India’s solar energy potential is estimated to be 748 GWp: Union Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister – EQ
In Short : The Union Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister reports that India’s solar energy potential is estimated to be 748 gigawatts peak (GWp). This highlights the vast capacity for solar energy generation in the country, indicating significant opportunities for further development and expansion of the solar power sector.
In Detail : Solar projects of 10.5 GW capacity have been commissioned in 20 Solar Parks: Union Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister
The Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy and Power has informed that India’s total solar energy potential has been estimated to be 748 GWp (Giga Watt peak), as estimated by National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), on the basis of the data from Waste Land Atlas of India 2010. State-wise details are given below.
STATE/UT-WISE DETAILS OF SOLAR POTENTIAL
| Sl. No. | Name of State/UT | Solar Potential (MWp) |
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | 38440 |
| 2 | Arunachal Pradesh | 8650 |
| 3 | Assam | 13760 |
| 4 | Bihar | 11200 |
| 5 | Chhattisgarh | 18270 |
| 6 | Goa | 880 |
| 7 | Gujarat | 35770 |
| 8 | Haryana | 4560 |
| 9 | Himachal Pradesh | 33840 |
| 10 | Jammu & Kashmir | 111050 |
| 11 | Jharkhand | 18180 |
| 12 | Karnataka | 24700 |
| 13 | Kerala | 6110 |
| 14 | Madhya Pradesh | 61660 |
| 15 | Maharashtra | 64320 |
| 16 | Manipur | 10630 |
| 17 | Meghalaya | 5860 |
| 18 | Mizoram | 9090 |
| 19 | Nagaland | 7290 |
| 20 | Orissa | 25780 |
| 21 | Punjab | 2810 |
| 22 | Rajasthan | 142310 |
| 23 | Sikkim | 4940 |
| 24 | Tamil Nadu | 17670 |
| 25 | Telangana | 20410 |
| 26 | Tripura | 2080 |
| 27 | Uttar Pradesh | 22830 |
| 28 | Uttarakhand | 16800 |
| 29 | West Bengal | 6260 |
| 30 | Delhi | 2050 |
| 31 | Others (UTs) | 790 |
| Total | 748990.00
= 748 GWp |
State-wise funds released for the development of solar energy sector in the last financial year is given below.
THE DETAILS OF FUND RELEASED IN LAST FINANCIAL YEAR
(Rs in crores)
| SL.NO. | State | 2022-23 |
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | 68.96 |
| 2 | Arunachal Pradesh | 9.30 |
| 3 | Assam | 14.02 |
| 4 | Chandigarh | 0.73 |
| 5 | Chhattisgarh | 13.54 |
| 6 | Delhi | 10.07 |
| 7 | Gujarat | 1114.65 |
| 8 | Haryana | 118.18 |
| 9 | Himachal Pradesh | 15.73 |
| 10 | Jammu & Kashmir | 27.98 |
| 11 | Jharkhand | 40.64 |
| 12 | Karnataka | 90.98 |
| 13 | Kerala | 89.71 |
| 14 | Ladakh | 125.00 |
| 15 | Madhya Pradesh | 170.14 |
| 16 | Maharashtra | 304.58 |
| 17 | Mizoram | 1.29 |
| 18 | Nagaland | 6.37 |
| 19 | Odisha | 26.70 |
| 20 | Punjab | 55.93 |
| 21 | Rajasthan | 258.84 |
| 22 | Tamil Nadu | 10.98 |
| 23 | Telangana | 42.81 |
| 24 | Tripura | 0.12 |
| 25 | Uttarakhand | 8.33 |
| 26 | Uttar Pradesh | 74.32 |
| 27 | West Bengal | 4.71 |
| 28 | Others (CEL, REL, NABARD, Regional Rural Banks, NGOs, etc.) and other Channel Partners | 17.71 |
| Total | 2722.32 | |
As on 31-12-2023, 51 Solar Parks with an aggregate capacity of 37,740 MW have been sanctioned in 12 States in the country since launch of the Scheme i.e. December 2014. An aggregate capacity of 10,504 MW of solar projects have been commissioned in 20 Solar Parks, so far. The State wise details are given below.
Details of Solar Parks sanctioned and projects commissioned State-wise
| Sl. No. | State | Number of Parks | Sanctioned Capacity (MW) | Projects commissioned (in MW) |
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | 5 | 4200 | 3050 |
| 2 | Chhattisgarh | 1 | 100 | 28 |
| 3 | Gujarat | 7 | 12150 | 900 |
| 4 | Jharkhand | 3 | 1089 | 0 |
| 5 | Karnataka | 2 | 2500 | 2000 |
| 6 | Kerala | 2 | 155 | 100 |
| 7 | Madhya Pradesh | 8 | 4180 | 1000 |
| 8 | Maharashtra | 3 | 1000 | 0 |
| 9 | Mizoram | 1 | 20 | 20 |
| 10 | Odisha | 3 | 340 | 0 |
| 11 | Rajasthan | 9 | 8276 | 3065 |
| 12 | Uttar Pradesh | 7 | 3730 | 341 |
| Total | 51 | 37740 | 10504 | |
Year-wise installed capacity from the year 2019-20 to 2023-24 (up to Dec 2023) is given below.
(as on 31-12-2023)
Year-wise installed capacity from the year 2019-20 to 2023-24 (up to Dec 2023) is given below.
| S.N. | Year |
Added capacity (MW) |
Cumulative Solar Capacity Installed (MW) |
| 1 | 2019-20 | 6510 | 35607 |
| 2 | 2020-21 | 5629 | 41236 |
| 3 | 2021-22 | 12761 | 53997 |
| 4 | 2022-23 | 12784 | 66781 |
| 5 | 2023-24 (up to Dec 2023) | 6538 | 73319 |
Year-wise Solar Power installed capacity from the year 2019-20 to 2023-24 (up to December 2023)
The Government has set a target of achieving 500 GW of installed capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030, in line with the Prime Minister’s announcement at COP-26, held in Glasgow. State-wise targets for this goal have not been set.
This information has been given by the Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy and Power Shri R. K. Singh, in written replies to two separate questions, in Rajya Sabha on February 6, 2023.
