India needs to scale up to 600 GW of non-fossil-fuel capacity by 2030 to meet its growing electricity demand reliably and affordably, as per a study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) launched at the national dialogue on powering India’s future here on Wednesday.
The study, ‘How Can India Meet Its Rising Power Demand? Pathways to 2030’, is the first-of-its-kind to model India’s power system despatch for every 15 minutes in 2030. It found that if India’s electricity demand grows as per the Central Electricity Authority’s (CEA) projections, India’s existing, under-construction, and planned generation capacities would be adequate to meet power needs in 2030.
The CEEW study launch was attended by Suresh Prabhu, Trustee, CEEW, Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Ghanshyam Prasad, Chairperson, Central Electricity Authority, and officials from distribution companies and the private sector.
However, if power demand were to continue to outpace current projections due to a warming planet or strong economic growth over the coming five years, the CEEW study finds that a high renewable energy (RE) pathway of 600 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 offers the most viable solution, mainly due to cheaper Renewable Energy resources. This would include 377 GW of solar, 148 GW of wind, 62 GW of hydro, and 20 GW of nuclear energy. This research comes in the wake of the country’s power demand reaching a record 238 GW in February 2025 with peak demand expected to touch 260 GW in the summer months, surpassing projections due to unusually warm weather.
Minister of State for Power Naik said, “We have set ambitious targets to increase the capacity of non-fossil fuels and reach net zero by 2070. These goals are essential for a Viksit Bharat. Our clean energy journey has been remarkable, from 76 GW in 2014 to 220 GW in 2025 of non-fossil capacity.”
Former Union minister Prabhu said, “India’s energy transition must match its economic ambitions. We need to plan for a high renewable share today to send the right market signals for tomorrow. Scaling up to 600 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 requires a future-ready policy and regulatory framework. While the government is taking bold steps, stronger policies, industry collaboration, and research-driven, distributed solutions are essential to address challenges in grid management, deployment, and financing. This CEEW study provides good guidance to the sector.”
