RE capacity addition installation is progressing through multiple pathways
India has installed about 259 GW of non-fossil sources, with 31.2 GW added in the current financial year up to October 2025, Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi has told Rajya Sabha on 2 Dec in an update on the country’s renewable energy targets.
The installed capacity is 50% of the non-fossil fuel sources electricity, five years ahead of the target set under its Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement, said the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
As on 31st October, 2025, Renewable Energy Implementing Agencies (REIAs) of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), namely Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), NTPC Limited (NTPC), NHPC Limited (NHPC) and SJVN Limited (SJVN), have issued Letters of Award (LoAs) of 67,554 MW in respect of renewable power procurement tenders issued by them since April 2023 and no cancellations have been made after issuance of Letters of Award.
States are also issuing renewable power procurement tenders and renewable power capacity is also being added in commercial and industrial sectors through Green Energy Open Access/ Captive route, said the Minister. Thus, capacity addition of renewable energy is progressing through multiple pathways and not necessarily only through REIA led bids.
With the declining cost of solar-plus-storage and dispatchable renewable power, there is a growing preference among distribution companies and end procurers for such solutions. This shift has been accompanied by a reduced demand for plain solar power, he elaborated. “Solar-plus-storage configurations are also being preferred over wind-solar hybrid projects, particularly due to their ability to supply power during peak demand hours.”
Accordingly, the Government has sensitized the REIAs to move from plain solar tenders to tenders of Solar with Energy Storage, tenders with configuration to supply renewable power during peak hours and tenders with configuration to supply Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy (FDRE).
To facilitate the further execution of PPAs in respect of bids issued by REIAs, the Government has undertaken several proactive measures. These include urging States to comply with the Renewable Consumption Obligation (RCO) under the Energy Conservation Act, and advising Renewable Energy Implementing Agencies (REIAs) to aggregate demand from DISCOMs and other consumers before designing and issuing tenders. Regional workshops have been organized with major renewable energy-procuring States to address implementation challenges and accelerate PPA signing.
The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) is preparing the transmission plan in advance based on the Renewable Energy (RE) potential declared by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) to provide a clear visibility of transmission system to the RE developers. The transmission system is implemented in phases commensurate with generation capacity addition to optimize the transmission system.
Around 47.2 GW of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) has been considered for planning of transmission system up to 2032. Deployment of BESS enables peak shifting, reduces network congestion and improves utilisation of transmission assets, thereby optimising overall transmission system.
As per Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Connectivity and General Network Access to the inter-State Transmission System) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2025, connectivity is to be granted for solar and non-solar hours. This will further help in efficient utilization of the transmission system.
“This will also enable integration of additional RE with co-located BESS to the grid without the requirement of additional transmission infrastructure,” the Ministry said. fiinews.com
