Andhra Pradesh adds 4.8 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity in past one year

Around 4.8 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity has been added in Andhra Pradesh over the past year, stated Education and IT Minister Nara Lokesh. According to a report by BusinessLine, the minister shared this information during a special plenary session titled 'Powering India's Energy Future: Renewables and Green Hydrogen' at the 31st CII Partnership Summit held in Visakhapatnam.

Nara Lokesh stated that Andhra Pradesh is transforming into a clean energy powerhouse along the lines of Saudi Arabia. He added that the state is not only going to generate clean energy from wind, solar, and pumped storage projects, but also convert that energy into green molecules to supply to the world and meet local energy needs as well.

According to the minister, power consumption in Andhra Pradesh has increased by approximately 30 percent over the past year. This growth has occurred even before accounting for the Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) currently being formed and upcoming commercial production. Some companies have already commenced commercial production while other projects are currently under construction. Data centers are also coming up in the state, due to which the demand for electricity could nearly double by 2028, Lokesh said.

Discussing energy prices, the minister stated that solar energy prices have dropped significantly during the day, reaching around 50 paise per unit. However, at night, the prices rise to ₹10 per unit. He further warned that if the current price cap is removed, prices could reach up to ₹30 per unit. Therefore, supplying round-the-clock green energy at competitive prices is the primary goal of the state government.

The state government is continuously pursuing this objective, the minister said. Comparing the capacity addition figures, he stated that 4.8 gigawatts of renewable capacity has been added in the past one year, whereas an increase of only 6 megawatts took place during the five-year period from 2019 to 2024.

Nara Lokesh is serving as the Minister for Education and IT in the Andhra Pradesh government. He has led efforts for the modernization of the state's energy sector and achieving a global standing in the field of green energy.