Power minister RK Singh bats for balanced mix of renewable and thermal energy

As the global focus on increasing renewable energy sources intensifies to meet the growing demand for power, India's Union Power Minister, RK Singh, emphasised the importance of not only prioritising renewables but also augmenting thermal sources. Singh stated that India requires an additional 80,000 megawatts, equivalent to 80 gigawatts, of thermal power capacity to address the escalating power needs.

Providing context, India presently boasts a total power capacity of 425 gigawatts, with over 50% derived from thermal sources contributing approximately 239 gigawatts. The Power Minister aims to augment this by adding 80 gigawatts to the existing 239 gigawatts.

This 80 gigawatts signifies the total thermal power capacity that needs to be developed. Presently, there are 14 projects under construction nationwide, contributing to a thermal capacity of about 30 gigawatts.