The Uttar Pradesh government has set a goal of adding 32 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2030, according to Narendra Bhooshan, Additional Chief Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA). He said that UPPCL, the parent company of the state’s five distribution companies, has drawn up plans to contract the additional capacity, which will come from solar, hydro, biomass, waste-to-energy and distributed generation sources, reports Businessworld.
Bhooshan pointed out that while Uttar Pradesh has historically faced challenges of low per capita electricity consumption and income, the state has recently grown faster than the national average. Electricity demand reached 32 GW last year and is expected to climb to 34 GW in the coming year. He argued that the state should move beyond its current growth mindset of 6–7 per cent and aim for 8–9 per cent growth, with the energy sector playing a central role. Linking reliability and lower industrial tariffs to structural reform, he emphasised that inefficiencies cannot be the basis of the state’s future, pointing to the ongoing privatisation of the power distribution sector, the largest of its kind in India.
Out of the 32 GW renewable energy target, 14 GW has already been contracted. Bhooshan explained that while Uttar Pradesh lacks the strong solar irradiance of Rajasthan or Gujarat and does not have significant wind potential, it has adopted other approaches. These include the development of large solar parks, the rapid expansion of captive and open-access solar projects, and rooftop solar installations, which have now reached a rate of 1,000 per day, the highest in the country. The state, he said, is expected to move into the second position in cumulative rooftop solar capacity by 2025 and aims to take the top spot by 2026. In agriculture, 3.7 lakh farms have been solarised under the PM-KUSUM C2 scheme, already surpassing 90 per cent of the five-year target. Bhooshan added that once the Centre’s revised guidelines are released, Uttar Pradesh is preparing to expand its targets significantly.
Energy storage and nuclear power are also part of the state’s long-term strategy. Bhooshan said that Uttar Pradesh’s 2,000 MW pumped storage project has achieved the lowest tariff in India, while an additional 3,000 MW of capacity is in the pipeline. He noted that the state is collaborating with NTPC on the country’s first large-scale dispatchable Battery Energy Storage Systems, with two projects already sanctioned and another under tender. Nuclear power is also being explored, with one site approved and another under consideration in partnership with central public sector undertakings. He stressed that in the post-fossil fuel era, baseload capacity will have to come from nuclear energy, and the state is actively working to position itself for that transition.
Uttar Pradesh is also focusing on bioenergy and green hydrogen. The state already leads in bioethanol production and has the highest installed and sanctioned bio-CNG capacity in the country. Bhooshan said the government is in the process of revising its 2022–2027 bioenergy policy, with plans to double or triple its targets. On the hydrogen front, he acknowledged the geographical limitations of a landlocked state but pointed to strong domestic demand from the Mathura refinery, the fertiliser sector and the mobility market. The state inaugurated its first green hydrogen plant last month in Gorakhpur, developed by Torrent Group, which blends hydrogen with natural gas. Bhooshan added that the government also intends to establish two Centres of Excellence with a grant of ₹50 crore each to drive research, development and commercialisation of biomass-based and electrolyser-based hydrogen technologies.
