General Electric Company (GE) has expressed the intention to exit the new build coal power market across the world, but GE Power India (GEPIL) — the American multinational firm’s Indian subsidiary — is still assessing the holding company’s decision and its impact on business activities in the country. “Unlike a number of other countries globally, India continues to rely on coal for base load power,” GEPIL said in response to FE’s queries.
“GEPIL will therefore continue to focus its efforts on maintaining its business in India aligned with the local market dynamics and the national interests of India,” it said, indicating that the company’s transaction with coal is not yet over, at least in India. GEPIL shares closed at `442.1 on Tuesday, 5.7% lower than Monday’s peak when the announcement was made.
Though questions are being raised regarding the future of coal-based power plants with the rising share of renewable energy, senior GEPIL officials had earlier told FE that this is the best time to upgrade thermal power plants to integrate intermittent renewable energy smoothly in the grid. With 175 gigawatt of renewable energy expected to come up by 2023, thermal plants will have to be upgraded to enable them to go online and offline much faster to accommodate unpredictable power sources.
Currently, GEPIL is executing around 25.2 GW emissions control projects and around 32 GW of boilers projects for power plants across the country.
