India’s Coal Power Growth Slows as Renewables Surge

India’s coal-fired power generation growth slowed in August as renewable electricity production surged, according to data from Grid-India. Overall electricity generation rose 11.6% year-on-year to 180 billion kilowatt-hours as an extended heatwave and below-average rainfall increased demand for cooling while reducing hydropower output.

Renewable power generation, including solar, wind and small hydropower, jumped 42.1% from a year earlier to 35.14 billion kWh. Coal-fired generation increased 11.3% to 116.28 billion kWh, slower than the nearly 13% growth recorded in July and around 14% in June. Hydropower generation, meanwhile, declined 16.7% to 21.5 billion kWh.

Despite the rapid growth of solar and wind power, high electricity demand during non-solar hours continues to support coal consumption. Patchy monsoon rainfall also disrupted coal mining and supplies, leaving inventories at critically low levels at 46 power plants, government data showed.

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