A recent report by Global Energy Monitor (GEM) indicates that India saw proposals for 27.9 gigawatts (GW) of new or reactivated coal power plants in 2025. This significant push for coal capacity comes despite the nation's rapid expansion in renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.
India's Ambitious Coal Targets Amid Energy Transition
The Indian government has set an ambitious target to add 100 GW of new coal capacity over the next seven years, aiming for completion by 2032. Currently, India has 107.3 GW of thermal capacity in pre-construction planning stages and an additional 23.5 GW actively under construction. This expansion occurs even as non-fossil capacity, primarily driven by record solar and wind additions, surpassed half of the total installed power capacity in 2025.
This scenario presents a growing paradox in India's energy landscape. While coal capacity increased by 3.8% in 2025, coal-fired electricity generation actually fell by 2.9%. This divergence highlights how new demand is increasingly being met by renewable sources, displacing coal even as new coal plants are commissioned at a high rate.
Global Trends Mirror India's Coal Paradox
Globally, the report found a similar trend: coal power capacity continued to expand in 2025, growing by 3.5%, yet overall coal-fired generation declined by 0.6%. This indicates a structural shift in how coal is utilized, suggesting a more durable transition away from fossil fuels despite short-term market disruptions.
The geographic concentration of new coal development is also narrowing sharply. In 2025, only 32 countries were proposing or building new coal plants, a significant reduction from 75 countries in 2014. Notably, 95% of all global coal power construction is now concentrated in China and India.
“In 2025, the world built more coal and used it less. Development has grown more concentrated too — 95% of coal plant construction is now in China and India, and even they are building solar and wind fast enough to displace it. The central challenge heading into 2026 is not the availability of alternatives, but the persistence of policies that treat coal as necessary even as power systems move increasingly beyond it,” said Christine Shearer, Project Manager of Global Energy Monitor’s Global Coal Plant Tracker.
The report underscores that while renewable alternatives are readily available and rapidly expanding, policy frameworks in some nations continue to support coal, creating a complex energy transition scenario.