FY25: Karnataka Witnesses A Fall In New RE Capacity Additions

FY25: Karnataka Witnesses A Fall In New RE Capacity Additions

Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd (KREDL) shared recent data on the annual renewable capacity addition in the state. The data found a decline in annual renewable energy projects in the state in the past years. The government data on year-wise commissioned projects indicated a significant drop in installed capacity in Karnataka in FY25. As of November 2024, the state’s newly commissioned renewable energy capacity this year stood at 424.94 MW, a sharp decrease from its 1,599.50 MW newly installed capacity reported last year.

Status Of Commissioned Project: A Brief Comparison From Last Year

The year-wise renewable projects commissioned in Karnataka till November 2024 highlighted a slowdown in the progress of the commissioning of new solar projects in the state, causing it to lag behind its Renewable Energy (RE) goals. In FY 2023-24, the state had installed 1,599.50 MW.

Of the total renewable energy projects commissioned this year, solar accounted for 150.78 MW, followed by wind (131.33 MW), rooftop solar (113.14 MW), and hybrid projects (29.70 MW).

The KREDL data till FY 2024-25 (up to Nov-24) showed the cumulative progress in the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) and  Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS) projects up to November 2024, The data revealed the addition of 8,971.42 MW of ISTS and  InSTS solar projects commissioned out of the allocated 16,601.83 MW. In the wind energy segment, 6,626.96 MW were commissioned out of the allocated 22,844.84 MW.

For the solar-wind hybrid segment, only 34.70 MW was commissioned out of the allocated 2,137.40 MW. The total solar capacity (including rooftop and other installations) stood at 8,971.42 MW out of the allocated 16,601.83 MW.

Renewable energy progress in Karnataka

Karnataka is one of the earliest adopters of renewable energy, hosting several solar, wind and hybrid projects. However, it is also one of the states with several old and costly renewable energy PPAs. Land acquisition is now also a major hurdle for the state., creating new hurdles for the further rise of the clean energy projects in the state.