Clean power uptake is shaping the country’s infrastructure expansion. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, as of July 31, 2026, India’s total installed renewable energy capacity stood at 291.73 GW, including 52.06 GW of Large-hydropower capacity. With 8.78 GW of nuclear capacity, the total non-fossil-fuel-based installed capacity stood at 300.51 GW. The pace of additions also remains strong, with 16.39 GW of renewable capacity added during April-July 2026, led by 14.33 GW of solar and 2.04 GW of wind.
Indian Infrastructure presents an overview of the renewable energy sector and its future outlook…
Solar power
Solar remains the principal driver of India’s renewable energy expansion. By July 31, 2026, the cumulative solar capacity had reached 164.59 GW. Ground-mounted projects accounted for 122.57 GW, while grid-connected rooftop systems stood at 30.74 GW. Hybrid projects contributed 4.77 GW of solar capacity and offgrid systems 6.51 GW.
India’s utility-scale solar market remained active during August 2025-August 2026, with 13 ground-mounted solar auctions totalling 13.92 GW, as tracked by India Infrastructure Research. The discovered tariffs ranged from Rs 2.09 per kWh to Rs 3.07 per kWh for standalone solar auctions. The lowest tariff of Rs 2.09 per kWh was discovered in Madhya Pradesh Jal Nigam Limited’s 100 MW auction and was awarded to DBL-APMPL in October 2025. BESS-integrated projects recorded higher tariffs, including Rs 5.51 per kWh for Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited’s 250 MW/1,100 MWh project awarded to Pace Digitek in February 2026. Major auctions during the year included the Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) 1.2 GW solar-plus-storage tender awarded in January 2026 at Rs 3.12-Rs 3.13 per kWh, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited’s (GUVNL) 625 MW auction at Rs 2.34 per kWh in March 2026, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited’s (PSPCL) 500 MW auction at Rs 3.05-Rs 3.07 per kWh in April 2026 and NHPC Limited’s 1.2 GW auction at Rs 2.73 per kWh in July 2026. Overall, the year marked a clear shift towards solar plus storage, larger integrated projects and more competitive tariff discovery.
Wind power
Wind power entered a higher-growth phase during the past year. Installed capacity reached 58.14 GW as of July 31, 2026. During the year, India Infrastructure Research tracked 16 standalone wind tenders, beginning with SJVN Limited’s 600 MW Wind-3 and 600 MW Wind-4 tenders, and GUVNL’s 250 MW Phase X tender in September 2025, and SECI’s 600 MW Tranche XIX tender in October 2025, and 2,000 MW tender in May 2026. Other notable tenders included NTPC REL’s 540 MW engineering, procurement and construction tender in Andhra Pradesh in February 2026 and its 813 MW wind turbine generator package in Karnataka in March 2026.
Auction activity accelerated from January 2026, with GUVNL Phase X recording winning tariffs of Rs 3.43-Rs 3.44 per kWh, followed by SECI Tranche XIX at Rs 3.67-Rs 3.69 per kWh in February 2026 and SJVN’s 600 MW auction at Rs 3.64-Rs 3.65 per kWh in March 2026. In July 2026, MPPMCL’s 800 MW auction recorded the highest tariff of Rs 4.12-Rs 4.17 per kWh, while SECI Tranche XX and GUVNL Phase XI awarded 2,000 MW and 250 MW at Rs 3.78-Rs 3.85 per kWh and Rs 3.51-Rs 3.52 per kWh respectively. Overall, wind tariffs during the period ranged from Rs 3.43 per kWh to Rs 4.17 per kWh.
Hydro and PSPs
Hydropower continues to play an important role in balancing a system increasingly dominated by variable renewable generation. India had 52.06 GW of large-hydro capacity and 5.18 GW of small-hydro capacity by July 2026. Large hydro capacity includes about 7.43 GW of pumped storage power (PSP) capacity, reflecting the growing importance of storage within the conventional hydro fleet. A key highlight during the past was NHPC’s phased commissioning of its 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower hydroelectric project, with Unit 1 (250 MW) achieving commercial operations in December 2025 and Unit 2 in March 2026 while and the remaining units are targeted for phased commissioning by December 2026.
A major milestone in the PSP space was THDC India’s 1,000 MW Tehri variable-speed pumped storage plant, which was commissioned by April 2026. Various key developments took place across states. For instance, Assam approved a 1,000 MW PSP project at a tariff of Rs 10.29 million per MW per year in November 2025, while Bihar shortlisted developers for 2.12 GW of PSPs in December 2025. In February 2026, Andhra Pradesh invited bids for the 950 MW Kamalapadu PSP.
Standalone BESSs
BESS are developing alongside pumped storage. BESS tariffs showed a sharp decline, followed by a moderate recovery during the past year. For two-hour BESS, a tariff of Rs 148,000 per MW per month was recorded in APTRANSCO’s 1,000 MW/2,000 MWh tender in November 2025. The tariff subsequently rose to Rs 335,000 per MW per month in PSPCL’s May 2026 auction. For a four-hour BESS, tariffs were recorded at Rs 285,000 per MW per month in Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited’s 500 MW/2,000 MWh tender in November 2025, with Rs 304,000 per MW per month discovered in SECI’s March 2026 tender.
