India Third Globally In Renewable Energy Capacity

India ranks third globally in renewable energy installed capacity according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) statistics for 2026, moving ahead of Brazil in the rankings. The Government reported that total installed capacity from non-fossil fuel sources reached 283.46 GW as on 31 March 2026.

In fiscal year 2025–26 the country recorded a non-fossil capacity addition of 55.3 GW, the highest annual increase to date. In July 2025 renewables met 51.5 per cent of the country’s electricity demand of 203 GW. Total power generation up to March 2026 reached 1,845.921 billion units (BU) and the share of non-fossil fuels in generation was 29.2 per cent, equal to 538.97 BU.

Renewable energy capacity reached 274.68 GW as on 31 March 2026, comprising solar power of 150.26 GW, wind power of 56.09 GW, bioenergy of 11.75 GW, small hydro of five point one seven GW and large hydro of 51.41 GW, while nuclear capacity stood at eight point seven eight GW. Distributed renewable energy from solar contributed 16.3 GW out of the 44.61 GW installed in 2025–26, including seven point six GW under PM KUSUM and eight point seven GW from rooftop installations.

Solar capacity has expanded dramatically since 2014, rising from two point eight two GW to 150.26 GW, while wind capacity increased from 21.04 GW to 56.09 GW. Wind energy recorded its highest ever annual addition of six point zero five GW in 2025–26 and cumulative wind capacity has crossed 56 GW.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is advancing policy measures to reach 500 GW of non-fossil installed capacity by 2030 and has implemented fiscal and regulatory reforms to support domestic manufacturing and deployment. Expenditure in FY 2025–26 against the budget estimate was Rs 241.77 bn of an allocation of Rs 265.49 bn, with the revised estimate at Rs 253.01 bn, while a Rs 500 crore allocation for wind support equates to Rs five bn and the bioenergy budget of Rs 998 crore corresponds to Rs nine point nine eight bn.

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