Renewables hit record high, coal's share in India's power mix falls to one-year low in July

New Delhi, Aug 2 (AHN) The share of coal in India's electricity generation mix fell to its lowest level in a year in July as renewable energy production climbed to a record high, reflecting the country's growing clean-energy capacity even as overall power demand remained strong.

Government data showed renewable energy accounted for 20 per cent of India's power-generation mix during the month.

Renewable electricity generation rose 30 per cent year-on-year to 36.25 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in July, marking its highest-ever monthly output.

At the same time, coal's contribution to the country's power mix declined to 65.7 per cent in July from 69 per cent in June, according to Reuters' calculations based on daily data from Grid-India.

The increase in renewable generation comes amid rapid expansion in solar and wind power.

Government data showed that combined solar and wind output crossed the 100-gigawatt mark for the first time and supplied a record 42.8 per cent of India's electricity on July 13.

Analysts said the growing role of solar power is helping meet rising daytime electricity demand.

"Most of the peak power demand is happening during daytime where there is increased contribution from solar," said Manoj Kumar, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

Despite coal's declining share in the overall generation mix, electricity produced from coal-fired plants increased 12.8 per cent year-on-year to 119.40 billion kWh in July, driven by robust power demand and lower hydropower availability.

Analysts attributed the higher coal-based generation to weaker hydropower output and the impact of a strong El Nino pattern, which has led to above-normal temperatures and increased demand for cooling, particularly during the night when solar power is unavailable.

Hydropower generation declined for the second consecutive month as lower rainfall associated with El Nino affected water availability.

According to the data, hydro's contribution to the electricity mix fell to 22.1 per cent.

CREA said reduced hydropower generation, coupled with rising electricity demand, could create a power-generation gap of nearly 18 billion kWh, potentially leading to greater reliance on coal-fired power plants in the coming months.