New Delhi, Oct 5 (IANS): India contributed 12 per cent of the global increase in solar generation in the first half of 2023, similar to the European Union, a report by energy think tank Ember said on Thursday.

The report analyses electricity data from January to June 2023, compared to the same period last year, across 78 countries representing 92 per cent of global electricity demand.

At a global level, solar generated 5.5 per cent of global electricity in the first half of 2023, an increase of 16 per cent (plus 104 TWh) from the same period last year.

India’s solar growth of 26 percent (plus 12 TWh) was above the global average, and powered half of the country’s demand increase in the same period.

Fifty countries set new monthly records for solar generation in the first half of 2023, including India in May. Across the first half of 2023, India generated 7.1 per cent of its electricity from solar.

The increase in renewables in India, amid moderate demand growth, led to slow growth in coal generation. As a result, India’s power sector emissions grew by 3.7 per cent (plus 19 million tonnes of CO2) in the first half of 2023, less than half of the growth seen in the first half of 2022 (plus 9.7 per cent, plus 45 million tonnes of CO2).

In India, the growth in wind and solar in the first half of 2023 prevented an increase of 11 million tonnes of emissions.

“India has the potential to be a major global player in solar power,” said Ember’s India analyst Neshwin Rodrigues.

“Renewables are doing the job of slowing India’s emissions growth which is helping to get the world to a plateau in power sector emissions.”

That said, India’s growth in generation by solar in absolute terms was the same in the first half of 2022 and 2023 (plus 12 TWh). This means that solar’s relative growth is lower in the first half of this year (plus 26 per cent) compared to the same period last year (plus 35 per cent).

“India must push for larger solar power capacity additions in the next 4-5 years if it is to meet the targets set out in its new National Electricity Plan and retain its high growth rates,” adds Ember’s Asia Programme Lead, Aditya Lolla.