The biggest hydroelectricity losses occurred in India during the 2017-2018 fiscal year. The total water flow of the last 38 years was not as intense, according to Reuters’ analysis of the government data. The fluctuating rainfall patterns resulted in an increased shift from shale-fired power generation to coal-based power to satisfy the still very high demand. Note that the hydroelectric production fell in parallel with a drop in the shares of renewable energy to the total power output. This is the first time since the commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the UN climate talks in 2015 in Paris that the total capacity of solar and wind power was raised.
Renewables constituted to 11.7% share of power generation in the country during this year, slightly down from 11.8% of the such share in the previous calendar year (applicable as of 2019, according to data from the federal grid regulator Grid-India). India, being 3rd largest greenhouse gas emitter, has always used the fact that individual emissions are lower to advocate for the continued use of coal.
According to experts, hydro production rates in this period will have the lowest level compared to the last five years, illustrating the lowest reservoir levels in the hot months of April to June. Following the gap created in power sourcing before the monsoon arrives in June, this could be one of the reasons for the increase in coal-based power generation.
The share of hydroelectricity in the total power of India declined to its worst level of 8.3% in just fiscal year 2019-2020, when it was supposed to be 12.3% on an average of the past decade. Last year the amount of rain was the lowest in five years, which made the water levels in the reservoirs low. This indicates that hydro generation in the reservoirs has been reduced to a five-year record low.
While power production from coal and lignite jumped by 13.9% in 2023-24 compared to the growth of renewable sources by 9.7%, renewable sources are finally catching up with conventional sources. The import of crude oil for electricity generation rose by 5% in November to 77.2% in India, at its highest level in the last five years. India also faced the shortcoming of 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy target installation by 2022 of 38.4 GW.
