NEW DELHI — India has become the world’s third-largest country in installed renewable energy capacity, overtaking Brazil, and is accelerating efforts to reach 500 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, government officials said Wednesday.
Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said the milestone reflects the country’s rapid expansion in clean energy, citing data from the International Renewable Energy Agency showing India’s installed renewable capacity reached 250.52 gigawatts as of December 2025. That places India behind China and the United States, while ahead of Brazil and Germany.
The country added a record 55.3 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel capacity during the 2025–26 period, nearly doubling the 29.5 gigawatts added the previous year, Joshi said.
As of March 31, 2026, India’s total non-fossil fuel-based installed capacity stood at 283.46 gigawatts, including 274.68 gigawatts from renewable sources and 8.78 gigawatts from nuclear power.
Renewables are also playing a growing role in meeting electricity demand. In July 2025, clean energy sources accounted for a record 51.5 percent of the country’s electricity consumption, the highest share to date.
Overall, India generated 1,845.9 billion units of electricity in 2025–26, with 538.97 billion units, or 29.2 percent, coming from non-fossil fuel sources.
The country reached another key milestone in June 2025, when non-fossil sources made up 50 percent of its cumulative installed electricity capacity — five years ahead of its Paris Agreement target.
Solar power has led the expansion, with installed capacity surging more than 50-fold from 2.82 gigawatts in 2014 to 150.26 gigawatts as of March 2026. Wind capacity also grew significantly over the same period, rising from 21.04 gigawatts to 56.09 gigawatts.
During 2025–26 alone, India added a record 44.61 gigawatts of solar capacity, driven by large-scale projects as well as distributed systems such as rooftop installations and government-backed initiatives like PM KUSUM. Wind energy additions also hit a new high of 6.05 gigawatts.
Joshi said India remains on track to achieve 500 gigawatts of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030, in line with commitments announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the COP26 climate summit. (Source: IANS)
