Coal-fired power capacity in FY24 gains momentum
Net-zero targets notwithstanding, India’s coal production continues to meet a growing demand for power, with as much as 5.75 GW of thermal capacity added so far in FY24 (April-February) compared with just 450 MW a year ago, according to data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
A summary of data for February 2024 released by the CEA showed that 2.78 GW of thermal power capacity was installed in the month.
This growth is in line with projections of a record power demand in the summer. The CEA estimates peak power demand at 260 GW in FY25, well above the 243 GW recorded in FY24. Coal shortage and a near-crisis in FY22 has led the government to increase the number of thermal power plants despite an ambitious target to turn net-zero by 2070.
The bulk of India’s power demand is still met by coal-fired plants. Renewable energy sources such as solar or wind usually cannot ensure stable supplies and require utility-scale batteries to store energy, which are in short in supply in India.
Several thermal plants were inaugurated in February, just before the model code of conduct for the upcoming general elections came into force. At the end of that month, India’s coal-based power capacity stood at 210.96 GW, the report said. Coal production and supply to power plants have also improved. Currently, power plants have enough stocks of coal for around 17 days.
In a recent interview, Amrit Lal Meena, secretary at the union coal ministry said coal stocks across power plants would be adequate for the upcoming summer. He also said India’s total coal stock could touch 155 million by the end of the fiscal year, from 125 million tonnes in the previous year.
In tandem, addition of renewable energy capacity has slowed. As of February in this fiscal year, 11.47 GW of renewable energy capacity, including large hydro projects, had been added, against 12.34 GW in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.