Clean energy is gaining a larger share of India’s energy mix, a silver lining in the country’s prolonged lockdown of viruses that has reduced power demand by about a quarter.
Electricity produced from renewable energy, nuclear and hydropower accounted for 27 per cent of India’s total generation as of April 15, according to data from the network operator National Load Depatch Centre. That’s five percentage points from March 18, a week before Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the world’s largest lockdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
The gain came at the expense of coal, which saw its share shrink from 71 per cent over the period to 65 per cent. The figures are another sign that the dominant fossil fuel is facing increased competition from cleaner energy sources in India.
India has adopted renewables to tackle its infamous pollution of the air and increased carbon emissions. Projects have a “must-run” status, ensuring that power distribution companies are required to use solar or wind energy once it is generated. The result: as demand drops, they shut down coal power.
Some of the new coal plants are also losing out due to high operating costs.
“It only reinforces the point that clean energy is fast replacing coal as the most affordable form of energy in our country,” said Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy & Clean Air.
“This trend will become more pronounced in time to come, as distribution utilities will increasingly turn to low-cost supplies to improve their financial health,” he added.
