Annual growth in green energy capacity to stay at over 35 gigawatts over next two years: Report
New Delhi| Expansion in installed renewable energy (RE) capacity could exceed 35 gigawatts over the next two years. This is due to projects over 100 gigawatts being in the pipeline. This information was given in the report of Careage Ratings released. The report pointed out that the sharp increase in renewable energy (RE) over the past 12 months is a result of corporates’ growing ESG (environmental, social and governance) focus, increased investor interest, support from policies and increased availability of financing.
According to the report, India installed RE capacity of 18.5 gigawatts in FY2024, which is 21 percent more than the capacity added in the previous fiscal year. According to CareEdge Ratings, the solar equipment sector will incur capital expenditure of more than Rs 1 lakh crore in the next three to five years due to rising energy demand. Of this, Rs 70,000 crore is expected to come from debt funding.
The report further noted that the upcoming capacity of 50 gigawatts for cells and 80 gigawatts for modules required capital expenditure of Rs 32,000 crore and Rs 12,000 crore respectively. The solar energy segment, over the last 7-8 years, has been becoming the major driver of capacity growth in the RE sector. Its share of the RE capacity mix increased to 59 per cent by September 2024, up from 15 per cent by March 2016.
India has a module capacity of about 70 gigawatts and about 8 gigawatts of cell capacity as of March 2024, while the last two years have seen an average annual increase of about 21 gigawatts in solar capacity based on direct current (DC). According to the report, the increase in solar capacity in the medium term will be driven by an annual tender target of 50 gigawatts of RE capacity through renewable energy implementing agencies, most of which are expected to be solar power.
