India Cancels Nearly 14 Gigawatts of Proposed Coal Plants

The transformation of India’s electricity market continues to deliver, as shown this month by the cancellation of 13.7 gigawatts of proposed coal-fired power plants, an admission that 8.6 gigawatts of operating coal is already non-viable, and the parallel move of ever-decreasing solar costs helped along by the country’s record low solar tariffs.

Keeping an eye on the goings-on in India has been an interesting experience over the last few years, given that the country has not only set itself increasingly lofty expectations and targets, but seems for all intents and purposes as if it is actively going to reach its aims.  The country has definitely appeared to be stuck at a crossroads — not knowing whether to commit wholly to renewable energy, or to keep a foot in the fossil fuel camp as well.  Late last year India had plans to build more than 300 gigawatts (GW) of new coal capacity by 2030 — a move which was found to be almost entirely unnecessary and wasteful, considering that 94% of the planned new coal capacity would probably lay idle in and past 2022.   Conversely, the country has been working hard to decrease its coal imports, and in January this year coal imports declined by 21.7%.

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