India power capacity reaches 532.74 GW; non-fossil share at 53.21%

India’s total installed power generation capacity stood at 532,740 MW as of March 31, 2026, according to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). Non-fossil sources accounted for 283,468 MW (53.21%), while fossil fuel-based capacity stood at 249,272 MW (46.79%).

Coal remained the largest source at 221,940 MW (41.66%). Solar contributed 150,261 MW (28.21%), followed by wind at 56,095 MW (10.53%). Hydro, including pumped storage projects, stood at 51,415 MW (9.65%). Other sources included gas at 20,122 MW (3.78%), biomass at 10,869 MW (2.04%), nuclear at 8,780 MW (1.65%), lignite at 6,620 MW (1.24%), small hydro at 5,171 MW (0.97%), waste-to-energy at 877 MW (0.16%), and diesel at 589 MW (0.11%). Total RES, including hydro, stood at 274,688 MW (51.56%).

Ownership patterns showed a balanced split in coal-based capacity, with the state sector at 75,647 MW, private sector at 73,063 MW, and central sector at 73,230 MW. In renewable energy (Ministry of New and Renewable Energy), the private sector dominated with 191,656 MW, compared to 13,181 MW in the central sector and 18,436 MW in the state sector. The entire nuclear capacity of 8,780 MW is under the central sector.

Regionally, the Western Region led with 182,073 MW, followed by the Northern Region at 155,578 MW and the Southern Region at 149,227 MW. The Eastern Region accounted for 39,564 MW, the North-Eastern Region for 6,134 MW, and islands for 163 MW.

In March 2026, net capacity addition stood at 910 MW, comprising 660 MW from Sagardighi Unit-5 of West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL) and 250 MW from Subansiri Lower Unit-1 of NHPC Limited. No retirements or conversions were recorded during the month. For FY26, total net addition stood at 8,660.25 MW, including 7,750.25 MW from RES.

During FY26, multiple projects achieved commercial operation across thermal, hydro, and nuclear segments. Key additions included projects by NHPC, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), NTPC Limited, THDC, Greenko, Vedanta Ltd, TSGENCO, and others, along with select units transitioning from captive to IPP status.

Separately, 1,995 MW of coal, 4,400.84 MW of gas, and 100 MW of nuclear capacity remain under temporary removal as of May 31, 2025, due to prolonged outages. These will be reinstated upon restoration and notification to the CEA’s Operation Performance Monitoring Division.

The featured photograph is for representation only.