A report published by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) evaluating Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC)’s proposed Khurja coal power plant in India finds the plant would push up the cost of electricity and increase air pollution at a time when the country’s renewable energy options are cheaper, accessible and more sustainable. Released at an energy roundtable in Delhi, the report The Khurja Thermal Power Project: A Recipe for an Indian Stranded Asset recommends the proposed Khurja coal power plant be cancelled, due to: site location and current emergency air pollution levels in Delhi; the real threat of government finance being wasted on another expensive stranded asset; the costly interstate import price of coal; the likely lower than modelled utilisation rate of the Khurja power plant; the lower than expected electricity demand growth; increasingly cheaper, deflationary, domestic renewable energy options; and India’s ambitious sustainable energy goals.
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