By Enersider Desk | New Delhi
The country has added 31.2 GW of non-fossil fuel-based energy capacity in the April-October period of FY26, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said, and added that there has been no cancellation of awarded clean energy projects.
As of October, the country’s total installed capacity from non-fossil sources stands at about 259 GW, the Minister for New and Renewable Energy said in reply to a query in the Rajya Sabha.
The contribution of non-fossil fuel capacity was 51.37 per cent to India’s overall installed power generation capacity of 5.5 lakh megawatt (MW) at the end of October.
The Minister noted that 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. Capacity addition is therefore progressing through multiple pathways and not necessarily only through REIA-led bids.
With declining costs 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 coincided with a reduced demand for plain solar power. Solar-plus-storage options are being preferred over wind-solar hybrid projects, particularly due to their ability to supply power during peak demand hours.
Accordingly, the Government has sensitised 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 support further execution of PPAs for REIA-led bids, 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 REIAs to aggregate demand from DISCOMs and other consumers before designing and issuing tenders.
Regional workshops have been held with major renewable energy-procuring States to address implementation challenges and accelerate PPA signing.
On the infrastructure side, the 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 the 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 up to 2032. Deployment of BESS enables peak shifting, reduces network congestion and improves utilisation of transmission assets, thereby optimising the overall transmission system.
Under the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission’s updated connectivity regulations, connectivity is to be granted for solar and non-solar hours.
This change is expected to help in efficient utilisation of the transmission system and enable integration of additional RE with co-located BESS to the grid without the requirement of additional transmission infrastructure.
Also Read: Insolation Green Energy bags orders worth Rs 516.05 cr
