India has already achieved 50% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources, five years ahead of the target set under its Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement. As of 31 October 2025, the installed capacity from non-fossil sources stands at about 259 GW, with 31.2 GW added in the current financial year up to October 2025.

As on 31^st October, 2025, Renewable Energy Implementing Agencies (REIAs) of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), namely Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), NTPC Limited (NTPC), NHPC Limited (NHPC) and SJVN Limited (SJVN), have issued Letters of Award (LoAs) of 67,554 MW in respect of renewable power procurement tenders issued by them since April 2023 and no cancellations have been made after issuance of Letters of Award.

States are also issuing renewable power procurement tenders and renewable power capacity is also being added in commercial and industrial sectors through Green Energy Open Access/ Captive route. Thus, capacity addition of renewable energy is progressing through multiple pathways and not necessarily only through REIA led bids.

With the declining cost of solar-plus-storage and dispatchable renewable power, there is a growing preference among distribution companies and end procurers for such solutions. This shift has been accompanied by a reduced demand for plain solar power. Solar-plus-storage configurations are also being preferred over wind-solar hybrid projects, particularly due to their ability to supply power during peak demand hours. Accordingly, the Government has sensitized the REIAs to move from plain solar tenders to tenders of Solar with Energy Storage, tenders with configuration to supply renewable power during peak hours and tenders with configuration to supply Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy (FDRE).

To facilitate the further execution of PPAs in respect of bids issued by REIAs, the Government has undertaken several proactive measures. These include urging States to comply with the Renewable Consumption Obligation (RCO) under the Energy Conservation Act, and advising Renewable Energy Implementing Agencies (REIAs) to aggregate demand from DISCOMs and other consumers before designing and issuing tenders. Regional workshops have been organized with major renewable energy-procuring States to address implementation challenges and accelerate PPA signing.

Central Electricity Authority (CEA) prepares the transmission plan in advance based on the Renewable Energy (RE) potential declared by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) to provide a clear visibility of transmission system to the RE developers. The transmission system is implemented in phases commensurate with generation capacity addition to optimize the transmission system.

Around 47.2 GW of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) has been considered for planning of transmission system upto 2032. Deployment of BESS enables peak shifting, reduces network congestion and improves utilisation of transmission assets, thereby optimising overall transmission system.

As per Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Connectivity and General Network Access to the inter-State Transmission System) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2025, connectivity is to be granted for solar and non-solar hours. This will further help in efficient utilization of the transmission system. This will also enable integration of additional RE with co-located BESS to the grid without the requirement of additional transmission infrastructure.

This information was submitted by Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Shri Pralhad Joshi in Rajya Sabha today.

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Navin Sreejith

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