India may increase coal capacity commissioning plan to 150 GW — OilPrice

India may revise upward its plan to commission new coal-fired power plants by 2035 due to rapid growth in electricity demand. This was stated by Ghanshyam Prasad, head of India’s Central Electricity Authority, OilPrice reports.

Possible increase in the plan

Last year, India planned to increase its coal-fired generation capacity by 97 GW by 2035 and bring its installed capacity to 307 GW. The country currently has 231 GW of installed coal capacity.

According to Prasad, growth in electricity demand over the past year has demonstrated the need to revise the expansion parameters. He suggested that the volume of new coal capacity could rise to 105 GW or even 150 GW. The official explained this by the need to have stable sources of electricity supply capable of meeting growing demand.

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Coal and renewable energy

According to Finland’s Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, as of August 2026, India’s coal and lignite capacity stood at 231 GW, or 42% of the country’s total generation capacity. At the same time, renewable energy excluding large hydropower plants grew to 243 GW, accounting for 44% of total capacity.

In August 2025, renewable sources had 193 GW, or 39% of installed capacity. Separately, India intends to increase installed nuclear power capacity from the current 8.8 GW to 100 GW by 2047 and build five small modular reactors in the country by 2033.