India will commission 12.8 GW of solar and wind power in 2023
India added 10,016 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity and 2,806 MW of wind capacity in 2023, JMK Research said. Annual solar power additions are down 28% from the record year of 2022, while wind capacity, by contrast, was added 52% more. The wind industry had its best year in six years.
In terms of the mix of new solar capacity, about 6.5 GW of large-scale installations came online in India last year, which is about 42.5% less than in 2022, about 3 GW of rooftop PV installations, and another about 500 MW of small-scale off-grid installations. The reason for this decline in the number of new large-scale solar power plants is that fewer tenders were issued between 2020 and 2022 than planned. Due to the recent increase in tender activity, the commissioning of large solar power plants is expected to increase in the future.
The installed renewable energy capacity (not counting large hydropower plants) in India reached 133.89 GW at the end of 2023.
The share of solar energy in this capacity is approximately 55%, and wind energy is 33%.
India commits to achieving carbon neutrality by 2070, and by 2030, “non-fossil fuel” power generation capacity must account for at least 50% of the installed grid capacity.
Following the approved Energy Development Plan, the projected installed capacity of solar energy for the 2031–2032 financial year should be 339–365 GW, depending on the scenario, and wind power 92–122 GW.
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