Date of Release: November 11th, 2014 Published in: Indian Express Earlier this month, Piyush Goyal, the Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy, pledged to make India a “renewable superpower” over the next few years, with a renewed commitment to solar power. India’s Central Governments have long pledged a ‘greener grid’, and undertaken efforts such as the institution of the National Action Plan on Climate Change, commitments to supply electricity to over 300 million citizens by leveraging renewable sources, and the organization of India’s First Global Renewable Energy Investors Summit in early 2015, in an attempt to develop the nation’s renewable energy potential. However, with all our good intentions and ambitious plans, is India prepared to reduce its dependency on traditional sources of energy? Swaniti Initiative examined our country’s commitment to clean energy by conducting a state-wise analysis of the percentage of total installed electricity capacity based on renewable sources from 2004 to 2012. Renewable energy sources included in this analysis refer to solar, wind, small hydro, biomass, and urban and industrial waste. ANALYSIS The state-wise analysis revealed renewable energy sources to account for a much higher percentage of overall state installed capacity in the North Eastern states, with Nagaland (65%), Sikkim (64%), and Arunachal Pradesh (62%) leading the pack. The graph below indicates that in these three states, electricity generated from renewable sources has on average accounted for more than 60% of the overall amount of installed electricity capacity in the state between 2004 and 2012. With a high potential for wind energy and consistent investment over the years, Tamil Nadu (39%) has the fourth highest renewable energy source (RES) percentage in the country. The numbers exclude the Central Sector power capacity based on renewable sources of energy. TOP 10 states