India Plans To Add 21 GW Of Renewable Energy Capacity In FY 2023-24

New Delhi, Nov 10 (KNN) India's goal is to increase its renewable energy capacity by 21 GW and its thermal capacity by 10 GW in the fiscal year 2023-24, Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal said.

During the National Conference on Power and Renewable Energy, Agarwal outlined the concrete measures being taken to attain a comprehensive power capacity goal of 900 GW by the fiscal year 2031-32.

As of July 2023, India's renewable energy capacity, as reported by the Central Electric Authority (CEA) and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), has reached 173.5 GW, constituting 41.4 per cent of the total power capacity mix.

Addressing the challenges, Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, R K Singh, emphasized that India is committed to ensuring sufficient power supply to meet its growing needs.

The Minister highlighted a notable 20 per cent surge in India's power demand from 2022, revealing that this year's peak demand reached 241 GW, a substantial rise from the 190 GW recorded in 2017-18. In response to this escalating demand, all states have been urged to operate their power plants at maximum capacity.

"Earlier, around 25,000 MW was under construction, mostly in public sector. We started work on adding 25,000 MW, but we need to start work on an additional 30,000 MW. We need about 80,000 MW of thermal capacity under construction," the Minister said.

According to CEA, a significant surge in India's peak power demand is anticipated, reaching 256.53 GW in the fiscal year 2024-25, marking a notable increase from the preceding fiscal year 2023-24. The projections indicate that power demand is expected to peak above 256 GW, particularly in September 2024.

(KNN Bureau)