Between coal, chaos and green power

It is a time of great energy disruption. This is now well understood. The question I asked previously is if this oil shock—caused by the US-Israel war against Iran—will disrupt the ongoing energy transition where gradually but surely, renewable energy is making inroads into electricity generation across the world. Solar and wind energy, which were nascent and untested technologies during the oil shock of the 1970s, have now demonstrated that they can work at scale. The question now is how the world will evolve around the issues of energy security and rebuilding confidence in supply chains. This is where the new energy map will be drawn—between the old and new countries that supply fossil fuels, and China as the powerhouse of new green technology.

This time, I want to discuss India’s energy options going forward. What is clear is that the Indian government’s strategy of displacing, and not replacing, coal is within reach. But challenges remain and this must be the centre of our future focus.

It is no longer whether India’s energy planning should, or can, incorporate new green technologies like solar or wind. The question is how these technologies will fit into the grid so that supply is reliable. These energy technologies, unlike the conventional fossil fuel-driven power stations, are intermittent—they supply electricity only when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. Therefore, the challenge is how to store the power generated during these hours, or how to integrate these intermittent energy systems with electricity generated from coal or gas, hydropower and even nuclear power.

The picture becomes clearer when you consider recent events. April 25, 2026, was a particularly hot day across different regions of the country. It was a sizzler, and power demand spiked as everyone cranked up their fans and air conditioners to stay cool. Electricity demand reached an all-time high, touching 256 GW—and what was incredible was that at its peak supply, renewable energy had kicked in. Solar supplied some 24 per cent and non-fossil added up to 30 per cent.

But, as my colleagues point out in their detailed analysis of this new power day, this is only half the story. During the solar energy peak of the day, coal power flexed to its technical limit of 55 per cent—coal plants are designed for certain operational limits and cannot go below this, unless redesigned for flexibility. At night, when the sun was not shining, coal kicked back in to meet 78-82 per cent of the electricity.

This is where the rubber meets the road: how will the grid meet demand during non-solar hours; how will coal power plants operate or not during this period? The way ahead, most logically, say my colleagues, is to redesign coal plants for “flexibility”—to operate at lower capacities. It is also about careful grid planning so that more coal-powered plants do not get built, which then have the same problem of being inflexible to fit into intermittent renewable. It is about planning an energy mix, which can be fitted and flexed. So, for instance, hydropower or even gas-based turbines, are easier to switch on and off, as compared to coal power.

There is, of course, the other part of this solution, to build storage for the generated electricity during the day to be used at night. This can be done at the power plant or the utility or at households. The core of this option will be the cost of the storage battery if countries have the capacity to manufacture it.

All this brings us back to the question of confidence in energy supply chains. The difference between oil and gas supply chains and those for renewable energy lies not only in geography and geopolitics but also in the fact that oil and gas requires flow to be assured while renewable technology is about purchasing the stock. In other words, once a country secures its solar power infrastructure, it no longer depends for regular supply as in the case of oil or gas.

But this is not so easy. Countries must deepen their ability to manufacture green technologies and secure vital components and build confidence in the new supply chains. For instance, the Society for Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has reportedly objected to the Delhi government proposal to mandate the sale of only electric two-wheelers from April 2028, saying that this would increase dependence on China for battery imports and heavy rare earth magnets. If this argument is accepted, it would derail India’s transition to cleaner vehicles and cleaner air.

The future of energy will be about finding answers to these questions, not about digging for more coal or oil. It is no longer about the reliability of old technologies—the conventional coal- or gas-based power plants or internal combustion engine vehicles—but about finding order in great disorder.

This editorial was originally published in the May 16-31, 2026 print edition of Down To Earth