PM: India to add 500 GW non-fossil fuel capacity in the next 10-11 years, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will add 500 GW of new non-fossil fuel capacity over the next 10-11 years.
• He was speaking at the inaugural session of the Bharat Renewable Energy Summit and Expo 2026 in New Delhi.
• India currently has 308 GW of installed non-fossil capacity, about 55.1% of its total power generation capacity of 558.89 GW (Central Electricity Authority).
• Modi said India met its Paris pledge of half its installed power capacity from non-fossil sources in 2025, five years ahead of schedule.
• More than $164 billion has been invested in the renewable energy sector over the past decade, and about $63 billion since the RE-INVEST Summit 2024.
• He estimated investment opportunities worth over Rs 20 lakh crore, or around $220 billion, in the sector by the end of this decade.

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Detailed Insights:

• The new pledge is distinct from the existing target of 500 GW non-fossil capacity by 2030, under which nearly 300 GW has been achieved.
• These targets flow from India's updated Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, submitted in 2022.
• Modi credited clean-energy investment with helping India avert an energy crisis during the West Asia war, arguing fossil-fuel dependence keeps disrupting the global economy.
• India is among the top three countries in the world in solar and renewable energy capacity, the Prime Minister said.
• India has announced a broader goal of becoming a net-zero emitter by 2070, declared at COP26 in Glasgow.
• Non-fossil capacity spans solar, wind, hydro, nuclear and bio-energy; the expansion is central to India's energy security strategy.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Nationally Determined Contribution: A country's self-set climate action plan under the Paris Agreement, updated every five years.
• Non-fossil fuel capacity: Power generation capacity from solar, wind, hydro, nuclear and biomass sources.
• Paris Agreement: The 2015 UN climate treaty aiming to hold global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius, pursuing 1.5 degrees.
• Net zero: Balancing greenhouse gas emissions with removals; India's announced target year is 2070.