Chapter 20 · 14 of 15
Energy & Climate
The world's fastest solar build and its largest coal expansion, at once — under air children cannot breathe.
Energy Rupture and continuity at onceAir & climate wrath All-era failure, worsening
BEFORE AFTER
Before → after
Solar capacity
Before 2.8 GW 2014
After 164.59 GW July 2026
Clean share of capacity
Now 54% mid-2026 — pledge met 5 yrs early
Clean share of actual generation
Now 29.2% FY26 — the number not on banners
Coal mined in a year
Before 565 MT 2014
After 1 billion t FY25 record
Solar tariff per unit
Before ₹10–12 2014
After ~₹2.5 cheaper than new coal
Ethanol in petrol
Before ~1.5% 2014
After 20% 2025 — 5 years early
Peak power demand
Before 136 GW 2014
After 250 GW May 2024
Cyclone deaths
Before 10,000 Odisha, 1999
After <100 routinely now
Capacity vs generation — the ruler, % Non-fossil share of capacity
54 %
Non-fossil share of generation
29.2 %
Watch the 29 per cent, not the 54.
Solar capacity, gigawatts FY26 additions alone
44.6 GW
A record 44.6 GW in one year — more than the whole fleet as recently as 2021.
Carbon per person per year, tonnes The equity case behind net zero by 2070.
One person, before and after
R
Ramdas a contract loader at a coal mine in Singrauli A composite — built from thousands of real accounts. 1 Mar 2025 Ramdas loads coal. India mines a billion tonnes.
2 Today His son-in-law cleans solar panels at Bhadla.
3 December In Delhi his grandson's school shuts — the air is unsafe.
4 Grandson 'Dadaji, is this smoke from your coal?'
Before 2014 Solar: just 2.8 GW. Coal: two-thirds of all power. 2012: the world's biggest blackout. UPA started the solar mission (2010). After 2014
Solar sprint
2.8 → 164.6 GW solar capacity
44.6 GW added in one year. Price: ₹10–12 → ~₹2.5 a unit. 50% clean capacity — 5 years early.
Capacity ≠ electricity
54% vs 29% clean capacity vs clean power made
Panels work when the sun shines. Coal works at 3 a.m. Watch the 29.
The furnace
1 bn tonnes coal mined in one year
~80 GW new coal plants planned. Peak demand: 136 → 250 GW.
The pledge
2070 net zero
An Indian emits ~2 t; an American ~14 t. 20% ethanol, 5 years early. Nuclear target: 100 GW by 2047.
The air
1.5 million deaths a year from air pollution
13 of the world's 20 most polluted cities. Delhi: worst capital, every year. Clean-air targets widely missed.
The wrath
420 dead in Wayanad, 2024
Dharali 2025, Sikkim 2023, Chamoli 2021. Cyclone deaths: 10,000 → under 100. Still fighting about
1
Green pioneer, or coal empire?
Government's case 60× solar in 12 years. Cheapest clean power anywhere. VS
Critics' case 7 of 10 units still from coal. 80 GW more coal on order.
The book: Watch generation, not capacity.
Where do you lean?
Government Both hold Critics
2
Whose climate bill?
Government's case The rich world burned first. Climate-finance promises were empty. VS
Critics' case Hotels on flood paths were ours. Adaptation is underfunded.
The book: Right on justice. Behind on adaptation.
Where do you lean?
Government Both hold Critics
3
Can India grow cool?
Government's case Cheap solar + a proven delivery state. VS
Critics' case Coal expansion + an air emergency.
The book: The transition is a family.
Where do you lean?
Government Both hold Critics
The verdict
Energy Rupture and continuity at once Rule 5 Strongest verified FOR Solar 2.8 → 164.6 GW; 50%-capacity pledge met 5 years early
Strongest verified AGAINST Generation still 71% fossil; a billion tonnes of coal, 80 GW more planned
Air & climate wrath All-era failure, worsening Rule 6 Strongest verified FOR Cyclone deaths: 10,000 (1999) → double digits
Strongest verified AGAINST ~1.5 million deaths a year from air; Wayanad's 420
Yours
The book gives none. Slide; it is saved to your scoreboard on this device.
Clearly worse Worse No real change Better Clearly better
Read the full chapter — the book’s own words
The same decade that priced sunlight below coal also landed a spacecraft where no nation had ever landed, on a budget smaller than a Hollywood film's. The rockets, the labs, the missing R&D money, and the question of whether India can invent and not just implement: Chapter 21, The Lab and the Launchpad.