Map: India’s Energy Reserves, Capacity, and Potential Renewable Energy (2008-2012)

Click through the interactive infographic to see how India, the world’s fastest-growing nation with the second-highest population, races to meet rising demand for energy.

To meet the demands of the world’s second-largest population, India has been focusing largely on coal production. However, the power potential of India’s coal reserves is in fact much lower than other fossil fuels — the majority of India’s available energy exists in the form of natural gas and crude oil.

India has also been looking to renewable alternatives for sustainable energy. In recent years, gains in wind, solar, and biofuels have taken a small burden off the consumption of fossil fuels.

Click the image below to launch an interactive Google Fusion Tables map that shows energy data by Indian state and territory from 2008 to 2012, illustrating the historical shift in sources of and outputs for energy production across the country. (Data gathered from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.)

Infographic: India’s energy reserves, capacity, and potential renewable energy from 2008 to 2012 shows how energy is produced across the country. Click image to launch the interactive Google Fusion Tables map.

Quick links:

• Map of India’s Estimated Energy Reserves (2008-2012)
• Map of India’s Installed Generating Capacity of Electricity (2007-2012)
• Map of India’s Estimated Potential of Renewable Power (2008-2012)
• Map of India’s Installed Capacity of Grid Interactive Renewable Power (2008-2012)

Map created by Luke Gehrke, an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan who is interning with Circle of Blue this summer. Additional contributions from Aubrey Ann Parker and Jordan B. Bates of Circle of Blue. Reach them at circleofblue.org/contact and circleofblue.org/contact, respectively.

Choke Point: India is produced in collaboration with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and its China Environment Forum, with support from Skoll Global Threats Fund. The Wilson Center’s Asia Program, which provided research and technical assistance, produces substantial work on natural resource issues in India, including articles and commentaries on energy, water, and the links between natural resource constraints and stability.