Bloomberg: India plans most new coal power plants in a decade this year

India is set to add more new coal-fired power plants this year than in almost a decade. The country needs to rapidly increase electricity generation to meet rising demand. Coal-fired power capacity is expected to grow by 15.4 gigawatts (GW) in the fiscal year ending in March 2025, the biggest increase in nine years. Bloomberg reported this today, citing informed sources Bloomberg.

India has ambitious clean energy targets, but rapid economic growth has prolonged the country's dependence on coal, considered the dirtiest fossil fuel. The situation is being exacerbated by intensifying heatwaves, which drive electricity consumption to new records each year. Coal currently accounts for three-quarters of the country's electricity generation, and the government expects it to remain the main fuel for at least another decade.

Over the past decade, India has managed to increase its renewable energy capacity by more than 100 gigawatts. However, the development of renewables is being held back by insufficient electricity storage capacity.

Battery storage remains prohibitively expensive in India's competitive electricity market, while most pumped-storage hydropower plants, an alternative storage technology, are still in the early stages of development. Other low-carbon options include large dams and nuclear power plants, but these are also developing slowly.

India said last year that it plans to increase coal-fired power capacity by nearly 90 GW by 2030. Coal-fired power plants with a total capacity of 28.5 GW are currently under construction, and sources say construction contracts for coal-fired power plants with a capacity of 50 GW are expected to be awarded over the next three years.