Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Share of Coal in India's Energy Basket
Why in the News?
According to MoSPI’s Energy Statistics in India 2025, coal contributed 79% to India’s total energy generation, amounting to 16,906 petajoules (PJ), marking a 2% increase from the previous year.
Share of Coal in India’s Energy Basket:
- Dominance: As of 2023-24, coal contributed 79% to India’s total energy generation, amounting to 16,906 petajoules (PJ), marking a 2% increase from the previous year.
- Production Growth: In 2023-24, India saw a 12% increase in coal production, continuing a strong growth trajectory from the 15% growth in 2022-23, marking one of the fastest growth rates in the past decade.
- Dependence on Imports: Despite a surge in domestic production, India remains 26% dependent on coal imports, although this has decreased from 31% in 2019-20.
India’s Total Energy Basket:
- Coal: Discussed above.
- Nuclear Energy: Nuclear power contributes approximately 1.7% to the total electricity generation capacity, with an installed capacity of about 8,180 MW as of late 2024.
- Crude Oil: The share of crude oil has decreased from 11% in 2014-15 to 6% in 2023-24, indicating a long-term decline in its contribution to India’s energy mix.
- Natural Gas: Similarly, natural gas’s share has decreased from 9% in 2014-15 to 7% in 2023-24, reflecting a shift away from natural gas in the energy mix.
- Renewable Energy: Despite significant investments and efforts by the government, renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydro, and nuclear) contribute only 7% to the total energy mix in 2023-24, showing slow but steady growth over the past decade.
Shift Towards Renewable Energy:
- Total Contribution: Renewable sources contributed 7% of India’s total energy production in 2023-24, a modest increase from 6% in 2014-15. While this share remains small, the absolute production from renewables has grown at a 6.76% CAGR over the past 10 years.
- Growth in Solar and Wind Energy:
- The generation from solar, wind, and other renewable sources (excluding large hydro) has surged by 210% over the last decade, increasing from 6,555 KToE in FY15 to 20,279 KToE in FY24.
- Key Renewable Energy Potential:
- Wind energy holds the largest share of India’s renewable potential at 55.17%, with an estimated potential of 11,63,856 MW.
- Solar energy is the second-largest contributor at 35.50%, with a potential of 7,48,990 MW.
- Large hydro contributes 6.32% of the renewable energy potential with 1,33,410 MW.
- Future Targets:
- India added 3.4 GW of new wind capacity in 2024, with Gujarat (1,250 MW), Karnataka (1,135 MW), and Tamil Nadu (980 MW) leading the way.
- India is aiming for 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based energy capacity by 2030, which would significantly boost the share of renewables in the energy mix, reducing the reliance on coal and crude oil over the coming years.
| [UPSC 2020] Consider the following statements:
1. Coal ash contains arsenic, lead and mercury. 2. Coal-fired power plants release sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen into the environment. 3. High ash content is observed in Indian coal. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 and 2 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and |
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