India’s total RE capacity reaches 88 GW; 752 MW added in August

• The overall RE capacity of the country includes 38 GW of wind power, 35.74 GW of solar power, 10.17 GW of bio-power and 4.74 GW of small hydro power

• While projects of 45.11 GW capacity are at various stages of implementation, projects of 28.43 GW capacity are under various stages of bidding

New Delhi: India has added a total of 751.52 MW of renewable energy capacity in August, taking the total cumulative RE capacity of the country to 88.65 GW, a monthly report released by the government said. The overall RE capacity of the country includes 38 GW of wind power, 35.74 GW of solar power, 10.17 GW of bio-power and 4.74 GW of small hydro power. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) said that an expenditure of Rs 1,424.33 crore was incurred until August 31 in the expansion of renewable energy capacity. This means that by the end of August, the government has spent 24.7 percent of the budget estimate for the MNRE for 2020-21.

28.43 GW capacity RE projects under various stages of bidding

According to MNRE's report, while projects of 45.11 GW capacity are at various stages of implementation, projects of 28.43 GW capacity are under various stages of bidding. The government granted RE projects an extension of five months in the scheduled commissioning date in view of the COVID situation in August. The Centre asked all the implementing agencies of MNRE to treat the lockdown period imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic as force majeure and give RE developers a time extension of five months, from March 25 to August 24.

Also read: COVID-19 crisis: Govt grants 5 months' extension to RE projects under implementation

The backdrop

The fresh data comes a day after CEEW Centre for Energy Finance said in a report that India needs to add new renewable energy capacity at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16 percent to reach '450 GW by 2030.' The report added that despite Covid-19, 12 GW of solar and 400 MW of solar-wind hybrid capacity was sanctioned/auctioned in the first quarter—equivalent to an impressive 14% of India's aggregate installed RE capacity of 87.7 GW.

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