Solar alone now represents around \u206033 per cent of total installed utility- scale capacity, making it by far the largest clean energy source in the country.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t| Photo Credit:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tiStockphoto<\/p>\n
India's power system
\nhas crossed a threshold that tells a very different story from
\nthe one usually conveyed by electricity generation data.<\/p>\n
India has long been portrayed as one of the world's \u200bgreat
\ncoal growth markets, and with good reason. Coal still accounts
\nfor roughly 70 per cent of electricity generation and remains the
\nbackbone of the grid.<\/p>\n
Yet a look at the country's installed \u200ccapacity mix suggests
\nsomething profound is underway beneath the surface.<\/p>\n
According to the latest capacity data from Ember and Global
\nEnergy Monitor (GEM), \u200bclean energy sources now account for 331.7
\ngigawatts (GW) of installed capacity, compared with 302.0 GW for
\nfossil fuels.<\/p>\n
That capacity split gives clean \u2060power a majority share of
\nIndia's utility power mix for the first time.<\/p>\n
That milestone matters not because India has suddenly become
\na clean power system. It has not. Rather, it reveals a growing
\ntension between what India is building and what India is
\nburning.<\/p>\n
The distinction is important because generation statistics
\ndescribe today's electricity system, while capacity figures
\nprovide a \u200cwindow into tomorrow's.<\/p>\n
Coal still dominates generation because coal plants can run
\naround the clock, while solar panels and wind turbines produce
\nonly when weather conditions allow.<\/p>\n
But the capacity mix reveals where capital is flowing, what
\ninfrastructure is being added and, ultimately, what type of
\npower \u200csystem India is trying to construct.<\/p>\n
Viewed through that lens, India's transition appears
\nconsiderably more advanced than many observers assume.<\/p>\n
In \u20602010, India had just 0.07 GW of solar capacity. Today it
\nhas 211 GW, according to Ember. Solar alone now represents
\naround \u206033 per cent of total installed utility-scale capacity, making it
\nby far the largest clean energy source in the country.<\/p>\n
The extent of that expansion is difficult to overstate.<\/p>\n
India's solar fleet today is almost as large as its coal
\nfleet, which stands at 254.4 GW.<\/p>\n
Solar capacity by itself is now larger than the entire
\nIndian power system was as recently as 2011, when total
\ninstalled capacity \u200bstood at 211.4 GW.<\/p>\n