The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has projected that India’s installed power capacity requirement will reach 1,121 GW by the financial year (FY) 2036, with the share of fossil fuel-based generation declining from the current 75% to 50%.

The CEA’s long-term national resource adequacy plan for FY 2027-FY 2036 says coal will continue to serve as the backbone of the power system for baseload supply. Solar, however, will account for the largest share of the installed capacity by FY 2036.

The projected installed power capacity requirement will comprise solar (509 GW), coal (315 GW), gas (20 GW), nuclear (22 GW), large hydro (78 GW), small hydro (6 GW), wind (155 GW), and biomass (16 GW).

CEA has projected a planning reserve margin of 13-14% in FY 2036.

It has also proposed adding 94 GW of pumped-storage projects and 890 GW of battery storage systems to enable flexibility in the use of renewables during periods of low renewable energy generation.

CEA said that integration of large-scale renewable and energy storage capacities would require parallel strengthening of the transmission network.

It highlighted that the timely expansion of interstate and intrastate transmission corridors, along with the adoption of smart grid technologies, demand-side response mechanisms, and advanced forecasting systems, would help maintain grid stability under dynamic operating conditions.

As India rapidly integrates solar and wind power, coal-fired plants are being reimagined as flexible backbone generators. The minimum operating limit for coal-based plants has been set at 55% in the resource adequacy studies.

CEA said that incentivizing mechanisms to lower the minimum operating limit and further regulatory reforms will be critical to ensure coal’s flexibility in supporting grid reliability without undermining plant longevity.

In February 2026, a committee constituted by the CEA called for operating thermal power plants at a minimum technical load of 40% and adopting two-shift operations to support grid stability amid increasing integration of renewable energy.

CEA noted that more than 50% of the country’s peak demand came from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

It added that since they are the key contributors to the country’s peak power demand during both solar and non-solar hours, the CEA recommended that these states ensure that generation capacity is tied to meet peak power requirements.

For states with multiple distribution utilities, it also mandated that state load dispatch centers determine and enforce each utility’s share of the state’s contribution to the national peak.

Under Construction

According to CEA, there are 41 GW of thermal projects under construction, and about 22.4 GW of coal-based capacity is yet to be taken up for construction. Around 16 GW of coal-based capacity is under various stages of planning.

The projects under construction also include 155 GW of renewable energy capacity, and 48 GW are under tendering. Under the Green Energy Corridor (Phase III) Scheme, 134 GW of renewable energy capacity has been planned to be added.

Out of the 100 GW of hydro pumped storage projects identified, 7.2 GW has been commissioned, 13 GW is under construction, and about 9.5 GW of capacity is in an advanced stage of planning and will shortly be taken up for construction. The remaining projects are under survey and investigation or at the detailed project report stage.

The CEA also estimated 10.7 GW of battery storage capacity under construction, and about 22 GW under tendering.

Nuclear projects under construction total 6.6 GW, and 7 GW are in various stages of planning and approval.

According to the CEA’s National Generation Adequacy Plan (2026-27 to 2035-36), India’s peak power demand is expected to rise to 459 GW by 2035-36 from 289 GW in 2026-27.