Coal Power Generation Drops in India, China for the First Time in 52 Years
By Editorial Team | January 13, 2026
Both countries need to update their old power market structures, built to serve coal-fired plants, to accommodate clean energy share, the analysis found
A new analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found that both India and China recorded a decline in coal power generation for the first time since 1973, after the nations added recorded amounts of clean energy.
The analysis showed that power generation from coal fell by 1.6% in China and by 3.0% in India in 2025, as non-fossil energy sources grew quickly enough in both countries to cover electricity consumption growth.
China’s Clean Energy On-track to Peak Coal Power
China achieved this even as electricity demand growth remained rapid at 5% year-on-year. The analysis pointed out that China’s recent clean-energy generation growth, if sustained, is already sufficient to secure a peak in coal power.
In 2025, China will likely have added more than 300 gigawatts (GW) of solar and 100GW of wind power, both clear new records for China and, therefore, for any country ever, according to the report.
India Needs to Meet Energy Targets to Peak Coal Before 2030
In India, the drop in coal is attributed to record clean-energy growth combined with slower demand growth, resulting from mild weather and a longer-term slowdown. If India’s clean energy targets are met, it will enable a peak in coal before 2030, even if electricity demand growth accelerates again.
According to the analysis, faster clean energy growth contributed 44% of the reduction in coal and gas, compared to the trend in 2019-24, while 36% was contributed by milder weather and 20% by slower underlying demand growth. This is the first time that clean-energy growth has played a significant role in driving down India’s coal-fired power generation.
Power generation from non-fossil sources in India grew by 71TWh, led by solar at 33TWh, while total generation increased by 21TWh, similarly pushing down power generation from coal and gas.
However, the analysis said that the increase in clean power was below the average demand growth recorded from 2019 to 2024, at 85TWh per year, as well as below the projection for 2026-30, which means that clean-energy growth would need to accelerate in order for coal power to see a structural peak and decline in output, rather than a short-term blip.
Both countries need to meet the challenges ahead
The analysis also pointed out the series of challenges that await India and China, one of them being that the power grids would need to be operated much more flexibly to accommodate increasing renewable shares. This would mean updating old power market structures – built to serve coal-fired power plants.
Both countries have continued to build new coal-fired power capacity. This has led to a short-term drop in capacity utilisation – the number of hours each coal unit operates – as coal power generation falls. However, if under-construction and permitted coal power projects are completed, China’s capacity would increase by 28% and India’s by 23%. Without significant growth in coal power generation, utilisation would plummet, causing financial strain on generators and increasing costs for consumers.
The analysis noted that in the longer term, new coal-power capacity additions would have to be slowed down substantially and retirements accelerated, to make space for further expansion of clean energy in the power system.