By Abbas Nazil
India’s total installed renewable energy capacity reached 220.1 GW as of March 31, 2025, with solar power emerging as the dominant contributor, accounting for 48 percent of the total capacity.
Wind energy followed with a 23 percent share, while large hydro contributed 22 percent, according to data reviewed by JMK Research.
The country is also poised for substantial growth, with 143.8 GW of additional capacity across solar, wind, hybrid, and storage projects currently under implementation.
These are expected to come online over the next four to five years. In addition, 66.1 GW of capacity is in the bidding phase, underlining India’s aggressive renewable energy expansion.
The fiscal year 2024–25 saw robust additions across all major renewable segments. India added 16.9 GW of utility-scale solar, reflecting a 47 percent increase over the previous year.
Rooftop solar installations surged by 72 percent, reaching 5.1 GW, while wind capacity grew by 28 percent, increasing to 4.2 GW from 3.25 GW in FY24.
During the first quarter of 2025 alone, 5.93 GW of utility-scale solar was commissioned, a 12.2 percent rise from the previous quarter.
Wind installations witnessed significant growth, jumping 134.3 percent to 1.87 GW. Rooftop installations also remained strong at 1.34 GW in the same period.
Looking ahead to FY26, JMK Research projects 30.2 GW of new solar capacity—21.1 GW utility-scale, 7 GW rooftop, and 2.05 GW off-grid—along with 6 GW of new wind capacity.
For the next two quarters, 11.9 GW of solar and 3.8 GW of wind capacity are expected to be installed.
In the equipment space, Sungrow led the inverter market in Q1 2025 with shipments of 9.8 GW, followed by Sineng (2.8 GW) and FIMER (1.9 GW). Waaree captured the largest share (17.3 percent) of module shipments.
Among developers, Adani was the leader with 36.2 GW in cumulative and pipeline capacity, followed by ReNew (22.3 GW), NTPC (16.2 GW), Greenko (15.14 GW), and Avaada (15.13 GW).
Tender activity showed a mixed trend. During Q1 2025, 4.8 GW of utility-scale renewable energy tenders were floated, down 49 percent from Q4 2024 and 88.2 percent year-on-year.
About 7 GW of capacity was awarded, representing an 8.6 percent decrease quarter-on-quarter.
NTPC and Adani secured 1,000 MW and 400 MW, respectively, in solar tenders. Datta Infra, ReNew, and NLC together won 482 MW in wind, while Adani, Jindal Renewables, and Illuminate Hybren secured 850 MW in wind-solar hybrid.
In the storage-based renewable segment, the top five developers bagged 1,250 MW—68% of total awards.
The lowest solar tariff in Q1 2025 was ₹2.56/kWh, quoted by NTPC and ReNew in UPPCL’s 2,000 MW tender, marking a 19% increase from the previous quarter.
In wind, NLC’s quote of ₹3.74/kWh for SJVN’s 600 MW tender reflected a 5% percent rise, while Jindal Renewables’ ₹3.38/kWh tariff for NTPC’s 1,200 MW wind-solar hybrid tender was up 6 percent.
Investments in the renewable energy sector rose significantly, crossing USD 6.23 billion in Q1 2025, up 34 percent over Q4 2024.
Meanwhile, the price of mono-PERC 500 Wp modules declined 0.70 percent to ₹15.39/Wp from the previous quarter and dropped 22.14 percent year-on-year.
A total of 12.5 GW of modules were shipped by 24 leading players, with the top five accounting for 51 percent of shipments. Exports also surged, hitting 572 MW in Q1 2025, led by Adani and Waaree, both of whom more than doubled their Q4 2024 export volumes.