Thermal power plants on the anvil: implications and need for rationalisation
A massive expansion in thermal power generation in India is on the anvil. Environmental clearances have already been granted to about 200,000 MW of thermal power projects and capacity totaling to another 500,000 MW is in various stages of securing environmental clearance. This report highlights, apart from the sheer scale of the capacity addition, the geographic concentration of the proposed plants, their predominantly private sector ownership, the severe environmental consequences and the implications for resources like coal and water. The report discusses the implications of the over-capacity in the making, the problems of a market driven sector and emphasises the need for a course correction. This course correction is required from both, the power planning perspective and from the social and environmental perspective, to restore balance and basic good governance processes in the development of thermal power in the country. It also proposes some key actions to meet these aims.