WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Renewables have overtaken coal as the largest source of electricity in India.
OUR VERDICT
Misleading. While the installed capacity of renewables has overtaken coal in India, the majority of its electricity still comes from coal.
AAP FACTCHECK - Australia's energy minister Chris Bowen has claimed renewables have overtaken coal as India's largest source of electricity, but this is misleading.
While the latest data shows the installed capacity (maximum potential output) of renewables has overtaken coal in the country, most of its electricity is still generated from burning coal.
Experts said generation (the electricity actually produced) is crucial to understanding to what extent countries are decarbonising their energy grids.
Mr Bowen made the claim in a Facebook video in August that criticised the federal opposition for trying to "mislead" voters about global action on climate change.
He cited several statistics, including one about India's electricity system.
"Just recently, for example, renewables overtook coal as the largest source of electricity for India," Mr Bowen said (timestamp 40 seconds).
When asked for evidence for the claim, Mr Bowen's office told AAP FactCheck that he was actually referencing something called installed capacity.
This measures the potential maximum output of different forms of generation.
Mr Bowen's office pointed to an article published by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis in May 2024.
This stated renewables were 71.5 per cent of India's installed capacity in the first three months of 2024, while coal's share had fallen below 50 per cent.
Indian government figures also show the installed capacity of renewables is now greater than coal. An online dashboard shows renewables - solar, wind, hydro and "biopower" - account for 47.93 per cent of installed electricity capacity across India, compared to 45.09 per cent for coal.
Installed capacity, however, is distinct from electricity generation, which measures the power that different forms of technology actually produce over a given period, often measured in megawatts per hour.
According to the government dashboard, coal accounted for 67.5 per cent of the power generated in 2025-26 to date, while renewables accounted for just 27.9 per cent.
Historically, coal has generated the vast majority of India's electricity generation in each of the past 10 financial years, with renewable energy being less than a quarter. Although the proportion has risen significantly since 2015/16, when it was just 16 per cent.
Experts explained that the marked difference between the installed capacity and total generation from renewables was partly because intermittent forms of renewable generation don't produce at full capacity all of the time.
In Australia, for example, the CSIRO (page 94) assumes a new wind project would only generate power 29-48 per cent of the time, while solar farms are assumed to generate roughly 19-32 per cent of the time.
Coal power stations, meanwhile, are assumed to generate 53-89 per cent of the time.
This so-called capacity factor may be lower in India, with a 2024 study finding solar farms would generate 18-22 per cent of the time.
Roger Dargaville, an energy researcher at Monash University, said generation is the key metric for evaluating the electricity a country uses and the emissions that arise from this.
"At the end of the day, that's what counts, because that's what runs the economy," Associate Professor Dargaville told AAP FactCheck.
"Bowen's claim is misdirected … India has lots and lots of wind and solar panels, but most of their electricity still comes from coal."
Mr Bowen's office said he referenced installed capacity as it tracks the possible output of India's energy system, while generation can fluctuate from day to day.
They said the capacity figures show a structural shift to renewables is underway.
But experts explained that the amount of renewable capacity in a grid doesn't fully translate to the power that can be generated from those renewables in reality.
Tony Wood, energy program director at the Grattan Institute, said that more capacity is installed in a grid than is needed or anticipated to be used, particularly for renewables.
Mr Wood said that a wind farm with a 1000 megawatt capacity will generate less power than the same size coal plant, though the wind farm also won't produce emissions.
This is because solar and wind power are weather dependent and so more capacity is needed to achieve a generation outcome than is the case with fossil fuels such as coal.
"When people talk about these things, you've almost got to have both," he told AAP FactCheck. "You want to know how many gigawatts [capacity] and how many gigawatt hours [generation]."
Assoc Prof Dargaville said renewables are built in anticipation that they won't generate their potential capacity all the time, with about three times as much solar capacity being needed compared to coal to provide the same amount of electricity into the grid.
"Coal plants produce much more electricity per unit of capacity compared to wind and solar," Assoc Prof Dargaville said.
Tom Longden, an energy expert from the University of Western Sydney, said the installation of solar panels and wind turbines across India is positioning the country for a "renewable future", but coal power hasn't been displaced yet.
A lack of energy storage infrastructure and transmission lines connecting renewables to high-demand areas are key reasons why renewables still account for a smaller slice of energy generation in India, he said.
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