India Accounted For 12% Of Global Solar Power Growth in The First Half Of The Year

Globally, 50 countries set new monthly solar generation records in the first half of 2023. China remains the leader in solar power, accounting for 43 percent of global solar power growth, while the European Union, the United States and India each account for around 12 percent.

India's growth in solar power generation (+26%, +12 TWh) is higher than the global average growth rate (+16%), and India's contribution to global solar power growth is 12%, similar to that of the EU, the report said.

In the first half of 2023, 7.1% of India's electricity came from solar. The report pointed out that the growth of renewable energy in India, amid moderate demand growth, has led to slow growth of coal power generation. As a result, India's power sector emissions grew by 3.7% (+19 million tonnes of CO2) in the first half of 2023, less than half the growth in the first half of 2022 (+9.7%, +45 million tonnes of CO2). In India, growth in wind and solar power prevented 11 million tonnes of emissions from rising in the first half of 2023.

"India has the potential to become a major player in the global solar space and renewables are slowing emissions growth in India, which is helping to bring emissions from the world's power sector to a plateau," said Ember India analyst Neshwin Rodrigues.

"If India is to meet the targets set in the new National Power Plan and maintain its high growth rate, there must be a push to add more solar capacity in the next 4-5 years," added Aditya Lolla, Ember's Asia program leader.