In Short : The addition of renewable energy capacity is gaining momentum, poised to surpass 8 gigawatts in the fourth quarter. This acceleration underscores the growing commitment to expanding sustainable energy infrastructure and achieving substantial renewable energy goals.
In Detail : India is expected to add 8-10 GW of renewable energy capacity in the last quarter of the current financial year.
India is expected to add 8-10 GW of renewable energy capacity in the last quarter of the current financial year, compared with less than 7 GW in the first three quarters.
This would help narrow the wide gap between the actual RE capacity creation and the annual target of 20 GW.
“Supply chains have improved and the module prices are at an all time low. We are looking at a very increased rather intense B2B transaction in the open access market,” said Subrahmanyam Pulipaka, Chief Executive Officer of National Solar Energy Federation of India. With this, the country should be able to add 16-18 GW of renewable capacity by the end of FY24, he said.
Small scale projects wherein a developer can install 100-150 MW per month, can take advantage of falling module prices and get the capacity installed before the March, 2024 deadline for Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM), Pritesh Vinay, director-finance, JSW Energy had said.
Moreover, the RE capacity addition is likely to pick up pace in December of the next fiscal as more domestic modules enter the market under the second tranche of PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme for high efficiency solar PV modules rolled out by the government.
As per the government, manufacturing capacity totaling 7,400 MW is expected to become operational by October 2024, 16,800 MW capacity by April 2025 and 15,400 MW capacity by April 2026 under the scheme.
“As of today, there are no PLI orders in India. The first tranche of volume should come out by the end of December this year,” Pulipaka said. The supply of domestic modules in the market is expected to increase in the last quarter of FY25, giving a boost to RE capacity addition next fiscal compared to this year.
Further, the solar energy stakeholders body has asked the government to extend the waiver for Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) till June 2028 for the country to be able to achieve the target of 500 GW renewable capacity addition by 2030.
The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) had allowed an extension of the waiver of Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) charges on solar and wind energy projects commissioned up to June 30, 2025. Earlier, the power ministry had waived ISTS charges and losses on all solar and wind projects commissioned before June 30, 2023.
