In India, Tamil Nadu eyes coal power reboot in spite of local fears

India’s southern Tamil Nadu state is considering restarting a shelved 1.6 gigawatts (GW) coal-fired power project in Uppur, two state government officials said, as its debt-ridden utility seeks to expand its coal fleet to address rising power demand.

The state, India’s second most-industrialized, epitomises the country’s approach to balancing energy security and tackling climate change as Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares to head to Glasgow for the U.N. COP26 summit may build more as they generate the cheapest power, despite calls to deter use of the dirty fuel.

The project was shelved in March after the National Green Tribunal temporarily suspended an environmental permit granted to the project, citing concerns from local farmers and fishermen over land acquisition,