‘Heatwaves drove 9% of India’s power demand surge in 2024’

As negotiators at the ongoing COP 30 negotiate on finance adaptation and mitigation to tackle global warming, a new report by Climate Trends & Climate Compatible Futures states that heatwaves drove 9 per cent of India’s power demand surge in the summer of 2024, recommending renewable energy infrastructure as a key to break India’s heat–power trap.

The number of heatwave days with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius rose sharply in the latter half of the decade, with 14 states recording a 15 per cent increase in summer heat intensity between 2015 and 2024. Summer peaks are amplifying stress on the grid and power system, worsening emissions, and challenging both infrastructure and public health systems simultaneously. In parallel, India’s power system expanded significantly, growing from 285 GW in 2015 to 461 GW in 2024. Renewable energy more than doubled from 84 GW to 209 GW, while fossil fuel capacity also rose from 195 GW to 243 GW, according to the report.

Advertisement

India’s power demand stands at a critical juncture where accelerating demand due to increasing heat stress is converging towards the need for timely investment in building infrastructure conducive to renewable energy, which could be the key to solving the dual problem of heat and emission-laden power supply, it adds.

According to the report, all regions of India are facing intense heat, which is pushing their electricity demand to record highs, and timely investment in building infrastructure conducive to renewable energy could be the key to solving the dual problem of heat and emission-laden power supply.

‘Breaking the cycle’ analyses decadal changes in temperatures, heatwaves, their impact on electricity demand, and evolving policies that deal with rising temperatures and their impacts. It compares data on rising temperatures, heatwaves, and electricity demand and shows that they are no longer separate problems but interconnected threats.

“Summer peaks are amplifying stress on the grid and power system, worsening emissions, and challenging both infrastructure and public health systems simultaneously. In parallel, India’s power system expanded significantly, growing from 285 GW in 2015 to 461 GW in 2024. Renewable energy more than doubled from 84 GW to 209 GW, while fossil fuel capacity also rose from 195 GW to 243 GW,” it says.

While coal continues to be the base energy source, the rising share of RE is slowly elbowing it out. RE generation saw an impressive 121 per cent rise over the decade, while fossil fuel generation rose by 50 per cent during the same period. Highlighting converging solutions, the report emphasises an urgent need for investments in storage solutions, flexible generation, resilient smart grids, and demand-side management to increase the penetration of renewables across the country.

“Our research shows that an increase in temperatures across India has consistently increased electricity demand predominantly for cooling needs, resulting in further dependence on fossil fuels. Meeting the summer power demand surge with fossil fuels has led to more emissions and air pollution, exacerbating climate change and worsening the health crisis. It’s important to break this cycle to avoid disproportionately impacting the financially disadvantaged and vulnerable sections of our society that bear the brunt of rising temperatures and heatwaves, ” according to Dr Manish Ram, CEO, Climate Compatible Futures.