Yearly Review: India Added More Coal Power Than Wind In 2023

Yearly Review: India Added More Coal Power Than Wind In 2023

The latest analysis of the government’s monthly capacity addition reports revealed that India added more coal power than wind energy in the calendar year 2023. A comparison of the monthly installed capacity reports of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) by Saur Energy revealed that India added 4 Gigawatt (GW) of net coal power in 2023. This contrasts with the addition of merely 2,807 MW of wind power during the same period.

The commissioning of new coal-fired thermal power plants also coincided with India witnessing its driest August in over 100 years and its peak power demand surpassing 240 GW in September last year. The latest additions included the addition of 660 MW of STPP of NTPC in January, 800 MW of Damodaram Sanjeeviah TPC in Andhra Pradesh in March, 660 MW of thermal power plant at Barh in Bihar, 300 MW of TPC of Shree Cement in Rajasthan in August and 850 MW new thermal plant at Andhra Pradesh in September. India also added 950 MW of thermal power in December 2023, the highest in the year.

Solar takes the lead in new additions 

As per estimates, adding new coal-fired thermal plants was the highest since 2019. For wind energy, the highest additions in 2023 were made in March (618 MW), June (574 MW) and May (331 MW). 

However, the largest fuel-wise addition in 2023 came from solar energy. India added 10 GW of solar power from January to December in the 12 months of 2023. Solar witnessed the highest additions in March when India added 2,400 MW of new solar capacities. It was followed by additions of  2,276 MW in June and 1,049 MW in July this year. 

Generation-thermal continues to take the lion’s share 

Average annual power generation (fuel-wise) in 2023

Thermal power continues to take the lion’s share on the generation front.  On average, thermal power continued to dominate India’s energy generation with a total share of 75.9%. On the other hand, renewable energy (including large hydro projects) accounted for 19.4% of average annual generation. Large hydro power’s average annual generation stood at 7.9%.

The latest report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that about 80 GW of additional thermal capacity is needed in the next decade to meet rising demand in India as per the government’s own estimates. 

“Coal-fired generation will remain dominant but is expected to fall from 74% of total electricity generation in 2023 to 68% in 2026. Renewable energy generation is forecast to grow from around 21% of the mix to reach a 25% share in 2026,” the IEA report said. 

This contrasts China’s total energy capacity addition and generation forecast and picture, where most of the new power additions are likely to happen from renewable sources, not coal. The report also said that several other countries and regions, like the US and European Union (EU), have planned reduction generation and new capacity additions from thermal power. 

IEA’s report on electricity generation in China and its forecast for 2026.

IEA’s report on electricity generation in India and its forecast for 2026.