# Clean energy capacity surpasses fossil fuels in India for first time 2026-08-17T07:18:18+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Clean energy sources now account for 331.7 GW of India's installed power capacity, overtaking fossil fuels at 302 GW for the first time, according to data from Ember and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) reported by The Hindu Business Line and The Economic Times. This milestone reflects a shift in where capital flows, though coal still generates about 70 per cent of electricity and remains the grid's backbone. Solar power has driven the change. India had only 0.07 GW of solar capacity in 2010, today it stands at 211 GW, nearly matching the coal fleet of 254.4 GW. Between 2025 and mid-2026, the country added 75.5 GW of solar capacity versus 3.8 GW of coal. Coal's share of installed capacity fell from 59 per cent in 2014 to 40 per cent in 2026, while clean capacity grew by nearly 80 GW in the period. The next challenge, the outlets note, is converting capacity into actual generation. This requires investment in grid infrastructure, transmission links, and storage systems to balance the intermittent supply from solar and wind. ## Coverage - thehindubusinessline.com - economictimes.indiatimes.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-17T08:21:50+00:00. Tags: coal, Ember, Global Energy Monitor, India, solar power Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/clean-energy-surpasses-fossil-fuels-in-indias-installed-power-capacity/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/clean-energy-surpasses-fossil-fuels-in-indias-installed-power-capacity/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/