India's RE Investment Hits USD 12.4 Bn, Falls Short of 2030 Target

India’s RE Investment Hits USD 12.4 Bn, Falls Short of 2030 Target: Report

By Chitrika Grover/ Updated On Tue, Nov 12th, 2024

Highlights :

According to the Zero Carbon Analytics report’s findings, to meet the 500 GW of non-fossil installed capacity target by the early 2030s
India needs to add 300 GW of new renewable capacity this decade.
The report indicates that annual capacity additions fall significantly short of the 50 GW/year goal, with less than 13 GW of new capacity added between 2022 and 2023.
Although 20.7 GW was registered between January and September 2024, this still lags behind the required rate to achieve 50 GW/year.

India's RE Investment Hits USD 12.4 Bn, Falls Short of 2030 Target: Report

India’s renewable energy investment has grown to USD 12.4 billion in 2023, up from 2020. However, investment remains far below the estimated USD 200 billion required to achieve India’s goal of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel electricity capacity by 2030.

According to the Zero Carbon Analytics report’s findings, to meet the 500 GW of non-fossil installed capacity target by the early 2030s, India needs to add 300 GW of new renewable capacity this decade. The report indicates that annual capacity additions fall significantly short of the 50 GW/year goal, with less than 13 GW of new capacity added between 2022 and 2023. Although 20.7 GW was registered between January and September 2024, this still lags behind the required rate to achieve 50 GW/year.

The report suggests that to scale up renewable energy, the government is promoting the development of ultra-mega renewable energy power parks as a primary strategy. These parks aim to support the renewable energy agenda by producing 40 GW of capacity by 2025-26. In the wind sector, the report notes that with roughly half the installed capacity of solar, India’s ambition for wind energy has historically been lower, with the country a relative latecomer to the potential of offshore wind generation.

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Discussing investment areas, the briefing note states: “Solar PV dominates investment, with nearly USD 8 billion invested in 2023. However, this represents a 17% decline from the 2022 level. Wind investment trails solar at nearly USD 4.5 billion in 2023, though this marks an increase of over 85% from 2022. Investment rates in both solar and wind remain volatile, showing no consistent trend for individual technologies year-to-year.”

The briefing further notes: “The government expects investment to reach USD 16.5 billion in 2024. If sustained, this level would still fall short of the USD 200 billion that financial services firm Nomura estimates is necessary to achieve India’s 500 GW non-fossil fuel electricity capacity by 2030.”

Approximately USD 12.4 billion was invested in renewable energy in India in 2023, a slight increase from 2022 levels. Renewable energy investment had dropped by more than half between 2017 and 2020. Wind investment was particularly affected following the shift in 2017 from a feed-in tariff system to an auction-based mechanism for power sold to the grid. Investment levels rebounded after 2021 for both solar and wind but have since remained stable without returning to 2017 levels.