No economic rationale to shut down coal-based power plants, says Economic Survey

The Survey said that successful presumption of the continuing challenges being faced successful largescale deployment of renewable and alternate sources of energy, determination was nary crushed for India to wantonness coal-fired powerfulness plants nether planetary pressure, besides due to the fact that astir of these plants had important life-spans inactive remaining.

“There is nary valid economical rationale for shutting down ember plants successful India, leaving immense investments under-utilised and stranded and without a dependable alternate successful place,” it said.

“The US and European countries whitethorn modulation from ember to earthy state due to the fact that they person entree to that resource, and their older accepted coal-based thermal plants are nearing the extremity of their beingness cycle. In India’s case, astir capableness additions to the coal-fired powerfulness plants were made lone successful the 2010s. Unlike galore developed countries, India’s lone reliable vigor root is coal, arsenic it possesses astir 10 per cent of the world’s ember reserves but lone 0.7 per cent of the world’s earthy state reserves,” the Survey said.

Being the 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases aft China and the United States, India has often travel nether unit to trim its dependence connected coal-based electricity. While India has repeatedly said it would bring down the stock of ember successful its wide energy procreation mix, but added that successful implicit terms, ember would proceed to beryllium the main root of powerfulness generation.

“Presently, fixed the assets endowments, ember cannot beryllium neglected arsenic a reliable and affordable root of vigor for India’s development,” the Survey said.

It said portion determination had been singular advancement successful the deployment of atomic and renewable vigor sources similar star oregon wind, these inactive had important challenges.

“Several challenges hinder renewable energy’s cost-effective and businesslike integration into the vigor mix. These see important investments required for grid integration, the improvement of artillery infrastructure to negociate intermittency, scaling up accumulation of the components of renewable vigor systems, entree to captious minerals that are needed for retention technology, the constricted availability of onshore successful densely populated areas and the competing and rapidly expanding vigor demands from agriculture, infrastructure, and industry,” it said.

It argued that India’s vigor modulation plans indispensable beryllium mindful of geopolitical vulnerabilities and debar deepening its dependence connected outer sources for captious imports.

“Lessons learnt from the experiences of developed economies caution against shutting down thermal vigor without capable technological alternatives that let a unchangeable vigor supply,” it said.

“India is uniquely positioned successful presumption of its increasing vigor requirements. India indispensable decisively leverage its champion resources, precocious technologies, and expertise to accelerate its travel toward becoming a developed federation by 2047 portion ensuring a low-carbon pathway. Following this captious milestone, the federation indispensable prosecute its ambitious extremity of achieving nett zero emissions by 2070,” it said.