increased its utility solar power generation capacity by nearly 5 times from 2,650 MW on 26 May 2014 to 12,288.83 MW on 31 March 2017. The country added 9,362.65 MW in 2017–18, the highest of any year. The original target of 20 GW was surpassed in 2018, four years ahead of the 2022 deadline.
The Canal Solar Power Project is a solar canal project launched in Gujarat, India, to use the 532 km (331 mi) long network of Narmada canals across the state for setting up solar panels to generate electricity. It was the first ever such project in India. This project has been commissioned by SunEdison India.
Mahindra Susten Pvt. Ltd., formerly Mahindra EPC Services Pvt. Ltd. , is part of the US$19 billion Mahindra Group. They are a portfolio company under the Cleantech arm of Mahindra Partners.
ReNew is India's largest renewable energy company by operational capacity. Based in Gurgaon, Haryana, it has an asset base of over 10 GW, with around 5 GW operational. ReNew Power operates over 110 projects across 18 states in India, developing, building, owning and operating utility-scale wind and solar energy projects, including distributed solar energy production for commercial and industrial consumers.
Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd. (SECI) is a company of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, established to facilitate the implementation of the National Solar Mission (NSM). It is the only Central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) dedicated to the solar energy sector. The company's mandate has been broadened to cover the entire renewable energy domain and the company will be renamed to Renewable Energy Corporation of India (RECI).
Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects, also known as Ultra Mega Solar Parks, are a series of solar power projects planned by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of the Union Government of India. Each power project has a minimum capacity of 500 MW.
The Bhadla Solar Park is a solar power plant located in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, India. It covers an area of 56 square kilometers and has a total installed capacity of 2,245 megawatts (MW), making it the largest solar park in the world as of 2023. The park was developed in four phases since 2015, with $775 million in funding from the Climate Investment Fund and $1.4 billion in funding from other sources. The park contributes to India’s renewable energy goals and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 4 million tons per year.
Allahabad Solar Power Project is the first solar power plant in Uttar Pradesh. The plant has been developed by Kolkata-based company EMC Limited at Naini, 25 km away from Allahabad as part of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission. The plant is spread out over 25 acres of land.
Pavagada Solar Park is a solar park covering an area of 53 square kilometres in Pavagada taluk, Tumkur district, Karnataka. Completed in 2019, the park has a capacity of 2,050 MW. As of April 2021, it is the World's third largest photovoltaic solar park after the 2,245 MW Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan and 2,200 MW Huanghe Hydropower Hainan Solar Park in China. It is the second largest in India.The total project cost was ₹14,800 crore.
Kadapa Ultra Mega Solar Park is a solar park spread over a total area of 5,927.76 acres (23.9888 km2) in the Mylavaram mandal of Kadapa district, Andhra Pradesh.
The Maharashtra I solar park southwest of Chatgaon Village in the Beed district of Maharashtra is a 67.2 megawatt (MWDC) photovoltaic power station, which was commissioned in August 2017.
Shri Upendra Tripathy is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Karnataka Cadre. He is the first Director General of the International Solar Alliance. Well known for receiving the prestigious Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration in individual category, Tripathy received several other awards for his innovations and ideas during his career as a civil servant. He was the first and founding Director General of International Solar Alliance which the first treaty based International Organisation head-quartered in India. ISA is an alliance of 121 countries worldwide focusing on solar power utilisation, co-operation, and sustainable energy. Previously, Mr. Tripathy was the Secretary to Ministry of New and Renewable Energy from 1 April 2014 until 31 October 2016. Mr. Tripathy has been appointed as Advisor cum working president and chairman of executive committee of Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya on 3rd August 2021 after the death of previous Advisor cum chairman Dr. Bijaya Kumar Sahoo in June 2021 due to covid
Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) is an Indian renewable energy company headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It is owned by Indian conglomerate Adani Group. The company operates Kamuthi Solar Power Project, one of the largest solar photovoltaic plants in the world.
National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC) is a Government of India's programme launched in 2008 to mitigate and adapt to the adverse impact of climate change. The action plan is designed and published under the guidance of Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change (PMCCC). The 8 sub-missions aimed at fulfilling India's developmental objectives with focus on reducing emission intensity of its economy. The plan will rely on the support from the developed countries with the prime focus of keeping its carbon emissions below the developed economies at any point of time. The 8 missions under NAPCC are as follows:
