Renewable Energy Share Hits All-Time High In India — 13.2% of Electricity

October 22nd, 2017 by Saurabh

Rapid increases in installed capacity and favourable weather conditions pushed renewable energy generation in India to an all-time high earlier this year.

In July 2017, the share of renewable energy generation among India’s total electricity generation and imports touched 13.2%, the highest ever in the country. Total electricity generation and imports in India during July 2017 totalled 98.1 billion kilowatt-hours, while total renewable energy generation was 12.9 billion kilowatt-hours.

In June 2017, total renewable energy generation in India had crossed the 10 billion kilowatt-hour mark for the first time ever. June, July, and August 2017 together were also the three-month period when renewable energy generation in India was over 10 billion kilowatt-hours for three consecutive months.

The reason for this sharp jump in July was the large wind capacity exposed to high-speed monsoon winds. Of the 12.9 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy generation in July, 76.2% (or 9.8 billion kilowatt-hours) were generated by wind energy projects, again the highest ever.

Due to the high wind energy generation this financial year (April 2017 to March 2018), India seems on track to meet the non-solar renewable purchase obligation target. The country is aiming at 9.5% share of non-solar renewable energy in total power consumption. During the first 5 months of the financial year, the share of non-solar renewable energy generation stood at 7.24%.

Solar power, on the other hand, lagged significantly during the first 5 months, with a share of just 1.58% compared to the full year target of 4.75%.

In FY2016–17, India has missed out on solar and the overall renewable energy purchase obligation. Against a targeted non-solar renewable energy procurement of 8.75%, it could manage just 5.51%. The solar power target was 2.75% whereas the actual generation was just 1.11%. The overall renewable energy generation was 6.62% against the procurement target of 11.50%.

For the period of April to August 2017, wind energy generation in India is up 28% in 2017 compared to the previous year, while solar power generation is up 84%. Total renewable energy generation is up 25% this compared to the previous year.











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