From October 2025 through September 2026, fossil fuels supplied about 71% of India’s electricity consumption, while low-carbon sources provided about 29%. Coal dominated at roughly 68%, with gas contributing another 2%. Among clean electricity sources, solar led with almost 11%, followed by hydropower at about 8%, wind at 6%, nuclear at nearly 3%, and biofuels at around 2%. India therefore already has a substantial clean electricity base, but coal still supplies more than two-thirds of its electricity, making faster low-carbon expansion important for reducing climate-changing emissions and air pollution.

Is Electricity Growing in India?

Electricity consumption per person is growing and reaching new records. The latest 2026 figure is about 1,420 kWh per person, roughly 70 kWh—or 5%—above the previous record of 1,353 kWh in 2025. Low-carbon electricity generation also reached a new high of 414 kWh per person, up 36 kWh, or nearly 10%, from the 2025 record of 378 kWh. This is encouraging: clean electricity generation per person is growing faster than overall electricity consumption per person. Sustaining that momentum will help India meet rising electricity demand from electrification, industry, and AI.

Suggestions

India can build on solar’s already substantial contribution by expanding large solar projects and rooftop installations, alongside transmission and storage. Sunny regions offer useful examples: solar supplies about 24% of electricity in Chile, 22% in Australia, and one-third in the US state of Nevada. India can also expand nuclear electricity, drawing lessons from France, where nuclear provides about two-thirds of electricity, and South Korea, where it supplies roughly a quarter. Neighboring Pakistan’s nuclear share of 13% provides another regional reference. Wind deserves further expansion too: the US state of Texas generates about 22% of its electricity from wind, illustrating its contribution within a large electricity system. Together, solar, nuclear, and wind can support a much larger, cleaner electricity supply for India.

History

India’s low-carbon electricity history shows an increasingly strong contribution from solar alongside earlier hydropower growth. Hydropower generation rose by about 17 TWh in both 2005 and 2011, fell by 16 TWh in 2012, and rebounded by 22 TWh in 2013. In the mid-to-late 2010s, wind added 13 TWh in 2016, solar added 14 TWh in 2018, and hydropower added 16 TWh in 2019; biofuel generation rose by about 17 TWh in 2016 before falling by 14 TWh in 2019. Solar’s expansion then accelerated, with gains of 13 TWh in 2020, 26 TWh in 2022, and around 19–22 TWh annually in 2023 and 2024. In 2022, hydropower and biofuels each added roughly 14–15 TWh, although hydropower’s 26 TWh decline in 2023 was a disappointing setback. Growth broadened strongly in 2025, when solar added 32 TWh, wind 26 TWh, and hydropower 22 TWh. Solar’s further increase of about 55 TWh in 2026 marks a particularly impressive acceleration in clean electricity generation.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.