India's coal ministry targets 9 GW renewable capacity of its own by 2030

India's coal ministry is looking to ramp-up deployment of renewable power to reduce its carbon footprint.

It is aiming to have 9 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, and a roadmap to achieve net zero electricity consumption across its coal and lignite undertakings, a government release from the Press Information Bureau noted.

At present, the combined solar capacity at leading coal companies such as Coal India Ltd, NLC India Ltd, and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd, stands at ~1,700 MW. This is supplemented by an additional 51 MW of wind capacity.

The ministry has issued directives to coal companies asking them to accelerate the adoption of solar energy solutions. It recommends installing rooftop solar panels on government buildings and establishing solar farms on reclaimed mining areas and other underutilized land resources.

The initiative was aligned with the Centre's new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target to achieve 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

India is looking to achieve net zero by 2070 and the government has launched several initiatives to support the country's energy transition, including hydrogen mobility pilots, shifting to a time-of-day tariff and viability gap funding for battery energy storage projects.

Earlier this week, Coal India signed a memorandum of understanding with the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd to develop 4,100 MW capacity power projects. Coal-fired thermal power plants are part of the deal, but the energy mix will also consist of solar, pumped hydro and wind projects, the companies noted.