The Top 5: India’s 10 GW Club for RE Developers is Set to Expand Significantly by 2025

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India has made remarkable strides in the renewable energy sector over the past few years, largely due to the emergence of major renewable energy developers within its borders. Just a few years ago, there were no significant renewable energy project developers in the country. In fact, in 2020, there was no renewable energy developer with a portfolio exceeding 2 GW. Today, India boasts several big renewable developers, some with portfolios exceeding 10 GW.

The decade-long history of India’s renewable energy efforts, with favourable policy measures, instilled confidence in new players to explore the sector’s potential. Various government initiatives fueled the exponential growth, including the waiver of ISTS charges, the PLI scheme, eased FDI policies, the PM-KUSUM Scheme, and the PM Suryodaya Yojana. This momentum led to the country achieving its highest annual installed renewable energy capacity of 18.5 GW in FY24.

Here is a list of top 5 Renewable Energy Developers in India poised to achieve 10 GW and beyond of renewable energy capacity by around 2025.

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#1 Adani Green Energy

Adani Green Energy is a major player in India’s renewable energy sector, boasting a total renewable portfolio of over 21.9 GW, with more than 10.9 GW already operational. The company is currently constructing around 10.5 GW of solar capacity, in addition to its operational capacity of approximately 7.4 GW. Adani Green’s wind energy projects under construction account for over 1 GW, while its operational wind capacity stands at 1.4 GW. The company has also ventured into hybrid projects, with over 2.1 GW of operational capacity and 600 MW under construction. Recently, Adani Green commissioned the first 2 GW at the world’s largest renewable energy plant in Khavda. The firm has indicated its confidence of adding 2-3 GW fresh capacity each year till 2026, before accelerating further.

Adani Green Energy had set a target of reaching 45 GW of renewable capacity by 2030. The firm recently accelerated its operations and revised its renewable energy capacity target to 50 GW by 2030.

#2 ReNew

Another major player in the renewable energy sector is ReNew. Listed on the Nasdaq in 2021, the company has made impressive strides in the years that followed. ReNew has constructed 1.94 GW in FY24 alone. As one of the earliest players to bet big on India’s renewable trajectory, ReNew has evolved significantly to its present avatar of quite simply, being described as a decarbonisation firm.

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Currently, ReNew has a total operational capacity of 9.5 GW in renewable energy. The company boasts the largest wind portfolio in India, with 4.7 GW, representing 10.5 per cent of the country’s total wind capacity. In FY24, ReNew added 768 MW of wind capacity. Including projects under construction, the company has a renewable energy portfolio of 15.6 GW. It has also ventured into Solar manufacturing, starting with Modules, with plans to commission its cell manufacturing operations soon as well.

#3 JSW Energy

JSW Energy, after years of cautious progress, has pressed the accelerator on its renewable plans in recent months. The company has a total locked-in renewable power generation capacity of 13.9 GW, which includes 7.3 GW operational and 2.6 GW under construction across wind, thermal, Solar and hydro sectors. Moreover, JSW Energy has a renewable energy pipeline of 4.0 GW, with PPAs signed for 2.0 GW. Thus, JSW is expected to become a 10 GW installed renewable capacity firm at the earliest.

Additionally, the company will be a major player in the energy storage segment soon with 3.4 GWh of locked-in energy storage capacity through battery energy storage systems and hydro-pumped storage projects. JSW also aims to achieve a generation capacity of 20 GW and an energy storage capacity of 40 GWh by 2030.

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#4 Tata Power

Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL), the subsidiary of Tata Power Limited,   has achieved a total renewables capacity of over 9.4 GW, with roughly 8 GW in PPA capacity. This includes 4.9 GW of projects at various stages of implementation. Tata Power currently has an operational capacity of 4.5 GW, consisting of about 3.48 GW of solar and roughly 1 GW of wind power.

The company aims to expand its renewable energy capacity to 15 GW by 2027, that is within the next three years it will easily become a part of the 10 GW club. As part of the Tata Power group, the firm has the advantage of huge experience across the power supply chain, including solar manufacturing and EPC. The firm hopes to be a significant part of the PM Suryaghar rooftop solar initiative as well.

#5 Avaada

Avaada, with an aggregate operational renewable capacity of about 4 GW and an impressive target to achieve 30 GW by 2030 is considered a very important part of India’s renewables brigade. Including Letters of Award and PPAs Avaada has a portfolio of over 15 GW in India. Avaada Energy is the renewable power generation arm of Avaada Group. It aims to achieve 11 GW capacity by 2026.

The firm recently won the single largest bid for a 1050 MW capacity solar project in a recent tender issued by the Renewable Energy Implementing Agency (REIA) National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). The firm also secured an 820 MW Hybrid Project from SJVN. The firm also has solar manufacturing plans, and can be expected to be very nimble when the market offers larger opportunities.

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Leveraging the momentum from the Government of India’s renewable energy initiatives, these market leaders have set ambitious renewable energy targets, driving the recent surge in the sector. Notably, the most ambitious target is set by NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd. (NTPCREL), to install 60 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032. However, capacity additions are yet to pick up pace, with the NTPC group’s renewable energy capacity at 3618 MW commissioned, 9214 MW under execution, and 9870 MW in pipeline projects.

Serentica Renewables, promoted by the metals to mining Vedanta group, has already been the fast-growing renewable energy firm to reach 1 GW capacity, considering that it was established just two years back, in 2022. It is currently executing 4 GW of projects and will deliver 2 GW per year of round-the-clock green energy to large industrial customers in India. The firm is aiming to significantly expand its renewable energy portfolio, with plans to reach 17 GW of capacity by 2030. It is expected to hit the 10 GW by 2026 possibly.

The rapid emergence of several companies adding over 10 GW of renewable capacity over the past two to three years sets a strong example for other renewable energy firms in India. India requires more such success stories to reach its ambitious goals within the designated timeframe. At COP26, India announced a bold target of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based energy by 2030, a crucial commitment under the Panchamrit initiative. This goal stands as one of the largest expansion plans in the global renewable energy sector.