Govt to add nearly 3 gigawatts of coal-fired generation

India aims to add 17 gigawatts (GW) of coal-based power generation capacity in the next 16 months, its fastest pace in recent years, to avert outages due to a record rise in power demand. The world’s fastest-growing major economy has added an annual average of 5 GW of coal-based electricity generation capacity over the last five years but it is also ramping up renewable energy. Yet it will fall short of satisfying power demand if it does not expand the number of its coal plants. In the next few months, India plans to add nearly 3 GW of coal-fired generation while the following fiscal year, from 2025 will see it add 14 GW, or its highest level in eight years. While the coal expansion drive aims to meet an expected rise of 10 per cent in demand during peak hours in fiscal year 2024-25, India will still meet a national commitment of half of fuel generation capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030.