India’s coal-fired power plants shun clean tech, with a little help from the government

Repeated extensions of the deadline for installing equipment to control toxic sulphur dioxide emissions point to a government that is unable to face down a strong fossil fuel lobby.

In Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, the cooling towers of the state’s largest coal-fired power plant dwarf everything around them. Smoke billows out of giant chimneys as the super critical thermal plant churns out electricity that meets a quarter of the state’s needs.

The plant, run by the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company, or Mahagenco, has gained notoriety over the years for flouting emission norms. Locals have long complained of respiratory illnesses and deaths due to the plant's operations. A team of researchers, currently facing a defamation suit from MahaGenco, were able to link 85 premature deaths in Chandrapur and 62 deaths …