Power Ministry mulling to retire old coal-based plants

Power Ministry is planning to shut coal-fired power plants with capacity of about 8,000 MW that are more than 25 years old, a move that will help curb carbon emissions.

"Power ministry is in discussions to retire some 8,000 MW of coal-based thermal power plants, which are over 25 years old to cut down pollution," a source said.

These plants are old and running them is not financially viable. Besides, shutting them or replacing them with a better technology will help reduce pollution, he added.

India has a total installed power capacity of around 304 GW (1 GW is equal to 1,000 MW), of which about 186 GW is coal-fired. In the coal segment, central government PSUs account for 51 GW, states 64 GW and 70 GW is with the private sector.
 

Centre has framed a guideline to replace all old power plants in a phased manner as their production capacity has decreased.

Frequent breakdowns, inefficiency and pollution are the main reasons behind the decision to replace old plants with modern and environment-friendly ones in a phased manner.