Solar power accounted for 16% of the total installed power capacity and 38% of the total installed renewable capacity in the first quarter of 2023, up from 13.2% and 34% year-on-year (YoY), respectively.

India’s installed renewable energy capacity, including large hydro projects, stood at 170.32 GW, accounting for a 41% share of the overall power capacity mix at the end of the first quarter (Q1) of the calendar year (CY) 2023, according to data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), and Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker.

The total renewable energy share in the power mix increased marginally from 166.86 GW, representing 40.7% of the overall power capacity mix at the end of CY22.

India generated approximately 29 BU of solar power during the quarter, a 31% YoY increase.

Large hydro accounted for nearly 11% of the total installed power capacity as of March 2023.

Wind installations in India made up 10% of the country’s overall installed power capacity.

Biomass and small hydro represented 2.6% and 1.2% of the total installed power capacity as of March 2023.

Energy from conventional sources

As of March 2023, conventional power sources’ total installed energy capacity stood at approximately 244.05 GW, making up 59% of all installations. This was a slight decrease from the previous quarter, where it made up 59.3% of all installations.

The data pertains to electricity generated from thermal sources, which includes coal (49%), gas (6%), nuclear (1.6%), lignite (1.6%), and diesel (0.14%) as the main components.

Coal remained the top power source, with 205.23 GW of thermal installations by the end of March 2023, a slight increase from the 203.77 GW in the previous quarter.

Last November, the Ministry of Power proposed that any coal-based thermal generation station coming up after April 1, 2024, must either install or procure renewable energy equivalent to 25% of the thermal generation capacity.

Last year, the power ministry set the trajectory for replacing thermal power with renewables by the financial year 2025-26 to achieve 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based capacity by 2030.