India’s NTPC eyes more thermal power capacity

Market: Coal, Electricity
10/06/24

Indian state-controlled utility NTPC plans to issue tenders for the construction of about 15GW of thermal power generation capacity by March 2027 to meet anticipated demand growth. Increased capacity typically boosts coal consumption.

"As part of our overall energy security plans, we are actively considering awarding thermal capacity of 15.2GW in [the] near future. This is in addition to 9.6GW thermal capacity already under construction," the company said.

Of the planned 15.2GW capacity, tenders for 10.4GW will be issued in the current April 2024-March 2025 fiscal year, NTPC said. Tenders for another 3.2GW will be issued in 2025-26, followed by 1.6GW in 2026-27, it added.

NTPC Group had an installed generation capacity of 76GW as of 31 March, up by 3.9GW from the year earlier. It plans to reach 130GW capacity by 2030 through a mix of conventional and renewable energy.

It is expanding thermal power capacity at a time when Indian private-sector utilities have largely stopped developing new coal-fired projects. Indian private-sector utilities, such as Tata Power and JSW Energy, have shifted from developing new thermal generation capacity to focusing on renewables.

NTPC also plans to step up its coal production to partly reduce a reliance on external supplies. It aims to raise coal output to 50mn t/yr over the next three years, up from 34.4mn t produced in 2023-24. It received a record 241mn t of coal in 2023-24, up by 7.6pc from a year earlier to meet rising demand. This also included 9.6mn t of imported coal, down by 34pc from a year earlier.

Government push

India's federal government plans to add about 80GW of thermal power generation capacity by 2031-32 to meet an anticipated increase in power demand, in a boost for future coal consumption.

The country's power demand has increased at an unprecedented rate because of its rapid economic growth. "India needs 24x7 power supply for growth and we are not going to compromise on its availability," India's power ministry said in November 2023. "This power cannot be achieved by renewable energy sources alone. Since nuclear capacity cannot be added at a rapid pace, we need to add coal-based thermal capacity." The ministry urged the power industry to plan for capacity additions over the next 5-7 years.

India will need to increase its coal-fired power generation capacity to 259.6GW by March 2032 from the current 211GW, according to the country's national electricity plan (NEP). The NEP, announced by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in May 2023, said India will need to raise its current coal-fired capacity to meet the country's projected peak electricity demand of 2,473.8TWh in 2031-32. The CEA also projects coal-fired capacity rising to 235.1GW by 2026-27.

By Ajay Modi

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22/11/24

Cop: Drafts point to trade-off on finance, fossil fuels

Baku, 22 November (Argus) — The new draft on the climate finance goal from the UN Cop 29 climate summit presidency has developed nations contributing $250bn/yr by 2035, while language on fossil fuels has been dropped, indicating work towards a compromise on these two central issues. There is no mention of fossil fuels in either the new draft text on the global stocktake — which follows up the outcome of Cop 28 last year, including "transitioning away" from fossil fuels — or in the new draft for the climate finance goal. Developed countries wanted a reference to moving away from fossil fuels included, indicating that not having one would be a red line. The new draft text on the climate finance goal would mark a substantial compromise for developing countries, with non-profit WRI noting that this is "the bridging text". Parties are negotiating the next iteration of the $100bn/yr that developed countries agreed to deliver to developing nations over 2020-25 — known as the new collective quantified goal (NCQG). The new draft sets out a figure of $250bn/yr by 2035, "from a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources". It also notes that developed countries will "take the lead". It sets out that the finance could come from multilateral development banks (MDBs) too. "It has been a significant lift over the past decade to meet the prior, smaller goal... $250bn will require even more ambition and extraordinary reach," a US official said. "This goal will need to be supported by ambitious bilateral action, MDB contributions and efforts to better mobilise private finance, among other critical factors," the official added. India had indicated earlier this week that the country was seeking around $600bn/yr for a public finance layer from developed countries. Developing countries had been asking for $1.3 trillion/yr in climate finance from developed countries, a sum which the new text instead calls for "all actors" to work toward. The draft text acknowledges the need to "enable the scaling up of financing… from all public and private sources" to that figure. On the contributor base — which developed countries have long pushed to expand — the text indicates that climate finance contributions from developing countries could supplement the finance goal. It is unclear how this language will land with developing nations. China yesterday reiterated that "the voluntary support" of the global south is not part of the goal. The global stocktake draft largely focuses on the initiatives set out by the Cop 29 presidency, on enhancing power grids and energy storage, though it does stress the "urgent need for accelerated implementation of domestic mitigation measures". It dropped a previous option, opposed by Saudi Arabia, that mentioned actions aimed at "transitioning away from fossil fuels". Mitigation, or cutting emissions, and climate finance have been the overriding issues at Cop 29. Developing countries have long said they cannot decarbonise or implement an energy transition without adequate finance. Developed countries are calling for substantially stronger global action on emissions reduction. By Georgia Gratton and Prethika Nair Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Japan’s Taketoyo to resume biomass co-firing in 2027

22/11/24

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22/11/24

Japan’s Taketoyo to resume biomass co-firing in 2027

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21/11/24

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21/11/24

Cost of government support for fossil fuels still high

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Cop: Talks in Baku torn between mitigation and finance

21/11/24

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21/11/24

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