Representative image of clean energy.
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Mumbai: India needs to scale up to 600 GW of non-fossil-fuel capacity by 2030 to meet its growing electricity demand reliably and affordably, according to a new independent study of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).
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 dispatch 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.
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 RE 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.
“India has rapidly expanded its power sector—becoming the world’s third-largest producer of electricity, with 98 per cent of its households electrified by 2023, and solar and wind capacity quintupling since 2013. The challenge is to now decarbonise while ensuring reliable and affordable power for a fast-growing economy,” said Dr Arunabha Ghosh, founder and CEO, CEEW
According to him, achieving 600 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 is not just about meeting demand—it’s about energy security, cleaner air and ensuring that the aspirations of a fast-growing India are met with the right market signals and regulation. This needs continuous innovation in policy, correct energy pricing, smarter transmission grid planning and digitisation, and decisive centre-state coordination.”
Deploying 600 GW of clean energy across more states could reduce generation costs by 6-18 paise per unit, eliminate the need for new coal plants, save between INR 13,000 crore and INR 42,400 crore in power procurement costs, and create 53,000 to 1,00,000 additional jobs—all while cutting carbon emissions by 9-16 per cent, compared to FY24.