Beyond Fossil Fuels: India’s Growing Low-Carbon Mix

Since 2010, India has considerably reshaped its electricity landscape, shifting from a coal-dependent grid, still accounting for more than 70 percent of national electricity production in 2023, toward a more diversified and low-carbon energy mix. As shown by data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), over the last decade, the country has expanded its renewable energy capacity at an unprecedented pace.

India's hydropower sector, long a staple of its energy portfolio, has seen steady growth, though at a much slower pace than other renewables. From 2010 to 2023, its share in the country's total electricity generation varied from 7 to 13 percent, depending on climatic conditions, among other factors. Solar has been the standout success story: from a negligible share in 2010, India's photovoltaic production has exploded, reaching over 110,000 GWh in 2023 according to the IEA, representing a 6 percent share of the electricity mix. Wind power has also made significant strides, particularly in states like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra. With a production of more than 90,000 GWh in 2023, wind energy accounts for nearly 5 percent of India's electricity mix. It is now the third largest source of low-carbon energy in the country, ahead of nuclear power, which contributed between 2 and 3 percent of total electricity generation the same year. Together, energy sources considered low-carbon accounted for nearly a quarter (22.4 percent) of India's electricity production in 2023.