Energy Profile - India

(Population: 1.450 mi; GDP: US$3.385 tri; primary energy consumption: 1,005 Mtoe; electricity consumption: 1,390 TWh; installed capacity: 404 GW; energy self-sufficiency: 62%)

  

India is the world’s third-largest energy consuming country as a result of the rising incomes and improving standards of living.  Energy use has doubled since 2000, with 80% of demand still being met by coal, oil and solid biomass [IEA, 2023].  Figure 1 shows the total primary energy consumption of India in 2020.

  

An expanding economy, population, urbanization, and industrialization mean that India sees the largest increase in energy demand of any country, across all of IEA scenarios to 2040.  The resulting surge in demand for a range of construction materials, notably steel and cement, highlights the pivot in global manufacturing towards India [IEA, 2023].  Figure 2 shows the Primary energy consumption across India in 2017 w/ a forecast for 2040.

  

Solar PV

  

Solar power is set for explosive growth in India, matching coal’s share in the Indian power generation mix within two decades in the STEPS, or even sooner in the Sustainable Development Scenario [IEA, 2021].

  

The rise of solar PV in India has been spectacular; the resource potential is huge, ambitions are high, and policy support and technology cost reductions have quickly made it the cheapest option for new power generation.  Figure 3 shows renewables installations in India in 2022 [TG, 2022].

  

Clean cooking fuels

  

Biomass, primarily fuel-wood, is still widely used as a cooking fuel.  Despite recent success in expanding coverage of LPG in rural areas, 660 million Indians have not fully switched to modern, clean cooking fuels or technologies [IEA, 2021].