India’s Solar Capacity Reaches 135.81 GW, Wind Energy Grows To 54.51 GW: MoS Naik

New Delhi, Feb 11 (KNN) India’s installed solar power capacity has reached 135.81 GW, while wind energy capacity stands at 54.51 GW as of December 31, 2025, Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy and Power Shripad Yesso Naik informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

The Minister said the country remains on track to achieve its 2030 renewable energy targets. However, he noted challenges such as land acquisition, expansion of transmission infrastructure, and mobilisation of adequate financing to support rapid capacity addition.

Green Hydrogen Mission: Pilot Projects

Under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, several pilot projects have been approved. These include 5 projects for the use of hydrogen in the steel sector, a green methanol bunkering and refuelling facility being developed by V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority, and five pilot projects deploying 37 hydrogen-fuelled vehicles supported by 9 hydrogen refuelling stations across 10 routes in the country.

Storage and Transmission Push

Naik said that the government has taken multiple steps to accelerate private investment in renewable energy storage and transmission infrastructure.

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has released a transmission plan to integrate over 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing the Intra-State Green Energy Corridor scheme to strengthen state-level transmission networks.

Policy measures include notified guidelines for Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), a national framework to promote energy storage, and guidelines to support pumped storage projects. The government has also granted a 100 per cent waiver of Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for certain pumped storage and co-located BESS projects commissioned by June 30, 2028.

Financial incentives include a Rs 3,760 crore Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme approved in March 2024 to support 13,220 MWh of large-scale BESS capacity, and a Rs 5,400 crore VGF scheme approved in June 2025 for 30 GWh of storage capacity. 

In addition, 10 GWh has been earmarked under the National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage for grid-scale stationary storage.

(KNN Bureau)