Renewables Grow, While Coal Shrinks!

India is actively working towards harnessing the power of the sun, wind, and other clean energy sources, adding 30 gigawatts (GW) of clean electricity in a year, enough to power close to 18 million homes.

“I have no doubt that India will reach its target of 500 gigawatts by 2030,” says Raghav Pachouri, an energy expert at Vasudha Foundation, a New Delhi-based think-tank.

Coal dominates India, but its share has dropped from 60% of installed power capacity 11 years ago to less than 50% today, in favour of renewables. Solar is half the cost of power from new coal-powered plants, and its cheap components are easily and readily available, hence the 30% increase in installed solar power in the last decade. Some 170 GW of renewable energy projects are in the pipeline and expected to be completed over the next few years. India wishes to add approximately 50 GW of non-fossil fuel power capacity every year for the next five years, and to provide 50% of the country’s energy from clean power by 2030. India has the world’s fourth-highest amount of clean power installed, with $81 billion invested in the renewable energy sector in the last decade.