Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s group will build and operate a $3 billion coal-fired power plant in Bihar state with a 2.4 gigawatt capacity, it said on Thursday, the biggest coal plant constructed in India via private investment in a decade.
The first of three units at the plant will be commissioned within four years, with the last expected to come online in five years’ time, Adani Power said.
The move marks a return of private investment to India’s greenfield coal-based power projects after more than a decade of absence.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is targeting increasing the country’s coal-based capacity by 80 GW, or more than a third, by 2032 to more than 290 GW, saying it was necessary to ensure reliable, round-the-clock power.
Coal’s share in India’s power mix is starting to significantly decline due to a quick buildout of renewables, following rapid growth in coal use after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The world’s second largest coal producer and consumer still generates about three quarters of its electricity from coal annually, however, unlike top coal user China which has progressively reduced its dependence on the polluting fuel.
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The project in Pirpainti, eastern Bihar, will be Adani Power’s largest new plant since its 3.3 GW Tiroda project was fully commissioned in 2014.
The company will supply power at just over 6 Indian rupees ($0.0684) per kilowatt hour to Bihar’s state-run distribution companies from the Pirpainti plant, it said in a statement.
Adani currently operates 18.1 GW of coal-fired power capacity in eight states and 12 plants across the country, and won bids to build and operate a 1.5 GW plant in the northern Uttar Pradesh state in May and a 1.6 GW capacity facility in Maharashtra in September 2024.
