General

Coal in Death spiral as India cancels 14 gigs, and Solar prices Plummet

May 30, 2017

China and India have knocked the United States off the top spot of the index of best places to invest in renewables. Analysts cite the impact of Trump’s policies in favor of coal and petroleum.

Meanwhile, as Trump talks up a return of coal in the US, global coal markets have been shaken to the core by the Indian government’s decision to cancel planned 14 gigawatts of coal plants. They took the decision because solar power has fallen in price so dramatically that the coal plants were no longer competitive.

India’s plans for so many dirty coal plants had raised alarms among climate activists, who suggested that they would make it impossible for New Delhi to meet its emissions reduction goals under the Paris climate treaty. That consideration has now been removed.

Solar’s share of India’s electricity output increased 80 percent last year.. India added 10 gigawatts of solar in 2016. It has a goal of 100 gigawatts from solar by 2022.