The country's leaders have been optimistic about its path to net zero, making bold claims that 50% of its power generation will come from renewables by 2030, and 100% by 2070. "This heightened power demand necessitates a reliable, cost-effective, and consistent power generation source, which coal currently fulfills," he highlighted. Nearly 10% of the country's electricity demand comes from space cooling and this will increase ninefold by 2050, the IEA said. Unreliable renewablesDespite being able to produce cheap wind and solar energy, only 22% of India's power generation is met by renewables. These complexities render it challenging to rely solely on renewables for consistent and dependable power generation," Narayan said.

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Persons: Money Sharma, Anil Kumar Jha, Jha, Neshwin Rodrigues, Prakash Singh, Sooraj Narayan, Wood, Sooraj Narayan Wood Mackenzie, Narayan, Sumant Sinha, Sinha, CNBC's, Wood Mackenzie's Narayan Organizations: Afp, Getty, Coal, CNBC, National Thermal Power Corporation, International Energy Agency, Ministry of Coal, Jha, Bloomberg, Investment, Invest India, Nurphoto Locations: Uttar Pradesh, India, Coal India, Dadri, Asia, Uttarakhand, Kerala