India surpasses Germany to become the third largest generator for wind power, solar: Report

Representative Images | Image Source: AFP

India became the world’s third largest electricity producer in 2024, surpassing Germany’s solar producer, according to a new report released on Tuesday (April 8, 2025).

Global Power Review by Ember, a global energy think tank, said Wind and Solar together generated 15% of global power last year. India’s share is 10%.

The report said low-carbon sources, including renewable energy and nuclear power, collectively provide 40.9% of global electricity in 2024. This is the first time since the 1940s that it has crossed the 40% mark.

In India, clean resources account for 22% of electricity generation. Hydropower contributes the most with 8%, while wind and solar account for 10%.

Globally, renewable energy has brought about growth in clean electricity, adding a record 858 Terawatt hours (TWH) in 2024, 49% higher than the previous record in 2022.

Solar energy is the largest new source of electricity for the third consecutive year, adding 474 TWHs in 2024. It is also the fastest growing power supply for the 20th consecutive year.

In just three years, global solar power generation doubled to 6.9% of the electricity portfolio.

India also sees rapid increase in solar energy. Solar energy contributes 7% of the country’s electricity in 2024, a generation that doubled since 2021.

India added 24 GW of solar power in 2024, more than double the increase in 2023, making it the third largest market after China and the United States.

It also recorded the fourth largest growth in the global solar generation, adding 20 TWHs.

“Solar energy has become an engine of the global energy transition,” said Phil Macdonald, managing director at Ember. “Combined with battery storage, solar energy will become an unstoppable force. As the fastest and largest source of new electricity, it is crucial to meet the world’s increasing electricity demand.”

The report, released on Tuesday, 2024 (April 8, 2025), covers 88 countries, accounting for 93% of global electricity demand and includes historical data from 215 countries.

Aditya Lolla, director of Asia’s program at Ember, said Asia’s clean energy transition is accelerating, led by record growth in solar and other renewable sources.

“A strong clean energy market is crucial to the continued expansion of clean energy as electricity demand will rise across the region. This will not only enhance energy security and economic resilience, but will also help emerging countries to gain the benefits of a new clean energy market economy.”

Neshwin Rodrigues, senior energy analyst at Ember, said India has made significant progress in adopting renewable energy, but now faces a major challenge: ensuring its clean generation grows fast enough to meet rising demand.

Simon Stiell, the head of climate change at the United Nations, called India a “solar superpower” in February, said those who fully embrace the global clean energy boom would accelerate India’s economic growth.

As part of its climate commitment or nationally determined contribution (NDC), submitted to UNFCCC in 2022, India aims to achieve 50% of its installed power capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

In 2021, the country also announced a goal of achieving a 500 GW non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030.

Although the goal is not officially included in India’s latest NDC, it remains a key guiding reference in the National Energy Program document, including the 14th National Electricity Program.

Ember’s report in February said India will deploy 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 if current funding does not increase by 20% each year.