GANDHINAGAR, India, Sept 16 Reuters India will connect a record 35 gigawatts GW of solar and wind energy capacity to its grid during the year ending March 2025, a top bureaucrat told Reuters, as it scrambles to achieve its 2030 clean energy target after falling short of a much publicised 2022 renewables goal.

The world39;s fastest growing major economy has prioritised coal to address a surge in power demand in recent years, with growth in coalfired power output expected to outpace renewable energy generation this year.

Commissioning of large solar farms has slowed in recent years and resulted in solar power generation growing at the slowest pace in six years during the first half of 2024.

However India, the world39;s third largest solar power producer, expects that to change starting this fiscal year, when it sees fresh additions of 30 GW of solar capacity, Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, the top bureaucrat at India39;s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy told Reuters.

The country will also add about 5 GW of new wind capacity, he said.

India added a total of 10 GW of renewable capacity in AprilAugust, the first five months of this fiscal year, taking its total to about 153 GW, government data showed.

We cannot provide an exact number for next year 202526, but we will definitely overtake this year39;s capacity addition, Bhalla said on the sidelines of REInvest, India39;s biggest renewable energy conference.

Bhalla also said there was a lot of market demand for…