CREA warns El Nino could disrupt India's wind and hydropower
A new study from the Centre for Research on Clean Energy and Clean Air (CREA) says El Nino could mess with India's wind and hydropower output, just as more people crank up their ACs.
This combo might leave a gap of about 18 terawatt-hours in electricity by June 2027, less than 1% of what India uses in a year, but still enough to spark worries about falling back on coal.
CREA urges battery and grid upgrades
To cover the shortfall, India may have to burn more coal, which CREA estimates would add roughly 17 million metric tons of CO2 to the air.
Even though solar and wind are growing (non-fossil capacity hit 283 GW this year), coal still makes up 42% of total power.
CREA is urging quick upgrades to batteries and grid infrastructure so clean energy isn't wasted, hoping for a greener fix before fossil fuels fill the gap.