Power and Renewable Energy Minister R. K. Singh.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Union government on November 21 asked private firms to ramp up investments in new coal-fired power plants to meet a dramatic rise in electricity demand and bridge nearly 30 gigawatts of additional requirement by 2030, despite international pressure to stop building such facilities.
Power and Renewable Energy Minister R. K. Singh, in New Delhi, asked private companies to invest in coal projects and “not miss the growth opportunity,” according to three sources present in a meeting.
The meeting with private investors comes weeks before the U.N. climate conference, at which France, backed by the United States, plans to seek a halt to private financing for coal-based power plants, according to a Reuters report. The Power Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The private investment share in the power sector started dwindling after 2018 when it was more than, or on a par with, government investments. Currently, it stands at 36% of the total installed capacity.
Most of the coal-based capacity under development is being set up by State-owned companies, with Adani Power and JSW Energy the only private companies building such plants.
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Many private companies stopped building new coal-based plants more than a decade ago due to a lack of financing in the absence of long-term power supply bids from consumers.
In recent years, however, energy demand has outpaced expectations, as economic activities picked up. Since August, the energy demand rose 18% to 20% year-over-year and the Union government expects it to rise by at least 6% annually till end of this decade.
During the meeting, Mr. Singh said new estimates see peak power demand reaching 335-gigawatts by 2030 versus the present 240-gigawatts, according to the sources.
“Private power companies were told that the majority of the peak-hour electricity demand can be met by coal-based power stations, since storage technologies are costlier to support solar and wind-based energy generation,” officials said.
“A total coal-based capacity addition of 58 gigawatts is in the pipeline, leaving an expected gap of over 30-gigawatts,” they said.
“The Minister assured that the government may look at funding support to such projects (from private firms) from State-run financiers such as Power Finance Corporation and REC Limited,” one of the sources said.
Mr. Singh told the meeting that despite adding coal-based capacity, the country will still meet its climate goals of shifting to 50% non-fossil-based power capacity since it is also adding renewable energy projects.