In the run up to India’s target of achieving 175 GW of renewable energy capacity addition, the government said that the country has already achieved 70 GW project capacity while an additional 38 GW is under implementation, as per data available till March 31st, 2018.
RK Singh, minister of power and new and renewable energy, said that India is making quick progression in the field of renewable energy and the government is committed to achieving the said target by 2022.
According to Economic Times, the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE)said in a statement on Wednesday.
Last year, solar and wind energy tariffs fell to record lows of Rs 2.43 and Rs 2.44 per unit through tariff-based competitive bidding, becoming cheaper than thermally generated power.
India added over 11 GW of renewable energy capacity in the year 2017-18, the highest ever in a single year, the government claimed.
With 32.5 GW of solar and wind project capacity bid out, 2017-18 saw for the first time over 100 billion units of renewable energy being generated in a single year, the statement said.
Of the 175 GW renewable energy capacity addition target, 100 GW is to come from solar, 60 GW from wind, 5 GW from small hydro and 10 GW from biomass.
Last year, the government gave a trajectory of solar and wind projects to be bid out till the year 2020, providing confidence to clean energy players in India.
The sector, however, seems to be battling with inadequate transmission facilities, which may stymie the pace of renewable power generation. The solar industry particularly seems to be in a state of uncertainty as the government is yet to decide on a proposed 70 percent safeguards duty on imported solar equipment.
