BENGALURU, India (AP) — One of the most carbon-polluting countries, India is also making huge efforts to harness the power of the sun, wind and other clean energy sources.
Most of the electricity in India, the world’s most populous nation, still comes from coal, one of the dirtiest forms of energy. But coal’s dominance is dropping, going from 60% of installed power capacity 11 years ago to less than 50% today, according to India’s power ministry.
At the same time, India had its largest ever addition of clean power in the fiscal year between April 2024 and April of this year, adding 30 gigawatts — enough to power nearly 18 million Indian homes.
With a growing middle class and skyrocketing energy needs, how fast India can move away from coal and other fossil fuels, such as gasoline and oil, could have a large impact on global efforts to confront climate change.
I get the impression that there's huge appetite in India for solar and other renewables, but as with many things, a lot of issues with implementation. A few weeks ago I was traveling in some fairly remote regions of the Northwest and even these tiny little villages in the back-country had a few solar panels scattered around— but it was only one or two. I wonder whether trust issues like a lack of on-the-ground familiarity with how to independently install and repair solar is a contributing factor, since there's definitely no shortage of enthusiasm on the government/NGO level.