India’s solar energy capacity is estimated at 748 GW.

New Delhi: India’s total solar power capacity is estimated to be 748 GWp (giga watts peak), Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy and Power, R.K. Singh gave this information to Parliament on Wednesday.

This estimate is provided by the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) based on data from the Wasteland Atlas of India 2010.

Rajasthan tops the list with 1,42,310 MW, followed by Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir at second place with 1,11,050 MW, while Maharashtra is at third place with a capacity of 64,320 MW.

Other states in the country’s top 10 list for solar power capacity are: Madhya Pradesh (61,660 MW), Andhra Pradesh (38,440 MW), Gujarat (35,770 MW), Himachal Pradesh (33,840 MW), Odisha (25,780 MW), Karnataka (24,700 MW) and Uttar Pradesh (22,830 MW).

The minister also said that since the launch of the scheme in December 2014, 51 solar parks with a total capacity of 37,740 MW have been sanctioned in 12 states till December 31, 2023. The total capacity of solar projects is 10,504 MW. So far 20 solar parks have been commissioned.

In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement at COP-26 in Glasgow, the government aims to achieve 500 GW of installed capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030 (1GW = 1,000 MW).

The minister said that state-wise targets for this goal have not been set yet.