<p>Mumbai: India’s peak loads can be met without using the full coal fleet as renewables continue to reduce pressure on the country’s thermal resources, according to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), an independent research organisation focused on revealing the trends, causes, and health impacts, as well as the solutions to air pollution.</p><p>The study also showed that on 30 May 2024, India recorded its highest-ever electricity demand at 250 GW, during solar hours with 0.1 GW shortage. Only 188.24 GW of thermal capacity was online, with the remainder offline due to maintenance or forced outages. However, peak loads were still met, largely due to strong solar generation, which can contribute over 60 GW during daylight hours.</p><p>What’s more, on peak demand days, India’s share of renewable energy (solar, wind, biomass) in total gross generation increased from 9% in FY 2023-24 to 15% in Fiscal Year 2024-25. The share of coal and lignite, meanwhile, remained mostly steady, declining slightly from 71% to 70%.</p><p>The CREA’s analysis found India has 32.3 GW of thermal capacity under construction and 23.55 GW of stressed capacity. If all these are commissioned, total coal capacity would rise from 215 GW to 271 GW, which is higher than projected installed capacity requirements (251 GW by Central Electricity Authority and 262 GW by National Electricity Plan), indicating that existing and under-construction capacity is sufficient to meet future demand.</p>.Thermal power plants responsible for 240 times more air pollution than stubble burning: CREA.<p>However, 22.6 GW of new coal capacity was awarded during FY 2024-25, of which 5.6 GW is already under construction.</p><p>“The government’s plan to raise the coal-based power capacity target for the next seven years from 80 to 100 GW reflects an intent to meet India’s growing electricity demand. However, the country is already undergoing a structural transformation in which existing capacity is sufficient to meet future power demands. Instead of expanding coal-based power generation, India has an opportunity to strengthen its energy future by focusing on accelerating renewable energy development, modernizing the grid, increasing storage capacity, and improving the flexibility of the existing thermal power plants,” said Manoj Kumar, who works as an analyst with CREA.</p><p>In FY 2023-24, 305 out of 366 days saw their daily peak during solar hours. In FY 2024-25, this number was 256 out of 365. Peak demand during non-solar hours remained significantly lower, rising from 210.64 GW to 224.18 GW. During FY 2024-25, power demand crossed 250 GW in only one day. On all remaining days, demand stayed below this threshold, with a significant 232 days recording demand under 220 GW. These levels are well within the capacity of the existing and under-construction thermal, hydro, and other dispatchable sources.</p>
<p>Mumbai: India’s peak loads can be met without using the full coal fleet as renewables continue to reduce pressure on the country’s thermal resources, according to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), an independent research organisation focused on revealing the trends, causes, and health impacts, as well as the solutions to air pollution.</p><p>The study also showed that on 30 May 2024, India recorded its highest-ever electricity demand at 250 GW, during solar hours with 0.1 GW shortage. Only 188.24 GW of thermal capacity was online, with the remainder offline due to maintenance or forced outages. However, peak loads were still met, largely due to strong solar generation, which can contribute over 60 GW during daylight hours.</p><p>What’s more, on peak demand days, India’s share of renewable energy (solar, wind, biomass) in total gross generation increased from 9% in FY 2023-24 to 15% in Fiscal Year 2024-25. The share of coal and lignite, meanwhile, remained mostly steady, declining slightly from 71% to 70%.</p><p>The CREA’s analysis found India has 32.3 GW of thermal capacity under construction and 23.55 GW of stressed capacity. If all these are commissioned, total coal capacity would rise from 215 GW to 271 GW, which is higher than projected installed capacity requirements (251 GW by Central Electricity Authority and 262 GW by National Electricity Plan), indicating that existing and under-construction capacity is sufficient to meet future demand.</p>.Thermal power plants responsible for 240 times more air pollution than stubble burning: CREA.<p>However, 22.6 GW of new coal capacity was awarded during FY 2024-25, of which 5.6 GW is already under construction.</p><p>“The government’s plan to raise the coal-based power capacity target for the next seven years from 80 to 100 GW reflects an intent to meet India’s growing electricity demand. However, the country is already undergoing a structural transformation in which existing capacity is sufficient to meet future power demands. Instead of expanding coal-based power generation, India has an opportunity to strengthen its energy future by focusing on accelerating renewable energy development, modernizing the grid, increasing storage capacity, and improving the flexibility of the existing thermal power plants,” said Manoj Kumar, who works as an analyst with CREA.</p><p>In FY 2023-24, 305 out of 366 days saw their daily peak during solar hours. In FY 2024-25, this number was 256 out of 365. Peak demand during non-solar hours remained significantly lower, rising from 210.64 GW to 224.18 GW. During FY 2024-25, power demand crossed 250 GW in only one day. On all remaining days, demand stayed below this threshold, with a significant 232 days recording demand under 220 GW. These levels are well within the capacity of the existing and under-construction thermal, hydro, and other dispatchable sources.</p>