Coal-fired power generation was down 15% in March and 31% in the first three weeks of April, according to daily data from the Indian national grid.
But even before India's sudden coronavirus lockdown, the demand for coal was weakening.The study finds that in the fiscal year ending March 2020, coal deliveries were down by around 2%, a small but significant reduction when set against the trend - an increase in thermal power generation of 7.5% a year set over the previous decade.
New [coal] construction has ground to a near halt in India, which shut more capacity than it opened. New Delhi oversaw the commissioning of 0.9GWs of coal generation – less than half the size ofAustralia’s largest coal plants– while 1.2GWs were closed and more than 27GWs of proposals were cancelled.
India had “radically reduced” the amount of coal it planned to build as the fuel struggled to compete with new solar and wind: “They don’t have anyone to sell the power to because there are cheaper alternatives.”
