India Can Save Up to Rs 54,000 Crore by Replacing Coal Plants with Renewables: Green Peace India

Solar power has reached a new record low of Rs 2.44 and the wind at 2.64 dropped below the 3/kWh as per the new tariff bids, said the analysis.

Green Peace India has analyzed that the country can reduce air pollution upon the replacement of exorbitant coal plants by renewable and can even save up to Rs 54,000 crore in costs. The analysis compared 2015-2016 tariff data published by the Central Electricity Authority with an “assumed” renewable energy tariff of Rs 3/kWh, it claimed in a statement.

Solar power has reached a new record low of Rs 2.44 and the wind at 2.64 dropped below the 3/kWh as per the new tariff bids, said the analysis.

In a statement it claimed “Analysis of India’s coal power tariff data shows that replacing the most expensive coal power plants with electricity generated by solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind can save discoms and consumers up to Rs 54,000 crore annually.”

It is now widely accepted that new coal power plants are not financially competitive with new renewables in India, Greenpeace campaigner Ashish Fernandes said.

The NGO’s analysis shows that significant cost-savings can accrue to the country and to cash-strapped discoms through a planned phase out of the most expensive coal power plants already in operation and their replacement with cheaper renewable energy, Fernandes added.

“This will lower average electricity purchase costs across the economy, benefiting domestic and industrial consumers alike, as well as reducing subsidy burdens on state discoms.”

“Shutting down the oldest and most expensive coal power plants will also yield environmental and social benefits by reducing coal consumption and air pollution, which is killing thousands every year,” Fernandes said.

Source: ET Energy World