Market Trends of India Thermal Power Plant Industry
Coal Segment Expected to Dominate the Market
- Coal-fired power plants generate energy from the combustion of coal. As of 2021, the country was the second-largest coal producer globally and used most of its coal to produce electricity. In 2021, the country produced approximately 13.47 exajoules of coal.
- The country's significant share of energy comes from coal-fired power plants. Factors such as rapidly increasing industrialization and urbanization are expected to drive the Indian thermal power plant market during the forecast period. Different government schemes, such as "Power for All", are expected to increase the country's power surge and drive the thermal power plant market.
- In 2021, India's total coal energy consumption was 20.09 exajoules, which was higher than the country's consumption in 2015, i.e., 16.55 exajoules. The increased consumption of coal exhibits the growing usage of coal in the country. The power-generating companies use coal widely, as it is abundant and economical for the country.
- The country plans to commission the Uppur Thermal Power Project, located in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, with a capacity of 1,600 MW by 2023. The project is owned by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd. (TANGEDCO) and has an investment cost of USD 1.7 billion.
- A surge in demand for coal-fired energy has led the central government to order that power utilities not retire coal-fired power plants until 2030. In January 2023, the Union Power Ministry published a notice, just two years after committing to reduce fuel usage.
- Hence, owing to such factors, the coal segment will likely dominate the Indian thermal power plant market during the forecast period.
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Increasing Thermal Power Projects Expected to Drive the Market
- India's power sector is undergoing a wide-scale transformation as the country is facing steep electricity demand. Several parts of India witness high power cuts due to the growing demand for electricity and the supply gap. To address the issue of electricity reliability, the government has implemented policies to increase electricity generation.
- India has the second-largest population, because of which there is a constant increase in the energy demand that requires an increasing number of industrial operations. Continually growing demand for power supply in the residential regions of the country is expected to drive the thermal power plant market.
- As of December 2021, the country has generated 203.190 GW of electricity from coal and 24.9 GW of energy from gas-fired power plants.
- In October 2022, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between NTPC Ltd and GE Gas Power to assess the feasibility of using hydrogen in the co-firing of natural gas and hydrogen at NTPC's Kawas combined-cycle gas power plant in Gujarat. As a result of this partnership, the two companies will jointly explore the possibilities for reducing the emissions of CO2 from the Kawas gas power plant and further implementing these solutions across NTPC's installed units in India on a large scale.
- Hence, due to such factors, increasing thermal power projects are expected to drive the thermal power plant market in India during the forecast period.
