The government has informed Parliament that India’s projected thermal coal and lignite power capacity requirement is expected to reach approximately 3,07,000 MW by 2034-35, compared with the installed capacity of 2,11,855 MW as on 31 March 2023.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the Ministry of Power stated that the generation expansion planning study carried out by the Central Electricity Authority assesses the optimal mix of generation resources, including coal, hydro, solar, wind, storage and nuclear, to meet future electricity demand while considering parameters such as capital cost, fuel cost, operations and maintenance, and useful life of technologies.
To meet the projected requirement, the ministry has envisaged setting up an additional minimum 97,000 MW of coal and lignite based thermal capacity.
“As per the studies, projected thermal coal and lignite capacity requirement by the year 2034-35 is estimated at approximately 3,07,000 MW as against the 2,11,855 MW installed capacity as on 31 March 2023. To meet this requirement, Ministry of Power has envisaged to set up an additional minimum 97,000 MW coal and lignite based thermal capacity,” Minister of State in the Power Ministry Shripad Naik said in the written reply.
The minister noted that around 17,360 MW of thermal capacity has already been commissioned between April 2023 and 20 January 2026.
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Additionally, 39,545 MW is currently under construction, including 4,845 MW of stressed thermal power projects.
Contracts for 22,920 MW have been awarded and are under construction, while 24,020 MW of coal and lignite based candidate capacity has been identified at various planning stages across the country.
The projected plant load factor of coal based plants by 2031-32 is estimated at around 61 per cent, though actual utilisation will depend on factors such as growth in electricity demand and the pace at which renewable energy capacity is added.
On costs, the government said the all-India weighted average rate of sale of power from existing coal based plants over the past three years has ranged from ₹4.36 per kWh to ₹4.58 per kWh, with the lowest tariff at about ₹1.52 per kWh.
Meanwhile, tariffs discovered for new coal based thermal projects through tariff based competitive bidding during 2025 were in the range of ₹5.38 to ₹6.30 per kWh.
For firm and dispatchable renewable energy tenders awarded by SECI in August 2024, tariffs were discovered in the range of ₹4.98 to ₹4.99 per kWh.
However, the government noted that a direct comparison is not appropriate due to differences in operational characteristics, risk allocation, fuel cost structures and contractual frameworks between coal based and renewable power projects.
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