India wants private money for new coal-fired power plants

• 5 months ago (2023-11-22)
• David Flin

Asia 848 Coal 274

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India has asked private firms to ramp up investments in new coal-fired power plants to meet a dramatic rise in electricity demand, with a target of nearly 30 GW by 2030.

R K Singh, India’s Power and Renewable Energy Minister, asked private companies to invest in new coal projects and “not miss the growth opportunity.” The request comes weeks before the UN climate conference, at which France, backed by the United States, plans to seek a halt to private financing for coal-fired power plants, according to a report from Reuters.

The private investment share in the Indian power sector has been declining since 2018, and most of the coal-based capacity under development is being set up by state-owned companies. Adani Power and JSW Energy are currently the only private companies building such plants. Many private companies stopped building new coal-fired plants in India due to a lack of financing.

Private power companies have been told that the majority of peak-hour electricity demand in India can be met by coal-fired power stations rather than storage technologies to support solar and wind-based energy generation.