With an aim to reach 500 GW non-fossil energy capacity by 2030, India added a record 44.5 GW of renewable energy capacity in 2025 – nearly double the 24.72 GW added during the same period last year, according to a release by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The figures are as of November this year, marking the highest-ever annual renewable capacity addition.
With this, the country’s total renewable energy installed capacity has reached 253.96 GW, a rise of over 23 per cent compared to November last year.
Solar leads, wind gains
India added 34.98 GW of solar capacity in 2025, up from 20.85 GW during the same period last year. “Solar is the major contributor to this progress,” the Union ministry said in its release.
ALSO READ
- Three months after Solarworld IPO, NTPC Renewable Energy awards it ₹725 crore EPC contract for solar power project
- Net zero by 2070: India picking up momentum, but 2026 will be crucial
- As minister drives to Parliament in a hydrogen car, is India swerving against battery EV tech?
- Google to co-develop 150MW solar power plant in Rajasthan
- Tata Power sets ambitious ‘clean and green’ capex targets to meet FY2030 power demand
India crossed the milestone of 100 GW of installed solar capacity in January this year, and the figure has since climbed to 132.85 GW as of November 2025, marking an increase of 41 per cent compared to the same period last year. The country currently ranks third globally in installed solar capacity.
The wind capacity, too, registered a substantial growth – an addition of 5.82 GW compared to 3.2 GW during the same period last year. While the country achieved the 50 GW wind energy capacity in March, it now stands at 53.99 GW as of November 2025.
A renewable milestone
On June 29, the country reached its highest-ever renewable energy share in electricity generation, meeting 51.5 per cent of the country’s total electricity demand of 203 GW.
While the country has witnessed a rapid expansion in renewables, almost 50 per cent of the share still rests with the thermal sector. As of November, the sector accounts for 246.90 GW, amounting to 48.45 per cent of India’s total electricity installed capacity.
Bottlenecks remain
As India remains solid on its transition to non-fossil fuel sources of energy, bottlenecks remains.
While solar energy remains central to this transition, experts have often raised concerns about the need for a proper waste management system. While solar panels are mostly recyclable, they last for about 25 years, after which they have to be removed.
Also, solar expansion, especially in western Rajasthan, has often come under public scrutiny over its threat to the pasture lands and sacred groves.
At the same time, transmission lines and windmills have often posed a threat to the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard, or Godawan, in the region.
Notably, India achieved a key milestone in June this year, with non-fossil fuel sources accounting for 50 per cent of its cumulative installed electricity capacity, which is five years ahead of the 2030 target committed under its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement.