India’s coal power generation did not grow between the first half of 2024 and the first half of 2026, for the first such two-year period in over 50 years in which coal power has remained flat in the world’s second-largest coal consumer, a new analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) for Carbon Brief showed.
“The period from the first half of 2024 to the first half of 2026 saw the largest increase in non-fossil power generation on record in India,” Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), wrote in the analysis.
Moreover, the clean energy boom led to the first time in more than 50 years that India has seen no growth in coal power generation over a two-year period, even as electricity demand grew overall.
Despite the record clean energy growth, India continues to pursue major capital investments in fossil fuels, including new coal-power capacity, plans for conversion of coal-to-chemicals, and efforts to boost domestic coking coal production for the steel sector, CREA noted.
A total of 43 gigawatts (GW) of coal-power capacity was under construction in India as of the end of June 2026, according to the analysis.
Overall coal-fired capacity installations in India continue to rise, and coal remains a key pillar of India’s electricity mix – about two-thirds of total power output.
Despite booming renewable capacity additions, India continues to rely on coal to meet most of its power demand as authorities also look to avoid blackouts in cases of severe heat waves.
Coal will still be a key part of India’s power system for the next two decades, Rajnath Ram, adviser for energy at the government policy think tank, NITI Aayog, said at the end of last year.
“We cannot be subjective about coal. The question is how sustainably we can use it,” the official noted.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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