India leaves Japan behind in solar energy production, reaches third place worldwide

India surpassed Japan to become the world's third-largest producer of solar energy last year. This is what a research institute in the global energy sector called Amber said in a report. In 2015, India came in ninth place for solar energy usage.

According to the 'Global Electricity Review' report, 5.5% of the world's electricity production in 2023 will originate from solar energy. India generated 5.8% of its total electricity last year from solar energy, following the global trend.

Aditya Lola, director of Amber's Asia program, said increasing green energy capacity is not just about reducing carbon emissions in the power sector. But it is also needed to meet the growing power demand in the economy and to decouple economic growth from emissions.

According to the report, solar energy has retained its position as the world's fastest-growing electricity source for the 19th consecutive year. Last year, more than twice as much electricity was added worldwide from this clean energy source as compared to coal. The increase in solar energy production in India by 2023 was the fourth-largest increase in the world.

India lagged behind China, America, and Brazil in this matter. The share of these four countries in solar energy growth will be 75 percent in 2023. Amber said global solar production in 2023 was six times higher than in 2015. According to the report, the contribution of solar energy to electricity generation in India was 0.5 percent in 2015, which increased to 5.8 percent in 2023.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA)'s net-zero emissions scenario, solar power will increase to 22 percent of global electricity generation by 2030. India is one of the few countries planning to triple renewable capacity by 2030. According to Amber's analysis, India needs to significantly increase annual capacity addition to meet this potential.