India misses 2016 renewable target by 5 GW

Official statistics published by India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) have revealed that India fell 5 GW short of hitting its new renewable energy installation target in financial year (FY) 2016-17.

The MNRE data, compiled by Mercom Capital Group, shows that combined new renewable energy capacity grew 11,320 MW in FY 2016-17, while the national target for that period was set at 16,660 MW.

And while the 5,526 MW of new solar power capacity added was a record, it was still some 6.4 GW short of the mandated target of 12 GW the MNRE set. Indeed, were it not for wind power additions exceeding the government target (5.5 GW added, above the 4 GW target), solar’s performance would have weighed even heavier on the figures.

Overall, the MNRE target for clean energy additions was only 62% met, with wind and waste the only two segments to exceed their goals. India has set the ambitious target of reaching 170 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, of which 100 GW is to come from solar.

Hence, solar’s sights are set higher than all of the other generation sources combined, but while projections this year forecast India to add at least 10 GW of new solar capacity, even that would fall short of the mandated MNRE target.

Nevertheless, at 5,526 MW, solar was the largest single source of renewable energy additions in FY 2016-17 in India, and is poised to lead the way once again this year.