Renewable Energy: Capacity, solar and the ISA

Renewable energy in India: capacity and targets

Renewable energy comes from sources that are replenished naturally: sunlight, wind, flowing water, biomass, the heat of the Earth and the motion of the sea. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is the nodal ministry. Its count of renewable capacity includes large hydro, which the Union Cabinet declared a renewable source in March 2019; until then only hydro projects below 25 MW were counted (PIB, 7 March 2019).

Source: MNRE, State-wise (location based) installed capacity of renewable power as on 30.09.2026. Measured, not a target.

Targets are kept apart from installed figures. India’s updated NDC under the Paris Agreement set a target of 50% of cumulative installed electric power capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030, and at COP26 India pledged 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 (PIB, 19 August 2025). The same PIB note reported that this share had reached 50.07% of India’s 484.82 GW installed capacity, five years ahead of the 2030 target.

Mains 2016: Give an account of the current status and the targets to be achieved pertaining to renewable energy sources in the country. Mains 2016 Mains 2022: Do you think India will meet 50 percent of its energy needs from renewable energy by 2030? Mains 2022 Note that the NDC target is about installed capacity, not energy needs; the share of electricity actually generated is lower because solar and wind run only part of the day.

Mains 2026: Explain the key challenges for India’s energy security. Mains 2026 Renewables are domestic, so they cut import dependence; the challenges are storage, grid stability and supply chains

for panels and batteries.

Solar energy: technology and spread

India lies in the tropics, with the Tropic of Cancer passing through many States, so it receives strong sunlight. The total solar potential of the country is put at 748 GW, with Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh among the States with the highest potential (PIB, 19 August 2025).

There are two ways to make electricity from the Sun. Photovoltaic (PV) cells convert light directly into electricity, giving direct current. Solar thermal plants use mirrors to concentrate the Sun’s heat, raise steam and drive a turbine.

Source: MNRE, as on 30.09.2026. Measured.

Mains 2020: India has immense potential of solar energy though there are regional variations in its development. Mains 2020 Elaborate. The table shows the pattern: sunny, dry western States with open land lead, while the North East and hill States lag.

Mains 2025: Explain briefly the ecological and economic benefits of solar energy generation in India with suitable examples. Mains 2025 Mains 2015: To what factors can the recent dramatic fall in equipment costs and tariff of solar energy be attributed? Mains 2015

Solar schemes, the ISA and One Sun One World One

Grid PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana was approved by the Union Cabinet on 29 February 2024 with an outlay of Rs 75,021 crore, to install rooftop solar and give up to 300 units of free electricity a month to one crore households. The subsidy is 60% of system cost for 2 kW and 40% of the additional cost from 2 to 3 kW, capped at 3 kW: Rs 30,000 for 1 kW, Rs 60,000 for 2 kW and Rs 78,000 for 3 kW or more. A Model Solar Village is to be developed in each district (PIB, 29 February 2024).

PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana targets installation of one crore solar rooftop panels in the residential sector; MNRE aims to impart training on installation, operation, maintenance and repairs at grassroot levels; and it aims to create more than three lakh skilled manpower (Prelims 2025: I, II and III).

PM-KUSUM helps farmers replace diesel with solar: a 30% to 50% subsidy for new solar pumps or for solarising old pumps, and solar plants of up to 2 MW on their own land, with power sold to the local DISCOM (PIB, 19 August 2025). Rooftop solar, including PM-Surya Ghar, stood at 33,409.04 MW on 30.09.2026 (MNRE).

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) was launched by India and France at COP21 in 2015 (PIB, 19 August 2025). Its Secretariat is at Gurugram, Haryana, and it lists 114 member countries that have signed and ratified the ISA Framework Agreement, plus 16 signatory countries (isa.int, October 2026).

Mains 2021: Explain the purpose of the Green Grid Initiative launched at World Leaders Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, 2021. Mains 2021 The Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG) was launched on 2 November 2021 by the UK COP26 Presidency and India as ISA President, to build interconnected grids across continents, countries and communities, including mini-grids and off-grid solutions; over 80 countries endorsed the One Sun Declaration (PIB, 10 November 2021; GOV.UK, 2 November 2021). The OSOWOG idea was launched by India at the ISA Assembly in 2018 (PIB, 19 August 2025).

From ISA to GGI-OSOWOG (isa.int).