NEW DELHI: Consistent focus on incentivising renewable energy over the past few years has seen India and the world move away from coal-powered electricity value chains, with China remaining the only major economy that saw an increase in coal power during 2020.
According to energy think tank Ember, India saw a 5% decline in coal power in 2020, the second consecutive year during which the country reduced coal power contribution. Ember analysts note that most major coal power-heavy economies around the world have been moving away from the polluting fossil fuel. United States (-20%), Japan (-1%) and Korea (-13%) saw a decline in coal power.
The global average has also moved toward clean fuel sources and away from coal. Helped along by the pandemic, which halted power consumption growth in 2020, wind and solar power increased their share of the pie. Wind and solar power grew 15% globally during the year, while coal saw a record fall of 4% (-346 terawatt-hours or TWh).
China remains the only major nation that has increased its coal power generation during the year. Despite a large 16% growth in wind and solar (+98 TWh), China’s coal generation rose by 1.7% (+77 TWh). “Despite some progress, China is still struggling to curb its coal generation growth,” said Muyi Yang, senior electricity policy analyst at Ember. “Fast-rising demand for electricity is driving up coal power and emissions,” he added.
India has fared better in this regard. Coal power fell 5% during 2020 even as solar power generation jumped 27% . “India has started its clean electricity transition”, said Aditya Lolla, senior analyst at Ember, adding, “India now needs to ramp up wind and solar considerably in the next decade to both replace coal and meet rising electricity demand. India has the opportunity to ensure that coal generation doesn’t see a resurgence after the last two years of coal falling.”
While the world average is moving away from coal, emissions remain high, Ember analysts note. Coal, for instance, while seeing a small decline, remained the world’s single largest power source in 2020. Global coal generation was only 0.8% lower in 2020 than in 2015 and gas generation was 11% higher. Despite wind and solar generation doubling since 2015, this has not been sufficient to replace fossil fuels due to rising demand, they say.
“In Asia, where electricity demand grew quickest, clean electricity was only able to meet part of the rising electricity demand; around half in both China (54%) and India (57%) from 2015 to 2020. Where coal has fallen significantly, including in Europe and the United States, the emission reductions have been partly cancelled out by an increase in fossil gas,” Ember said.