From August 2025 to July 2026, fossil fuels supplied about 71% of India’s electricity, while low-carbon sources provided almost 29%. Coal dominated at roughly 68%, with gas contributing another 2%. Among clean electricity sources, solar led at about 10%, followed by hydropower at 8%, wind at 6%, nuclear at almost 3%, and biofuels at nearly 2%. India’s electricity supply therefore remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, making faster growth in clean generation important for reducing climate-changing emissions and air pollution.

Is Electricity Growing in India?

Electricity consumption in India is growing: the latest 2026 figure reached 1,406 kWh per person, exceeding the previous record of 1,353 kWh in 2025 by 53 kWh, or about 4%. Low-carbon electricity generation also set a new record, rising to 405 kWh per person from 378 kWh in 2025—an increase of 27 kWh, or about 7%. It is encouraging that clean electricity generation per person grew faster than overall consumption per person. Sustaining this progress will help meet rising electricity demand from electrification, industry, and AI.

Suggestions

India can accelerate clean electricity growth by expanding solar, nuclear, and wind generation alongside electricity networks and storage. Nearby Pakistan offers a relevant regional comparison, generating about 24% of its electricity from solar and 13% from nuclear. India can also learn from sunny regions such as Chile, where solar supplies about 24%, and the US state of Nevada, where it supplies 35%. For nuclear expansion, South Korea’s roughly 25% nuclear share and France’s approximately two-thirds share demonstrate its substantial contribution to low-carbon electricity. Wind development can draw lessons from the US state of Texas, where wind generates 22% of electricity. These examples provide useful direction rather than identical blueprints for India’s much larger electricity system.

History

India’s low-carbon electricity history shows increasingly strong growth, particularly in solar. Hydropower recorded gains of about 17 TWh in both 2005 and 2011, followed by a 22 TWh increase in 2013. In the mid-to-late 2010s, growth broadened: biofuels added about 17 TWh and wind 13 TWh in 2016, solar added 14 TWh in 2018, and hydropower added 16 TWh in 2019. During the 2020s, solar became a consistent driver, adding about 13 TWh in 2020, 26 TWh in 2022, 19 TWh in 2023, and 22 TWh in 2024. In 2022, biofuels and hydropower also added roughly 15 TWh and 14 TWh, respectively. Growth strengthened further in 2025, with solar adding 32 TWh, wind 26 TWh, and hydropower 22 TWh; solar then added nearly 37 TWh in 2026. These increasingly large additions are an encouraging foundation for further clean electricity expansion.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

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