Comments - Draft National Electricity Plan Vol.I: Generation

Ember provides comments on India's draft National Electricity Plan (Vol.I: Generation), arguing that the plan's projections may fall short of India's 2030 non-fossil fuel targets and that peak demand estimates are potentially overestimated. The document warns that overestimating demand could lead to excessive investment in coal capacity, potentially creating 'zombie plants'. Ember suggests implementing periodic stock-taking of coal targets and a temporary stay on new coal proposals to better align with renewable energy goals and battery storage growth.

• The draft Plan's projections appear inconsistent with India's 2030 targets of 450 GW of renewable energy (excluding large hydro) and 500 GW of non-fossil capacity. Interpolating the draft Plan's targets to FY 2030 suggests potential shortfalls of approximately 58 GW and 17 GW for these respective targets.
• The draft Plan projects peak demand to reach 363 GW in FY 2032, representing an average annual growth rate of 6%. This is significantly higher than the 4.6% average annual growth rate observed over the previous 10 years.
• Overestimating peak demand could lead to an unnecessary increase in coal power capacity. For instance, if peak demand growth is 5% instead of 6%, the required coal capacity by FY 2032 would be approximately 38 GW lower than the 249 GW projected in the draft Plan, reducing the need to around 211 GW.
• Approximately 27 GW of proposed coal power plants currently in pre-construction stages in India may already be surplus to requirements and risk becoming 'zombie plants'.
• To manage uncertainty in demand growth, Ember recommends a temporary stay on new coal power plant proposals beyond those under construction, with peak demand estimates and coal targets reassessed every three years.

APA

Lolla, A. (2022). Comments - Draft National Electricity Plan Vol.I: Generation. Ember. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Ember-comments-on-Indias-draft-NEP.pdf

Chicago

Lolla, Aditya. Comments - Draft National Electricity Plan Vol.I: Generation. Ember, 2022. https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Ember-comments-on-Indias-draft-NEP.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Lolla |first1=Aditya |title=Comments - Draft National Electricity Plan Vol.I: Generation |publisher=Ember |date=6 December 2022 |url=https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Ember-comments-on-Indias-draft-NEP.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{lolla2022comments, author = {Lolla, Aditya}, title = {{Comments - Draft National Electricity Plan Vol.I: Generation}}, publisher = {Ember}, year = {2022}, month = dec, url = {https://ember-energy.org/app/uploads/2024/10/Ember-comments-on-Indias-draft-NEP.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }