Clean Energy Meets India’s 7% Rise in Electricity Demand Over Two Years

India’s rapid expansion of clean energy met the entire 7% increase in electricity demand between the first halves of 2024 and 2026, highlighting the growing contribution of renewable power to the country’s electricity system.

According to a Carbon Brief analysis based on research by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), clean power generation increased by around 63 TWh during the two-year period.

Solar energy played a particularly important role in meeting rising electricity requirements. India installed approximately 77 GW of new solar capacity during the period, with solar contributing around 60% of the increase in electricity demand.

The analysis found that coal-fired electricity generation recorded no growth over the two-year period. According to the report, this was the first such occurrence in more than five decades.

With clean-energy generation meeting incremental electricity demand, power-sector carbon dioxide emissions remained broadly flat between the first halves of 2024 and 2026.

Emissions from oil and gas also declined by around 7% year-on-year during the first half of 2026, according to the analysis.

However, the trend in the electricity sector did not translate into an overall decline in India’s emissions. Total emissions increased by approximately 3.7% year-on-year, largely due to higher emissions from industrial sectors including steel and cement.

The findings underline the increasing role of solar and other clean-energy technologies in supporting India’s growing electricity requirements while limiting additional emissions from power generation.

Maintaining this momentum will require further development of supporting energy infrastructure. The report highlighted stronger electricity grids, greater energy-storage capacity and improved system flexibility as important requirements for integrating larger amounts of renewable power.

Continued investment in these areas could help India accommodate growing electricity demand while increasing the share of clean energy in its power system.