Chennai: While the ongoing conflict in West Asia has sparked concerns over oil imports and fuel supplies, there is encouraging news on another crucial front of India’s energy landscape. The country is poised to achieve a major milestone in the clean energy sector, with renewable energy capacity additions likely to exceed 50 GW in the current fiscal year, marking one of the strongest expansions in recent years. During the first 11 months of the fiscal, the renewable energy sector added about 47 GW of new capacity (including large hydro) to the grid, led by the solar power segment. At the current pace of installations, total additions are expected to cross 50 GW in FY26. In Feb alone, the renewable energy sector added about 3.5 GW of capacity to the grid. Between April 2025 and Feb 2026, the solar segment—including ground-mounted, rooftop, hybrid and off-grid installations—added about 38 GW, compared with around 28 GW in FY25.The wind power sector added about 5.1 GW, up from 4.2 GW in FY25, while large hydro projects contributed about 3.4 GW of new capacity. As of Feb 2026, India’s cumulative renewable energy capacity stood at about 267 GW, including large hydro. Solar accounted for the largest share at 144 GW, comprising 109.5 GW from ground-mounted projects, 25 GW from rooftop installations, 3.5 GW from hybrid systems, and 5.7 GW from off-grid solar. The wind energy sector accounted for 55 GW.Looking ahead, solar capacity additions are expected to surge to 130–140 GW between FY27 and FY29, driven by strong policy support, ambitious renewable energy targets, and the large capacity auctions conducted over the past three fiscals. Wind capacity is projected to add 24 GW–26 GW over the same period, supported by a healthy project pipeline and hybrid project allocations, according to a report by Crisil. However, achieving renewable generation targets will require significant expansion in transmission infrastructure to integrate large-scale renewable capacity into the grid, which is expected to drive substantial investments in transmission networks, the report added.
