India Plans to Add 500 GW of Renewable Energy Capacity Within 10 Years

The India One project, a 1 MW solar thermal power plant in Abu Road, Rajasthan, India.

The India One project, a 1 MW solar thermal power plant in Abu Road, Rajasthan, India. Brahma Kumaris / Flickr

India will auction off 40 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind capacity every year until 2028, part of the country’s goal to produce 40 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, Anand Kumar, head of India’s New and Renewable Energy Ministry, announced last week.

In total, the country aims to install 500 GW of new renewable energy capacity in the next decade, excluding large hydropower projects. Annual auctions will include bidding for 30 GW of solar and 10 GW of wind energy every year, Kumar said at the India-Norway Business Summit in New Delhi. If the country’s gross domestic product continues to grow at its current rate of 6.5 percent, India’s electricity demand will reach 840 GW by 2030.

India currently has 75 GW of renewable capacity — accounting for 22 percent of total installed power generation — and another 46 GW in development, The Economic Times’ Energy World news site reported.