Energy from coal to shrink at 1.25 GW every year, says S&P Global
Given the strong power demand growth of 9 GW every year, coal dispatch would continue to grow in the medium-term
New Delhi: Energy from coal will shrink at 1.25 gigawatt (GW) every year as solar would continue to expand with the deployment forecast of 20 GW every year, according to the International Energy Agency’s Sustainable Development Scenario, S&P Global Platts Analytics said in a recent report.
As per the report titled “Global Solar Outlook (2019-2025) “, the share of coal clearly shrinks going forward. But, given the strong power demand growth of 9 GW every year, coal dispatch would continue to grow in the medium-term.
“Only 4 GW of coal capacity has been added in 2018, although the number of projects under construction is second only to China (48 GW). In our view, LNG is not well placed to grow in the Indian power sector, so the risks bear essentially on the coal side,” the report stated.
While there is a strong political will to diversify the power generation mix, headwinds for the development of solar have been emerging. A sign that solar is becoming competitive against thermal could be found in the fact that coal new-build has been slowing very considerably.
The report highlights a significant upside for solar in key coal burning countries including India and China. Coal remains a fuel at risk while role of gas has been seen limited.
Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes
