India aims for 68.4% non-fossil fuel power generation by 2031-3

02 Jun 2023 CW Team

The Ministry of Power has unveiled the National Electricity Plan (NEP), projecting a significant increase in India's non-fossil fuel-based power generation capacity. According to the plan, the share of non-fossil fuel-based capacity is expected to reach 68.4% of the total installed capacity by 2031- 2032, a notable rise from the current 42.5%. This development holds significance as India pursues its net-zero targets by 2070 and aims to achieve 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030.

The NEP also predicts that the share of non-fossil-based capacity will reach 57.4% by the end of 2026-27 and further increase to 68.4% by the end of 2031-32. The plan includes a review of the last five years (2017-2022), a detailed plan for the next five years (2022-2027), and a prospective plan for the following five years (2027-2032).

According to the NEP document, the projected All India peak electricity demand for 2026-27 is 277.2 GW, with an electrical energy requirement of 1907.8 billion units (BU). For 2031-32, the projected figures are 366.4 GW of peak electricity demand and 2473.8 BU of electrical energy requirement, based on the 20th Electric Power Survey (EPS) demand projections.

The average plant load factor (PLF) or capacity utilization of the total installed coal capacity is estimated to be about 58.4% for 235.1 GW in 2026-27 and 58.7% for 259.6 GW in 2031-32. The NEP also highlights the estimated domestic coal requirement of 866.4 million tonnes (MT) for 2026-2027 and 1025.8 million tonnes for 2031-2032.

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