Indian Govt to Add 60 GW Coal-Based Capacity to Meet Electricity Demands

Union Power Minister R K Singh stated that the government has decided to begin work to have up to 60 GW of coal-based generation capacity in addition to the 27 GW already under construction, due to the rising demand for electricity.

The 27 GW under construction, and the government has decided to start work on at least 55-60 GW of thermal capacity. According to the projections of National Electricity Plan for 2022-32, the required coal and lignite-based installed capacity will reach 283 GW by 2031-2032 as compared to the present installed capacity of 214 GW.

The government seeks to add about 80 GW thermal power capacity by 2031-32. It will allocate additional power to those states which are maintaining and running their capacities. Since, nuclear capacity cannot be added at a rapid pace, there is a need to add coal-based thermal capacity to meet energy needs.