Renewable Energy grows in captive power sector: CEA's 2023 Report

24 Aug 2023 CW Team

According to the General Review Report 2023 published by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), as of March 31, 2022, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar constituted 9.07 per cent of the total installed captive capacity.

Throughout the fiscal year 2021-22, the generation from renewable captive power projects accounted for 3.25 per cent of the complete captive generation.

As of March 31, 2022, the combined installed capacity of renewable captive power projects, excluding hydropower, reached 6.96 GW.

In the same period, the collective installed capacity of all captive projects, encompassing thermal, renewable, gas, diesel, and hydropower, amounted to 76.73 GW. This marked a decrease of 2.26 per cent from the previous year.

In the financial year 2021-22, the cumulative electricity production from captive renewable power projects totalled 6.81 TWh. Of this, captive solar power projects contributed 2.79 TWh, while captive wind projects contributed 4.02 TWh.

The production of electricity from captive power projects experienced a decline of 6.9 per cent compared to the previous year, primarily attributed to the conversion of some non-utility projects to utility projects.

As of March 31, 2022, the installed capacity of captive solar power projects stood at 3.77 GW, while captive wind power projects reached 3.19 GW.

Within various industries, the Textile Industry took the lead with 294.73 MW of installed captive solar power projects, followed by the Cement Industry with 277.65 MW. The Collieries sector followed with 222.79 MW, succeeded by the Chemical Industry with 109.45 MW, and Heavy Industries with 90.67 MW.

Concerning installed captive wind power projects, the textile industry held the highest capacity at 1.29 GW, trailed by the Chemical industry with 306.69 MW. The Iron and Steel sector came next with 144.18 MW, closely pursued by Light Engineering with 116.29 MW, and Cement with 109.76 MW.

Of the complete installed capacity of captive power projects across diverse industries by the conclusion of March 31, 2022, solar captive power projects represented 3.76 GW, while wind power projects accounted for 3.19 GW.

Among states, Maharashtra led in installed captive solar projects with 901.16 MW, trailed by Rajasthan with 355.56 MW. Following closely were Gujarat (326.58 MW), Tamil Nadu (301.08 MW), and Uttar Pradesh (293.17 MW).

In terms of installed captive wind power projects, Tamil Nadu took the lead with a capacity of 1.75 GW. Gujarat followed with 809.37 MW, succeeded by Karnataka at 252.17 MW. Andhra Pradesh possessed a capacity of 93.39 MW, while Rajasthan had 87.13 MW.