Power capacity addition slowest in FY18, renewables contribute 69%

Continuing coal crunch due to insufficient railway rakes has throttled power capacity addition in thermal power

The country witnessed its lowest capacity addition in power in 2017-18. Incremental addition in power capacity was only 17,200 Mw, the slowest since 2013-14. Renewable energy sources contributed 69 per cent to the capacity addition in the last fiscal, while coal-based thermal power accounted for only 27 per cent of the new capacity installed.

Data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) shows that the share of thermal power in an overall generation has fallen from 66.8 per cent in FY17 to 64.8 per cent in FY18. Last fiscal also saw the lowest net thermal power capacity addition since 2013-14 at