For the first time since 1960s, the share of coal in India's total power generation capacity fell below 50% in the first quarter of 2024. The latest POWERup quarterly report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) revealed that renewable energy contributed 71.5% of the record 13,669 megawatts (MW) power generation capacity added by India in the first quarter (January-March) of this year.
Coal's share, including lignite, in India's total power generation capacity fell below 50% for the first time since the 1960s. The report signified that the renewable energy trend is well ahead of India's target of achieving 50% cumulative power generation capacity from non-fossil fuel-based sources by 2030.
The decline in coal's share of power generation capacity mirrors a global trend, with demand for coal in G7 countries hitting record lows in 2023, levels not seen since 1900. To accelerate the transition, G7 countries pledged last month to phase out all unabated coal power generation by 2035, building on their commitment to halt all construction of new coal-fired power plants.
The term "unabated" generally refers to the continued use of coal, oil, and gas without efforts to curtail emissions. At the United Nations' COP28 climate change conference in December last year, world leaders reached a historic agreement to transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels and triple the global renewable energy capacity by 2030.
