Renew Power, Adani, Siemens part of India’s push towards 450GW of renewables capacity

The sun is really smiling down on India’s solar power sector. Despite the curveball thrown by the pandemic, a total of 2,488MW was added to India’s solar capacity in the second quarter of the new calendar year. Compared to last year’s installed capacity of 2,090MW, there was a 19 per cent increase in this year’s figures.

India always had a promising renewables sector, ranking fifth in wind and solar power and fourth in renewable installed capacity, as of 2019 reports. The presence of heavyweights like Tata Power, Adani, Siemens, Renew Power and Suzlon has also benefitted India’s impressive rise as a renewables hub. The country has also revised its renewables capacity target to 450GW by 2030 from its current 100GW. Out of this, solar power is expected to constitute about 280GW (over 60 per cent).

A report by Mercom India Research revealed that in comparison to Q2 of 2020, solar installations in Q2 2021 were up by 1,114 per cent. Additionally, solar capacity additions in Q2 2021 were the highest since Q2 of 2018. This is in stark contrast to the wind power sector which is literally gasping for air. The global pandemic has not been kind to the wind power industry. Rising material costs and a backlog of projects have hamstrung the sector’s impressive progress in recent years. Even after all the hard work and efforts of stakeholders like ReNew Power and Adani, Siemens and other turbine manufacturers suddenly found themselves on the back foot as the winds died down.

However, India’s march towards green project has hardly been disrupted, thanks to the solar industry. Industry stalwarts like Adani Green Energy and Tata Power made significant contributions towards India’s growing solar capacity. Adani added 925MW to its operational capacity in FY21, a year marred by global pandemic and shutdown of economic activities. It acquired solar assets from other renewables companies and even completed the acquisition of SB Energy’s 5GW renewable portfolio in India.

Nevertheless, the global wind industry is expected to be up and running again as economies reopen. With the backlog of orders slowly being fulfilled, wind power should find favourable seas again. Renewable companies and manufacturers like Suzlon, Adani and Siemens will have to employ the lesson learn during the pandemic as part of their future projects if India is to realize its target of 450GW by 2030.