New Delhi, : New Delhi: India has now become the world’s third largest producer of wind and solar power. Union New and Renewable Energy Minister Prahlad Joshi on Friday said that India has surpassed Germany to produce wind and solar power. He said the country’s solar power installed capacity reached 107.95 GW in April this year as against 82.64 GW in the same month last year. This is a growth of 30.7 per cent.
With a 10 per cent global share, India’s clean energy capacity is growing remarkably under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The minister posted on the X social media platform that it is “a step closer to a sustainable future”. Also, the installed capacity of wind power stood at 51.06 GW last month as against 46.16 GW in April 2024 – a growth of 10.6 per cent.
“Total renewable energy (non-fossil fuel) installed capacity has reached 231.81 GW in April 2024, up 16 per cent year-on-year,” the Union minister said. India is at the forefront of the global energy transition and solar power alone has grown more than 30-fold in the last decade, as the country achieves its 2030 renewable energy targets eight years ahead of schedule.
The country achieved its 2030 renewable energy target of 200 GW in 2022 itself – eight years ahead of schedule.Last month, Joshi inaugurated the PV module testing and calibration laboratory at the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) at Gwal Pahari in Haryana, on the outskirts of the national capital.He described the laboratory as a pioneering facility for India and further highlighted that as Indian companies scale up the production of large modules, this lab will ensure that the products meet the highest quality standards.
In terms of manufacturing, solar module production has grown from 2 GW in 2014 to 80 GW, with a target to reach 150 GW by 2030. Along with the solar progress, the Minister also highlighted the achievement of 50 GW in wind power capacity. Emphasising on the ambitious targets of the Government, Joshi said that India is moving strongly towards achieving the 500 GW non-fossil fuel energy target by 2030, including 292 GW of solar power, as envisioned by the Prime Minister.
