Tracking India's rise in renewable energy: Capacity, composition and comparisons

India has emerged as a major player in the global renewable energy landscape, demonstrating substantial growth in installed renewable capacity over the past two decades. This study employs descriptive statistical analysis of secondary data obtained from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to examine India’s renewable energy development in terms of capacity, composition, and global comparison. The analysis reveals that India’s renewable energy capacity grew from 25 GW to 176 GW between 2003 and 2023, representing approximately 4.5% of the global total and ranking India fourth in the world, behind China, the United States, and Brazil. During the same period, non-renewable capacity expanded from 93 GW to 329 GW. Despite this, the share of renewables in India’s total electricity capacity increased steadily from 21% in 2015 to 35% in 2023. However, India lags significantly in per capita installed capacity, standing at only 0.12 kW for renewables and 0.35 kW for total electricity, far below Brazil, China, the U.S., and Canada. The study also highlights India’s technological composition: solar energy leads the renewable mix, followed by nearly equal shares of hydro and wind, with bioenergy contributing only 6.11%. Almost all renewable sources are grid-connected due to high energy storage costs. Unlike global trends, India has no offshore wind or mixed hydro installations and heavily relies on onshore wind and solid biofuels. While India demonstrates a balanced technological approach, significant disparities remain in per capita metrics and technological diversity. These findings underscore the need for targeted policy to improve equity and expand innovation in renewable deployment.