India’s peak power demand to grow 18 GW annually from 2024-25 to 2029-30: Minister

New Delhi: India’s peak power demand is expected to grow at an average annual growth of 18 GW during solar hours and 16 GW during non-solar hours from 2024-25 to 2029-30, Minister of State for Power Shripad Yesso Naik told Parliament on Thursday. In a written response to a question raised in Lok Sabha, the minister said, “as per projections of Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the peak power demand from 2024-25 to 2029-30 is projected to increase at an average annual growth of 18 GW during Solar hours and 16 GW during Non-Solar hours.”

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He added that India’s peak electricity demand during the last 10 years, from 2014-15 to 2023-24, has shown an average annual growth of 11 GW, increasing from 148 GW to 243 GW.

127 GW RE projects under construction, 89.69 GW under tendering

A total of 127 GW of Renewable Energy (RE) projects are currently under construction and 89.69 GW are under tendering, said the minister in response to a separate question raised in the Lower House of Parliament. Non-conventional sources of energy, including solar, wind, bio, waste-to-energy and small hydro power, constitute 156.247 GW of India’s total installed capacity of 454.452 GW. In percentage terms, non-conventional or renewable sources of energy form 34.38 percent of the India’s total power generation capacity, the Lok Sabha was told.

Thermal power capacity, which includes coal, lignite, gas and diesel-based power, stands at 243.057 GW, or 53.48 percent of the total power generation capacity. Large hydro power and nuclear power form 12.14 percent of the total capacity.

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