For the first time in roughly six decades, coal accounts for less than half of India’s total power generation capacity — a threshold that marks a genuine shift in how the world’s most populous nation powers itself. The milestone comes as renewable energy made up 71.5% of the record 13,669 megawatts added in the first quarter of 2024 C.E., according to a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
At a glance
- Coal capacity share: India’s coal and lignite share of total installed power capacity has fallen below 50% for the first time since the 1960s, according to IEEFA’s latest POWERup quarterly report.
- Renewable energy tenders: Utility-scale renewable energy tenders issued in India’s fiscal year 2024 crossed a record 69 gigawatts — far exceeding the government’s own target of 50 GW for the year.
- Solar power ranking: India has climbed from ninth in the world in 2015 to third in solar power generation in 2024 C.E., surpassing Japan and now trailing only China and the United States.
Ahead of schedule
India had committed to sourcing 50% of its cumulative power generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030. That target has effectively been met six years early.
The scale of what’s happening is hard to overstate. The country added nearly 14,000 megawatts of new capacity in just three months — and nearly three-quarters of that was renewable. IEEFA analysts describe 2024 C.E. as a pivotal year in the global energy transition, with India positioned at the forefront.
Vibhuti Garg, Director for South Asia at IEEFA and a contributing author on the report, points to a market that stalled between 2019 and 2022 due to supply-chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and has since come roaring back. “The market has rebounded and gone from strength to strength,” she said.
Why investors are paying attention
India’s renewable energy sector is drawing serious capital, and the reasons aren’t hard to find. The country offers enormous untapped market potential, a central government that has set clear targets and built regulatory frameworks to support them, and operating margins that compare favorably with other major markets.
Large-scale project tenders have reflected this. According to a companion report from IEEFA and JMK Research on utility-scale renewable energy tendering trends, the volume of tenders issued in fiscal year 2024 didn’t just meet the government’s ambitious 50 GW target — it blew past it by nearly 40%.
That kind of investor confidence matters. Ember’s fifth annual Global Electricity Review, covering 80 countries, confirmed that solar was the world’s fastest-growing electricity source for the 19th consecutive year, adding more than twice as much new electricity as coal did globally in 2023 C.E.
A global shift, with India leading
India’s trajectory mirrors — and in some ways outpaces — broader global trends. Since 2000 C.E., the share of global electricity from renewables has grown from 19% to more than 30%, with solar and wind rising from 0.2% to a record 13.4% in 2023 C.E. The carbon intensity of global electricity generation hit a record low in 2023 C.E., down 12% from its 2007 C.E. peak.
In the G7, demand for coal in 2023 C.E. fell to levels not recorded since 1900 C.E. Last year, G7 nations pledged to phase out all unabated coal power by 2035 C.E. — a commitment that builds on an earlier pledge to stop constructing new coal-fired plants.
India had the world’s fourth-largest increase in solar generation in 2023 C.E., adding 18 terawatt-hours, behind China (156 TWh), the United States (33 TWh), and Brazil (22 TWh). Those four countries together drove three-quarters of global solar growth that year.
The full picture
India’s energy transition is real and accelerating — but it’s not without complications. The country still relies heavily on coal for grid stability and baseload power, and analysts have noted that rapid renewable buildout puts pressure on transmission infrastructure and grid management. Rural and lower-income communities may experience the transition differently depending on whether grid investment keeps pace with generation capacity.
India is also still building some new coal capacity to meet growing electricity demand, even as renewables race ahead. The share milestone is meaningful — but absolute coal generation hasn’t yet peaked. Getting from a falling share to a falling total will require continued momentum.
Still, few countries have moved as fast, at this scale, on this timeline. The fact that India is now the world’s third-largest solar power generator — having ranked ninth just nine years ago — speaks to what coordinated policy, investment, and ambition can do.
Read more
For more on this story, see: Sau Energy — India’s new coal capacity sees record drop
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Renewables now make up at least 49% of global power capacity
- U.K. cancer death rates down to their lowest level on record
- The Good News for Humankind archive on India
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