The report finds it is unlikely that India – or indeed other countries – will be able to overtake the Gulf region to provide the world’s cheapest solar power in the near term.

Even as the global economy has been locked down by the COVID-19 pandemic, May 2020 saw the renewable energy and storage sectors continue to achieve new record-breaking milestones. Stranded asset risks for the coal-fired power sector continue to grow as a result, sending global capital fleeing for the exits.

In the last four years, solar installations in India have grown more than five-fold, from a mere 6 gigawatt (GW) of capacity in 2016 to almost 35 GW, achieving more than one-third of the country’s ambitious 2022 solar target of 100 GW.

While attention has been focused on the hefty downswings in the oil price caused by the collapse of demand from COVID-19 lockdowns, the coal price has been not insulated. Starting from US$70/tonne in January, the Newcastle benchmark price (6,300 kcl) has retreated to US$58.33/tonne.

In March 2019, India’s government-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) acquired 52.3% the Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd. (REC) to form the country’s largest non-banking finance company (NBFC), and a critically important lender for India’s power sector with a total asset book approaching US$100bn as of December 2019.

A near-term transition from coal appears inevitable, towards zero-coal generation by the mid-2030s. However, Poland could seek to delay such a transition, for example to develop new coal mines and extend coal generation into the 2050s.

Several power plant proposals need to be cancelled, says report. Against the already identified ones, several more thermal power plants in India could potentially be classified as stranded assets, a report released by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has found.

In a race to be the top state in India, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has modelled the economic powerhouse Gujarat adding a staggering 46 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable energy capacity by 2029/30, in a new report out.

India will require $500-700 billion in renewable energy and supporting grid investment over the coming decade in order to meet its renewable energy targets, the US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said.

India will require $500-700 billion in renewable energy and supporting grid investment over the coming decade in order to meet its renewable energy targets, the US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said.