States put best foot forward in 500 GW of renewable energy capacity goal by 2030

Renewable energy

States have recently committed to ramp up their renewable energy capacity amid the government's ambitious goal to achieve 50 per cent non-fossil installed capacity by 2030. Several companies have announced investment plans to achieve the target.

Moneycontrol takes a look at the commitment made by the states and the green energy projects planned under the initiative.

What have the states committed?

To support the country’s target of 500 gigawatt (GW) of non-fossil energy capacity by 2030, states and union territories (UTs) submitted Shapat Patras (pledges) to the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) on September 16. They have pledged to add  a cumulative renewable energy capacity of 540 GW by 2030.

Gujarat tops the list with a commitment of 128.60 GW, followed by Andhra Pradesh  (72.60 GW), Maharashtra (62.73 GW), Rajasthan (57.71 GW) and Uttar Pradesh (47.63 GW).

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) leads the list of industrial houses in its commitment to  the tune of 1,00,000 megawatt (MW) of additional renewable capacity.  NTPC, ReNew and Adani Power have pledged 41,300 MW, 40,000 MW and 38,800 MW, respectively.

Banks and financial institutions have committed to lend Rs 32.45 lakh crore to meet the target.

Is government monitoring the states’ targets?

Union minister for new and renewable energy and consumer affairs, food and public distribution, Pralhad Joshi, has said that no government mechanism has been put in place to track the states' progress in meeting the target.

However, the minister expressed confidence in  states’ commitment towards setting up of additional renewable energy capacity. He stressed that green energy is the "need of the hour" and imperative for business activities to flourish . Both the Centre and states are on the same page in meeting the 500 GW green energy goal by 2030.

What projects would be undertaken by states?

Several states have chalked out an elaborate plan to meet the target. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has planned incentives for green energy companies under the draft AP Integrated Clean Energy Policy-2024 (ICEP).
Naidu has urged investors help realise the state government's plans to generate 78.50 GW of solar energy, 35 GW of wind energy, 22 GW of pumped storage energy and 1.50 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA) of green hydrogen and its derivatives.

Gujarat, which has the highest renewable energy capacity, aims to focus on offshore wind, wind-solar hybrid projects, and energy storage systems for uninterrupted power supply. Plans are afoot to establish a 500 MW offshore wind project and launch a policy for pumped storage projects. The state government has identified the potential in generating 30 GW via pumped hydro projects.

Other states have also planned similar renewable energy projects and policies.

Why is India targeting 500 GW of renewable energy capacity?

India has set a goal of becoming a developed country (Viksit Bharat) by 2047 and a net-zero emission nation by 2070. In order to achieve these lofty goals, the government wants to raise the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy basket. At present, India is highly dependent on import of oil and gas.

According to official data, India achieved 200 GW of installed non-fossil power capacity this year.  The country aims to achieve 292 GW of solar power, 100 GW of wind power, 15 GW of bio energy, 78 GW of hydro and 15 GW of nuclear power to meet its 2030 target.

The government has launched various initiatives to support renewable energy adoption such as rooftop solar scheme, green hydrogen mission, among others. For instance, in February, the PM Surya Ghar scheme was launched. The initiative aims to install rooftop solar panels in one crore houses across the country. The government has announced an investment of over Rs 75,000 crore to provide up to 300 units of free electricity every month to households.

Similarly, to promote offshore wind energy projects, a viability gap funding (VGF) scheme worth Rs 7,453 crore was approved in July.