India’s rapid expansion of clean energy has reached a significant milestone, with coal-fired power generation recording no growth over a two-year period for the first time in more than five decades. 

At the same time, the country’s electricity demand increased, showing how renewable and other non-fossil sources are increasingly meeting additional power requirements.

According to an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) for Carbon Brief, India’s electricity generation increased by around 7%, or 63 terawatt-hours (TWh), between the first half of 2024 and the first half of 2026. The entire increase was met by non-fossil sources.

Solar power accounted for the biggest share of this growth. India added around 77 GW of solar capacity during the period, while wind capacity increased by 11 GW, hydropower by 5 GW and nuclear capacity by 0.6 GW. Solar generation rose by 44 TWh, while wind, hydro and nuclear contributed another 13 TWh, 8 TWh and 7 TWh, respectively.

Together, clean-energy sources generated around 70 TWh of additional electricity, exceeding the overall increase in demand. This helped keep power-sector carbon dioxide emissions broadly flat between the first halves of 2024 and 2026.

However, the development does not mean India is moving away from coal immediately. The country added around 8.5 GW of new coal-based power capacity during the two-year period. With clean energy supplying more of the incremental demand, coal plants are seeing fewer operating hours. The report said this creates a need for greater flexibility in coal generation.

India’s overall emissions also continued to rise. Total emissions increased 3.7% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, mainly because of higher emissions from industries such as steel and cement. Emissions from these two sectors increased 8% and accounted for around 23% of India’s total CO2 emissions during the period.

The report said sustaining the clean-energy trend will require faster upgrades to the power grid, greater energy-storage capacity and better integration of renewable generation.

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