Punjab plans large solar project at retired coal power plant

• 6 years ago (2018-01-01)
• David Flin

Asia 847 Solar 243

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The northern Indian state of Punjab has announced that it is planning to set up a huge solar power project on the site of a newly retired 460 MW coal-fired power plant. The state Government plans to sell off 1400 acres of the 2000 acre site, and use the remaining 600 acres to set up a 240 MW solar power plant.

In addition to this, the Punjab state Government has said that it is considering a similar proposal for a 420 MW coal-fired plant. These projects are being retired due to high generation costs, and solar power is considerably cheaper than coal-fired generation from these mature plants. A spokesman for the Punjab Government said that the state had been able to procure electricity at a 44 per cent discount from solar power compared with these two coal-fired power plants. He also said that the coal-fired plants in question were nearing the end of their operational life.

The state government is also considering construction of a 3000 MW super-critical coal-fired power plant.