India's coal power drops for the 1st time in 50 years

India Jan 12, 2026

Big milestone alert: In 2025, India's coal-powered electricity actually went down for the first time in half a century.
Coal plants generated 1,283 billion units—about 3% less than last year—even though overall electricity use ticked up by 1%.
It's a small shift, but it marks a major moment in how India gets its energy.

Renewables and hydro step up

What's behind this change? A huge 22% jump in renewable energy and a solid 15% boost from hydroelectric sources. Milder weather and slower demand growth helped too.
With these gains—and a whopping 41 GW of new renewable capacity added—India might rethink building more coal plants for 2030.
Fun fact: China saw its own drop in coal power last year as well, making this a pretty big deal for global emissions.