India’s renewable energy market is showing the first signs of revival as the installed capacity jumped by 12.9% during the 12 months to 31 March 2015, latest data released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy shows.

India added 4,089 MW renewable energy capacity in financial year 2014-15, a capacity addition of 8.5% more than the targeted figure of 3,770 MW. It was also possibly one of the rarest moments in India’s renewable energy sector when all three leading sub-sectors overachieved on the allocated targets.

2.3 GW wind energy capacity was added as against a target of 2 GW. Government had planned to add 1.1 GW of solar power capacity, 12 MW capacity in addition to this target was added during the last financial year. Solar power technology also surpassed biomass-based power generation as the third-largest renewable energy source in terms of installed capacity in India. Solar power capacity now has a share of 10.5%, up from 8.3% at the end of FY 2013-14.

The capacity addition target of 250 MW for the small hydro power technology was also achieved. In India, hydro power projects with less than 25 MW installed capacity are considered renewable energy projects. Capacity addition target was overachieved in bagasse-based cogeneration where projects worth 360 MW were added as against a target of 300 MW.

Biomass-based power generation missed the capacity addition target, adding only 45% percent of the targeted value. Just 4% of the capacity addition target was achieved in waste-to-power category.

The total renewable energy installed capacity in India at the end of FY 2014-15 stood at 35.77 GW. The Indian government plans to increase this capacity to 175 GW by end of 2022.

During the same 12 months, 20.8 GW of thermal power capacity (mainly led by coal-based power plants) was also added to the Indian grid. Of the total 26.58 GW power generation capacity added in India in FY2014-15, 15.3% was based on renewable energy sources. This is in comparison to the current 13.1% share of renewable energy in India’s 272 GW power generation capacity.