NEW DELHI: India, along with the US, Turkiye, South Africa, Germany, and the Netherlands, witnessed a fall in power generation from fossil fuels in March after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the military conflict in West Asia and disruption in energy supplies, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said in its latest report on Wednesday.The fall in electricity generation was offset by large increases in output of solar and wind power, it added. The dataset covers 87% of global coal power generation and over 60% of gas-fired generation from countries that disclose near-real-time data.According to the report, total global power generation from fossil fuels fell 1% year-on-year, with China being an exception, where it increased by 2%. “In countries with real-time electricity data, coal-fired power generation fell 3.5%, and gas-fired power generation declined 4.0% in March,” it stated.“This was due to increases in solar (14%) and wind (8%) generation. Hydropower generation also saw a small increase (2%), but this was more than offset by a drop in nuclear power generation,” it added.The think tank noted that the data contradicted widespread expectations that coal power generation would rise amid the squeeze on energy supplies due to the conflict. It also observed that seaborne coal transport volumes fell 3% in March to the lowest levels since 2021.“The record growth in global clean power generation, particularly solar and wind, has helped ease the impact of the latest fossil fuel crisis. The increase in clean electricity offset the fall in gas-fired power generation following the Hormuz blockade, preventing a jump in coal-fired power generation,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at CREA. “To mitigate the effects of the current crisis and make such recurring global emergencies a thing of the past, it’s essential to use this moment to accelerate the global energy transition.”The report stated that in the US and India, growth in solar power was the single largest driver of fall in fossil fuel-based power generation. India added 55.3 GW of renewable energy capacity in FY2025-26 and improved its global ranking to third, after China and the US.
