India’s power sector is now going through a major change. In the new quarter (Jan-Mar), the total power generated was 13,669MW of which 71.5% was contributed by renewable energy whereas Coal, the old version of generating electricity, is now vanishing. Coal has declined almost by 50% for the very first time since the 1960s. According to the latest report POWERup from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), India has an objective to establish 50% growth in power generation from renewable resources by 2030.
The report states that coal declined all over the G7 countries in 2023. G7 countries committed to ending all coal projects and power generation by 2035. India is in the lead to target Net Zero Greenhouse Gas emissions. The major focus is currently to create large renewable projects, according to a report of ‘Utility-scale renewable energy tendering trends in India,’ released recently by IEEFA and JMK Research.
The whole world suffered during a crucial period in the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia – Ukraine War (2019-22). India has bounced back and now they have prominent investors to invest in renewable energy projects, key reasons to invest were market growth, support from the government in frameworks, and higher operating margins.
Ember’s Global Electricity reported that India is the third largest solar power producer globally after China and USA. Review Solar is the fastest-growing electricity source in comparison to twice of electricity generated by coal. India has also become the world’s fourth-largest increase in solar generation in 2023. The top four countries included China (+156Twh) followed by the US (+33TWh) Brazil (+22TWh) and then India (+18 Twh).
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Non-fossil fuels, especially solar and wind have seen an incredible rise from a fraction of 0.2% in 2000 to an increase of 13.4% in 2023. “A renewables-powered future is now becoming a reality,” said Aditya Lolla, Ember’s Asia program director. In particular Solar is rapidly increasing day by day. Solar and Wind will make huge changes in the country’s power generation however, fossils like coal will be already declining.
Highlighting key points of India’s drive for renewable energy, they are attracting new players at both national and international levels. India has already set up a record of 8.5GW in the first quarter of 2024 followed by more projects including the 1.6GW project of Adani Solar in Khavda Gujarat.
The renewable sector of India is already shining bright in 2024, and tendering activities will help cross the ultimate target of 50 GW in 2025.
