India added a total (net) of 17.6 gigawatts power generation capacity in 2018, a record percentage (74%) of that capacity was based on renewable energy technologies — primarily solar power. The huge capacity coming online from renewable energy sector has made 2018 the greenest year in terms of new capacity addition so far.
Of the 17.6 gigawatts of total capacity added last year, 4.1 gigawatts came from fossil fuel-based technologies (various forms of coal and natural gas), around 435 megawatts were contributed by large hydro, and 13.1 gigawatts came from renewable energy technologies. Hydro power projects with installed capacity over 25 megawatts are not classified as renewable energy projects. Solar power projects with total capacity of 8.9 gigawatts and wind energy projects of 2.2 gigawatts were commissioned last year.
The share of renewable energy [excluding large hydro] in overall power generation in India stands at an all-time high of 9% for the period of January-November 2018, with final numbers for December awaited. Q3 2018 saw the record-breaking share of wind and overall renewable energy technologies in overall power generation at 8.2% and 11.9%, respectively. Q3 2018 also marked the first quarter ever when the share of renewable energy crossed 10% in the overall power generation in India.
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The new investment in fossil fuels is still too high. To have a chance to prevent the likely 2 degree rise in global temperatures, no new coal power stations must be built anywhere in the world, and existing coal generators must be progressively shut down. The economics of wind and solar compared to coal are helping this happen, but it's not happening fast enough. We are all waiting for storage costs to fall enough for variable renewables to be usable at high renewable penetrations, but at India's level of renewable penetration and extensive hydro investment, storage isn't essential yet.
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