Key recently commissioned stanalone projects include ACME Solar’s 155 MW/470.25 MWh BESS in Rajasthan (March 2026) and another 33.33 MW/120.38 MWh commissioned in June 2026; Juniper Green Energy’s 100 MWh merchant BESS in Bikaner, which was fully commissioned in January 2026; and IndiGrid’s 180 MW/360 MWh BESS in Gujarat in May 2026. Adani Green Energy commissioned 3.37 GWh of BESS capacity at Khavda in May 2026. Maruti Suzuki also commissioned a 1 MWh BESS at its Haryana facility in July 2026.
Bioenergy
The bioenergy sector has gained momentum during the past year. As of July 31, 2026, the installed capacity included 9.82 GW of biomass and bagasse cogeneration, 1.05 GW of non-bagasse biomass cogeneration, 324 MW of grid-connected waste-to-energy (WtE) and 554 MW of off-grid WtE capacity. Together, these technologies represent an important but still underdeveloped part of the renewable energy portfolio. Compressed biogas (CBG) adoption has also increased. India Infrastructure Research tracked 1,993 CBG projects, of which 561 have been commissioned, 453 are under construction, 931 are yet to start construction and 48 have been approved.
Select project developments in the past year include the commissioning of three 22.5 tonnes per day (tpd) CBG plants by Reliance Green Energy in Madhya Pradesh in November 2025, BPCL’s 150 tpd Brahmapuram CBG plant in February 2026 and Suzuki’s 1.5 tpd biogas-to-CBG plant in Gujarat in December 2025. In June 2026, SAEL Industries commissioned a 14.9 MW agri-WtE plant in Rajasthan. In August 2025, the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority started work on a 50 tpd CBG plant at Jalpura and the Tamil Nadu municipal administration laid the foundation stone for a 250 tpd biogas plant at Vellalore. In September 2025, the CEF Group raised Euro 38 million to develop CBG plants in Jammu and Ahmedabad, with capacities of 350 tpd and 500 tpd respectively. In February 2026, Juno Joule Bio Fuels launched a Rs 7 billion in CBG cluster Telangana comprising 10 plants of 100 tpd each. In April 2026, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and Nexband Renewables announced a 150 tpd CBG plant. In May 2026, Mahanagar Gas and BMC signed an agreement for a 350 tpd CBG plant in Mumbai.
Ethanol is another major component of India’s bioenergy strategy. According to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, ethanol blending in petrol reached 20 per cent in July 2026. The focus is now shifting towards sustaining the ethanol blending programme and expanding ethanol availability.
Green hydrogen
Green hydrogen is moving from policy planning to industrial use and commercial projects. Notable green hydrogen tenders include NTPC Green Energy’s 2.5 mmtpa green hydrogen/chemicals project at the Pudimadaka Green Hydrogen Hub in Andhra Pradesh launched in September 2025; and ANERT’s tender for a green hydrogen transport pilot project involving hydrogen buses/trucks and two refuelling stations in Kerala, each with a capacity of at least 260 kg per day, with vehicles planned to operate for 24 months, issued in November 2025. In March 2026, the Deendayal Port Authority tendered a 3 kg green hydrogen storage system, with a 3 kW fuel cell for Kandla port, while the V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority invited bids for a 600 kg per day, 2 MW electrolyser-based green hydrogen production and refuelling station.
The segment witnessed strong tendering activity during the past year. In September 2025, the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) green ammonia auction discovered tariffs of Rs 49.75-Rs 64.74 per kg, with ACME Cleantech Solutions winning 315,000 mtpa across multiple allotments. Other awarded developers include the Consortium of SCC Infrastructure and InSolare Energy (100,000 mtpa at Rs 53.05-Rs 57.65 per kg), NTPC Renewable Energy (70,000 mtpa at Rs 51.50 per kg), Jakson Green (55,000 mtpa at Rs 50.75 per kg), Oriana Power (50,000 mtpa at Rs 52.25 per kg), Onix Renewable (50,000 mtpa at Rs 52.50 per kg), and Sunyam International (4,000 mtpa at Rs 50 per kg). In February 2026, Numaligarh Refinery Limited awarded a 10,000 mtpa supply contract to NeuEN Green Energy at a tariff of Rs 279 per kg.
Major green hydrogen projects also witnessed advancements. In August 2025, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways announced a Rs 6 billion highway pilot for hydrogen mobility, while JSW Energy commissioned its 3,800 tpa plant at Vijaynagar in November 2025. NTPC Limited inaugurated a 3.7 MW solar-hydrogen plant at Chushul in November 2025, and India’s first hydrogen train was flagged off in July 2026. In April 2026, Jakson Green signed a $465 million green ammonia purchase agreement with SECI for 85,000 tpa green ammonia, while NETRA announced a 1 tpd plasma gasification plant in December 2025. These developments indicate a shift towards large-scale commercial demand.
The way forward
Going forward, India will need to accelerate transmission expansion, strengthen forecasting and scheduling mechanisms, scale energy storage, and develop resilient domestic supply chains. Better coordination among central and state agencies, faster project clearances, enhanced grid flexibility and stable policy frameworks will also play a critical role accelerating renewables expansion.
Pankhudi Jha
