(LiveMint)
Given the changing global energy mix, Coal India Ltd, the world’s largest coal miner, plans to set up 20,000 megawatts (MW) of solar projects over the next 10 years, a top executive said. It is estimated that at a per-MW cost of around Rs4.5 crore, Coal India will require an investment of around Rs90,000 crore to set up this capacity.
“If you look beyond 2050, one priority is to reach over to renewable energy,” said Coal India chairman and managing director Gopal Singh, adding that the miner has the 40,000 hectares of land required to set up such a large solar capacity. “Affordability is a big factor for us,” he added.
Such a large green capacity addition will help boost India’s clean energy commitments. India, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the US and China, plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 33-35% from its 2005 levels by 2030, as part of its commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted by 195 countries in Paris in 2015.
