India’s Khavda Solar Park Hits 13 GW as Solar Overtakes Coal in Race for Capacity
The 30 GW Khavda park is already generating 13 GW, up from just 551 MW in early 2024.
India’s Khavda Renewable Energy Park is now generating around 13 GW of power, the Adani Group project that when finished will provide roughly 4% of the country’s current electricity consumption from a single site.2,4
Construction started in 2023, and the first 551 MW came online in February 2024.4 The ramp from a fraction of a gigawatt to double-digit capacity in under three years shows how rapidly large-scale solar is scaling globally.
The International Energy Agency projects India will drive the world’s largest energy-demand growth by 2035, adding over 15 exajoules — nearly matching the combined growth of China and Southeast Asia.6 That makes the country’s renewable build-out a structural energy story, not just a climate one.
Solar is set to become the largest global electricity source by 2032, supported by lower costs and surplus manufacturing capacity, according to a recent report.3 The cost of panels has dropped so sharply that 511 GW of new capacity was added worldwide in 2025 alone.5
But India faces a manufacturing gap. Its maximum annual solar-cell production capacity stands at about 3 GW, while domestic demand averages 20 GW annually, according to India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.1 That means developers rely heavily on imported panels.
Chinese policy changes could reshape supply just as Indian demand surges. China halted approvals of some new solar projects this year and has cut subsidies to developers, analysts say.1 That is expected to slow Chinese domestic deployment and could push more panels into export markets.
For Indian buyers, that would lower prices. Module prices in India could fall by up to 25%, rendering local manufacturers uncompetitive, industry experts estimate.1 The country’s aim to double renewable capacity to 175 GW — a target second only to China — may end up powered by Chinese hardware.1
The Khavda park also includes battery storage for round-the-clock dispatch, addressing solar’s intermittency problem.4 That feature matters for grid operators trying to displace coal without sacrificing reliability.
Yet the scale of India’s electricity demand growth means even a 30 GW park like Khavda will only cover a fraction of incremental needs. The IEA expects India’s energy demand to rise by 15 exajoules by 2035, meaning fossil fuels are unlikely to fade fast.
The key risk to watch is tariff policy. If India moves to protect its domestic solar manufacturers from the flood of cheap Chinese imports, project costs could rise and installation timelines lengthen. For now, the module price outlook is firmly bearish.
Adani’s project alone will take roughly a decade to complete.4 That timeframe means the global solar race is not a sprint — it is a decade-long build-out where panel supply and policy choices will define the winners.