World’s Largest Coal Company Plans Billion-Dollar Solar Project in India

Continuing its push to increase investment in renewable energy, India’s energy ministry is working with the
Gevra coal mine India
Gevra mine, operated by Coal India Limited
state-controlled coal mining company Coal India Limited — the largest coal mining operation in the world — to install solar power projects worth $1.2 billion. The company is in the process of selecting sites for solar plants, which are expected to have a combined total energy-generating capacity of 1,000 megawatts, the Times of India reports. India currently has roughly 2,200 megawatts of grid-connected solar power capacity, so Coal India Limited’s contribution would be a substantial increase. When prime minister Narendra Modi took office earlier this year, he pledged to bring electricity to the homes of the nation’s entire population of 1.2 billion — 400 million of whom lack any access to electricity — within the next five years, largely through solar projects.