Rigorous analysis of India's energy transition. Written for researchers, policy professionals, and the deeply curious — powered by the same data that drives our dashboard.
India is adding renewables at record pace. But as solar and wind pile up, a quieter, harder problem is building in the background — one that batteries alone cannot fix.
As solar crosses the 100 GW milestone, daytime baseload economics are shifting dramatically. Coal plants back down at noon — a pattern that barely existed three years ago.
For the first time, 15-minute dispatch data shows what India's storage fleet does all day. It charges at noon, sells at ten, and keeps better hours than most of us.
Bhutan spent a decade carrying India through the dry months. In the first quarter of 2026 the flow ran entirely the other way, and it has never run that hard.
On 21 May 2026 the grid hit 270.7 GW at twenty-five past three in the afternoon. Seven years ago the busiest moment of the day was after dinner. Here is how the day got rearranged.
Coal consumption rose +8.4% year-on-year in May 2026, outpacing a 2.2% fall in supply. The resulting -4.31 MT deficit drew down power plant inventories for a third consecutive month.
Power generation grew twice as fast as emissions in FY 2024-25, driven by record renewables. Absolute emissions and electricity output both hit new highs, defining a complex year for the sector.