India's Thermal Coal Imports Hit Four-Year Low Amidst Rising Domestic Output and Renewables

New Delhi: India's thermal coal imports ​fell to a 4-year ​low in January-May due to higher local output and ​rising renewable energy generation, commodities consultancy BigMint said.

Overall, thermal coal imports, at 65 million tons in the year till May, declined by an annual ‌12%, the consultancy ⁠said.

India, ⁠the world's second-largest importer of thermal coal, has been seeking to reduce its ​reliance on imports and aims to cut the use of such coal ​for power generation by at least 30% this year.

The country's top producer, Coal India, had asked its subsidiaries to ramp up output as scorching temperatures due to the ⁠El Nino ‌weather pattern increased electricity use.

Higher prices for imported ​coal and ​elevated freight rates due to the crisis in ⁠the Middle East also weighed on imports, BigMint ​said.

RISING RENEWABLE GENERATION

In January-May total power generation increased ​5% from a year earlier, while renewable generation grew much faster at 22%, BigMint said.

India's peak power demand, a measure of the maximum electricity requirement, exceeded the country's expectations of 270 gigawatts on May 21, driven by heat waves.

Power demand in ‌the South Asian nation climbed 11.2% to a two-year high in May, data from federal grid regulator Grid-India ​showed.

Thermal power ​generation rose 10% ⁠from a year earlier in the month, the highest since May 2024, as utilities ramped up output to meet round-the-clock electricity demand, ​the regulator's data showed.

During the month, India's renewable power generation rose 29.31% from the previous year to 27.58 billion kilowatt-hours, accounting for a record 17.9% of the country's power mix, according to a Reuters analysis of daily government data.