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New Delhi, January 5 (IANS): India is on course to achieve its ambitious target of 500 gigawatts (GW) of non-fossil fuel power capacity by 2030, with a strong pipeline of renewable energy projects already in place, a top government official has said.
India currently has around 260 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity, Santosh Sarangi, Secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) said while speaking to NDTV Profit.
This means the country needs to add about 240 GW more over the next few years, a goal he said is well within reach.
Sarangi explained that solar power will form the biggest share of upcoming capacity additions, contributing nearly 160 GW.
“Wind energy is expected to add around 30 GW, while the rest will come from a mix of small and large hydro projects and nuclear power. Nuclear energy is likely to add about 8 to 10 GW by 2030,” he stated.
“India could even exceed the 500 GW target if large-scale data centre projects move ahead as planned,” Sarangi added.
He added that electricity demand from data centres is rising rapidly, and many carbon-intensive industries are also looking to shift towards cleaner energy as part of their decarbonisation efforts.
Meanwhile, the government in last month informed that India saw highest-ever renewable energy capacity addition in 2025 at 44.51 GW (till November) which is nearly double as compared to the 24.72 GW during the same period last year.
The total renewable energy installed capacity reached 253.96 GW in November 2025, which is an increase of over 23 per cent as compared to the 205.52 GW in November 2024.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said on December 29 said that capacity addition is 34.98 GW, compared to the 20.85 GW during the same period last year.
