New Delhi: Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi said on Thursday that India was poised to surpass the $220 billion investment target required to add the remaining 190 GW of installed power capacity targeted from non-fossil sources by 2030.
Speaking at a press conference, the Union Minister said that investments totalling Rs 7 lakh crore, including domestic funds and foreign direct investment, have flowed into the renewable energy sector over the past two years.
Highlighting the fast acceleration in the pace of renewable energy capacity addition in the country, Union Minister Joshi added, “To achieve first 100 GW, it took seven decades, another 100 GW was achieved in seven years and the next 100 GW was added in two years,” he remarked.
Joshi said the momentum would continue and India would meet the 500 GW target on schedule.
Strategies are also being prepared to add another 300 GW as directed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added.
He said that at present, the country’s installed power capacity from non-fossil fuels stands at 310 GW, and the Union government has fixed a target of reaching 500 GW by 2030.
The Union Minister also said that India has learnt lessons from earlier supply chain disruptions and is working to remain prepared for similar challenges in the future.
Speaking at a press conference held on the fourth day of the Bharat Renewable Energy Summit and Expo 2026, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) Secretary Santosh Kumar Sarangi said the Ministry was working on framing new guidelines for solar module waste recycling.
“We are trying to formulate the guidelines as quickly as possible. This will also mandate manufacturers to produce modules which has higher degree of recyclability,” the top official said.
He also added that while the recyclability of wind turbines is fairly high, technological solutions for recycling blades and the epoxy used in making them are not available in India.
However, Suzlon and the Aditya Birla Group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which epoxy will be fully recyclable and used to make completely recyclable blades.
He added that from an MNRE perspective, we will have to formulate a standard operating procedure which will mandate the same for other manufacturers as well.
Recycling of solar module waste and wind turbines currently falls under the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, but Sarangi highlighted that detailed guidelines would have to be formulated separately for various kinds of products.
“Under the e-waste rules, waste modules have to be preserved until 2035, by which time there is likely to be sufficient volume for recycling,” Joshi said.
(IANS)
