In a balancing act, India plans to add 80 GW of coal-fired capacity by 2032, along with 500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable capacity by 2030, and to add 50 GW of such capacity each year.
About 38 GW of coal capacity was proposed in 2024, the highest amount proposed over the past decade. India accounted for close to one-third of new global coal proposals in 2024, said a report published by S&P Global Ratings on energy transition in South and Southeast Asia.
It says that India leads the pack in South and Southeast Asia (SSEA) with good progress in renewable capacity additions and a larger scale of execution, bigger hybrid projects, rising storage tenders, and robust private sector funding will likely drive these gains.
“The country added 35 GW of renewable capacity in the first nine months of 2025, putting it on track to hit its target this year. India leads its peers due to low-cost renewables (with storage) and a mature competitive-bidding framework,” it said.
India sees an uptick in storage-based tenders, including batterie,s that will help with renewables integration.
“Cheaper cost of renewables (even with storage) compared with coal is supportive, as producers will rely on storage to meet peak demand. Solar tenders involving a storage component equal to 10% of capacity are becoming the norm under government mandate,” it added.
The report points at the hefty expansion spending, grid investments and execution in focus.
“More than $300 billion is required over 2025-2030, with about 45% of investments going toward grid strengthening. Grid spending will depend on the pace of execution. Grid delays and lack of connectivity will lead to execution risk for the country’s large pipeline of renewable projects (175 GW),” it added.
