India's 97 GW Coal Expansion Plan Looks Too Small, Senior Official Says
India may need to revise up its planned new coal-fired capacity installations through 2035 amid soaring electricity demand that needs grid stability and flexibility, a senior Indian official said on Tuesday. Last year, India planned to raise its coal-fired power capacity by a total of 97 gigawatts (GW) until 2035, and have 307 GW of coal capacity installed. At present, the world’s second-largest…
A senior Indian official has suggested that India's planned coal-fired power capacity expansion through 2035 may need to be revised upwards. In August, India had announced plans to raise its coal-fired power capacity by 97 gigawatts (GW) by 2035, with a total installed capacity of 307 GW. Currently, India is the world's second-largest coal consumer, with 231 GW of installed coal-fired power capacity.
However, the rapid increase in electricity demand over the past year has led Ghanshyam Prasad, chair of the Central Electricity Authority, to believe that the coal capacity addition plan may need to be increased to 105 GW or even 150 GW. Prasad made these remarks at a business event, emphasizing that as demand grows, stable supply resources are needed to meet the growing electricity demand.
As of August, coal and lignite installations accounted for 42% of India's power capacity, while renewable energy, excluding large hydro, grew the fastest, reaching 44% share of India's capacity in August 2026, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Despite renewables being the fastest-growing source of power capacity, Prasad believes that India cannot rely solely on the renewable boom and must continue to increase its nuclear power capacity to 100 GW by 2047, in addition to building five small modular reactors domestically by 2033.
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