Data explainer: India’s green energy goals face stiff test
Read this | Green revolution 2.0: Why India needs an integrated energy policy Meanwhile, India holds its position as the world’s fourth-largest renewable power capacity, trailing only China and Brazil among emerging economies, excluding hydropower plants. Also read: The rooftop eclipse on India’s solar ambitions India also aims to power half of its energy capacity with renewables by 2030, a goal supported by encouraging progress.
Thermal power (which largely relies on coal-fired plants) now accounts for a 55% share in India’s overall capacity, down from 66% in 2017, while renewable energy’s share has increased to 33% from 18%. But while India's renewables sector is growing rapidly, its increasing power demands as a developing economy often lead it back to coal.
According to the Global Energy Monitor, India already has 240 GW operating coal power capacity and 97 GW is under development. Earlier this year, the power ministry told Reutersthat India would start operating new coal-fired power plants totalling up to 13.9 GW this year, the biggest addition in six years.
At COP28 last year, India and China abstained from committing to tripling the global renewable energy capacity by 2030, as the pledge called for a phase-down of coal power. While India pursues ambitious goals as part of its climate pact on the global stage, only a handful of major states lead this commitment.
As of July, Rajasthan and Gujarat are at the forefront with 28 GW and 27 GW of installed renewable capacity, respectively, followed by Tamil Nadu (20 GW), Karnataka (17 GW), Maharashtra (13 GW), Andhra Pradesh (9 GW), and Madhya Pradesh (7 GW). The government has announced transmission schemes to integrate 66.5 GW of renewable energy generation across these
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