India all set to surpass Japan, will have Asia’s 2nd Largest Capacity in 2018

India has carved out a reputation for itself as a growing nation as it has now outsmarted France and the U.K. to become the world’s fifth-largest economy. India is not a spectator and it doesn’t want to be just a participant in the contemporary world.

In the last three to four years, the vision of India has been changed and the world’s perception towards India is also changing. It’s because of the fact that India is attaining a meteoric rise and its progress is well documented.

Credits: Wikimedia Commons

In the latest update, India is all set to have the second largest power capacity in Asia according to research. It is cognisance of the fact that the energy plays an important role in the nation’s ecosystem.

According to data collected by BMI Research, India is all set to overtake Japan this year and may even go on to overtake the United States to become the second largest energy producer in the world by the year 2020.

According to a research, one household uses an average of about 3 unit a day and India has produced 1,160.10 billion units (BU) of electricity. 1 BU can power 10 million households for a month – in the financial year 2017.

With an electricity production of 1,423 BU in the financial year 2016, India hogged the limelight as it was the third largest producer and third largest consumer of electricity of the world, behind China’s production that reads (6,015 BU) and the United States (4,327 BU).

As of January 2018, India has installed power capacity, which is the fifth largest installed capacity in the world after European Union, China, United States and Japan.

Analysing BMI Research results, Bloomberg reports that India’s capacity will intensify by another 69 percent “through 2027 and coal will remain the mainstay, making up about 75 percent of the mix”. As per the research, nearly 85% of electricity in India, is generated by means of coal currently with an installed capacity of 300 GW.

“India’s power sector will remain dominated by coal over the coming decade despite significant growth in cleaner sources—notably nuclear, non-hydro renewables and natural gas,” an analysis by BMI research let out last year, according to the Financial Express.

“Between April 2017 and March 2018, the country added around 11,788 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity. That’s more than double of the 5,400 MW of capacity addition in the thermal and hydropower sectors during the same period,” says this recent Quartz report.

“Despite the prevalence of coal-fired power generation, we expect significant growth in the alternative, cleaner power sources over the next ten years—albeit from a lower base—notably in the natural gas, nuclear and non-hydropower renewables sectors,” notes the BMI research.

“This is in line with government efforts to reduce pollution across the country and international pressure to boost environmental policy,” it added.

Hailing from Chennai, Chaithanya G is the Managing Director of TheYouth. He has dedicated his whole life to reading and writing.