India's renewable capacity hits 50% of total power 5 years early, sets bigger targets for 2032

India's energy transition goals achieved a new landmark — reaching 50% of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources, five years ahead of the scheduled target. As per the Paris Agreement's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) goals on climate change, India had committed to transition to 50% renewables by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2070.

Of the total installed capacity of 484.8 gigawatt (GW), now non-fossil fuels, including large hydro installed capacity, have reached 242.8 GW, Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy, tweeted a few weeks ago. "In a world seeking climate solutions, India is showing the way. Achieving 50% non-fossil fuel capacity five years ahead of the 2030 target is a proud moment for every Indian," he tweeted.

As per the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data as of June 30, 2025, still thermal energy (coal, lignite and gas) capacity is 242.04 GW, accounting for 49.92% of the total installed capacity. Non-fossil fuels (renewable energy, large hydro, and nuclear) account for 242.78 GW, or 50.08%. Renewable energy now accounts for 184.62 GW capacity (38.08%). Large hydro contributes 49.38 GW (10.19%). Nuclear energy installed capacity is 8.78 GW (1.81%).

Winds of change

Experts point out that despite having one of the lowest per capita emissions globally, India remains among the few G20 countries and the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) that are on track to meet or even exceed NDC commitments.  

They say that key enablers in this transition are government programmes like the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM), PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, solar parks, and the National Wind-Solar Hybrid policy, which provided the base for big growth. The PM-KUSUM programme has empowered lakhs of farmers by providing solar-powered pumps, enabling energy-secure and sustainable agriculture, agrovoltaics and feeder-level solarisation. The PM Surya Ghar scheme, launched in 2024, helps over a crore households to have rooftop solar energy.

Solar parks across the country have facilitated utility-scale renewable energy installations at record-low tariffs. The bioenergy sector is also growing, contributing to the circular economy and providing employment opportunities in rural areas.

Road Ahead

Going forward, India is planning big in renewable energy. According to the National Electricity Plan notified in May 2023, installed capacity in the country for the year 2031-32 is expected to be 900.422 GW, out of which carbon-free capacity is expected to be 615.955 GW. Of this, nuclear will be 19.680 GW, large hydro 62.178 GW, solar 364.566 GW, wind 121.895 GW, small hydro 54.50 GW, biomass 15.500 GW, and pump storage power of 26.686 GW installed capacity.  

Future focus will be on providing quality, equity, and resilience in clean energy access. Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and pumped hydro storage projects are being planned to ensure grid reliability and round-the-clock power availability. Efforts will be made to double per capita clean electricity consumption. Distributed renewable systems and energy-efficient appliances need to serve rural and unserved areas. The aim has to be to develop a digitally integrated electricity grid that can effectively manage a large capacity of renewable power, capable of handling demand fluctuations and two-way power flows. Efforts will also be on to develop an Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven power infrastructure backbone for demand forecasting, predictive maintenance, automated grid management, and system efficiency.