NTPC to build more coal plants this year to meet soaring power demand

By Rajesh Kumar Singh

State-run NTPC Ltd., India’s largest electricity producer, plans to start building more coal plants this year as the country continues to lean on the fuel to meet its growing energy needs.
 

New Delhi-based NTPC will likely award construction orders for about 4.5 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity during the fiscal year that began this month, according to an official aware of the plans, who asked not be named before a final decision is made. The projects will be built across three sites where the utility already runs power plants. 

The projects underscore how even as India sets ambitious long-term decarbonization targets, in the near term it will continue to rely on the dirtiest fossil fuel to meet rapidly growing power demand. A warming planet and increased penetration of air conditioners are causing power consumption to climb to new records in the country.  

NTPC, which last year began building coal plants again after a years-long hiatus, expects to place orders for construction of 1.6 gigawatts of coal power plants each at Lara and Singrauli, as well a 1.32 gigawatts at Meja in Uttar Pradesh during the current fiscal year, the official said. 

The company, India’s largest coal user, aims to boost output from its own mines to 34 million tons this fiscal year, a 48% increase from the previous year, according to the official. 

At the same time, the company is laying the groundwork for adding more carbon-free energy. At Pudimadaka, a coastal site in the state of Andhra Pradesh that was once meant to be home to a 4 gigawatt coal power plant, the company is now planning a green hydrogen hub with renewable generation, electrolyzer manufacturing, and green hydrogen and ammonia production, according to the official.

The company also plans to sell a stake this year in its clean energy unit, NTPC Green Energy Ltd., most likely through a public listing, after a recent attempt to bring in an investor failed, the official said.