India to Halt Building New Coal Plants in 2022

Draft government plan finds no need for new coal stations beyond those already under construction, calls for massive renewable energy push

India needs no extra coal power stations until at least 2027, according to the government’s latest draft National Electricity Plan.

The plan, released by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) for public consultation, makes no room for further generation capacity beyond the 50GW coal fleet that is under construction.

The plan covers two five-year periods beginning in 2017 and 2022.  The first period allows for the completion of those plants already being built.  But after that, the CEA is planning for zero new thermal power generation before 2027.

“As coal based capacity of 50,025MW [50GW] is already under construction which is likely to yield benefits during 2017-22, this coal based capacity would fulfil the capacity requirement for the years 2022-27,” the plan said.

At the same time, the report aims to add 100GW of solar and wind.  These renewable energy additions would more than double India’s clean energy capacity.

This would put India on course to far exceed its pledges to the Paris agreement, said Siddharth Singh, associate fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi.

Narendra Modi’s government has promised to get 40% of  its electricity from non-fossil sources (renewable and nuclear) by 2030, with finance and technology sharing from wealthier countries.

The CEA proposal would mean the non-fossil share would increase to 53% as early as 2027, up from 31% today, without relying on international support.

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