Dying coal plants hold the key to NTPC’s, and India’s, ‘green’ transition

Reviving defunct plants instead of building new ones could help avoid undue investments in fossil fuels and prove to be a game changer for the company’s renewables ambitions.

India’s largest power producer, NTPC, is at a crossroads.

The state-owned company has to make a crucial decision: should it build more coal plants or acquire defunct ones? The answer could have a bearing on India’s energy security and transition to renewable energy.

NTPC’s expansion always relied on building new coal-fired plants or acquiring the government’s stake in already operational projects. Nearly a decade ago, its management contemplated buying out defunct coal plants that were lying unused. The idea remained stalled.

Until September last year, when it acquired a stranded power plant in Madhya Pradesh from the Avantha group to …