Indian government "may cancel 50 GW coal-based power projects"
Published by MAC on 2019-02-18Source: S&P Global Platts, ETEnergyWorld
Will India's many coal-blighted citizens soon finally find their places in the sun?
Debt-ridden Adani (among other miners) should watch his space, as the Writing now seems on the pit Wall.
Of course, that's if the Modi government, and its chosen fiscal gurus, fail to come up with some budgeting "tweaks".
Indian government may cancel 50 GW coal-based power projects: according to
S&P Global Platts
The elevated levels of imported coal prices witnessed over the past two
years have also contributed in making coal less competitive as a fuel
Ankush Kumar
ET (Economic Times) Energy World
15 February 2019
Govt may cancel 50 GW coal-based power projects: S&P Global Platts
New Delhi: The Indian government might cancel about 50 gigawatt (GW) of
coal-based power projects in the near future, according to S&P Global
Platts. An additional 46 GW coal-based capacity, currently under
construction, is also at risk.
"Over the past couple of years, coal projects of over 37 GW have been
deferred with another 13 GW delayed in India and most likely will be
cancelled. About 46 GW of coal projects are currently under construction
but their future is uncertain," said Bruno Brunetti, power analyst, S&P
Global Platts, that provides energy price benchmark assesments.
He also said solar power in auctions conducted in 2018 were as low as Rs
2.4 per kilowatt hour (kWh), equivalent to around $33.6 per megawatt hour
(MWh). "This has placed coal newbuilds in a considerably more difficult
position, especially given that the bottlenecks in the rail and
infrastructure have led to fuel availability issues," Brunetti said in an
interview with ETEnergyworld.
The elevated levels of imported coal prices witnessed over the past two
years have also contributed in making coal less competitive as a fuel.
India currently has 13.8 GW of solar power under construction and 22.8 GW
projects had already been tendered at the end of October 2018. "Therefore,
it is likely solar installations will rebound. It is unclear the timing
though – as the drivers behind the soft additions of 2018 may well persist
and continue to impact additions in 2019," Brunetti said.
Talking about the growth prospects for the solar power industry in 2019,
he said that uncertainties related to safeguard duties and other taxes
have been impacting solar's growth but module prices have slumped 30 per
cent recently and may offer support to the sector's growth.
He also cautioned that there is a need for considerable investments to
flow in[to] the Indian power grid to allow solar power's penetration to grow.