India can save $1.2 billion a year by shutting old coal plants: Study

India can potentially save Rs 8,940 crore ($1.2 billion) a year by shutting down some old coal-burning power plants and allowing newer ones to run for longer hours, according to a study.

The country should accelerate decommissioning 30 gigawatts of inefficient coal-fired capacity and set aside another 20 gigawatts of plants as reserve, a move that will lead to cost savings as well as reduce pollution, the study by New Delhi-based Council on Energy, Environment and Water, or CEEW, said.

Closing down the old plants, which consume more coal than a newer counterpart to produce a unit of power, can help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, clean up the country’s air and reduce soil and water pollution. Shutting down the old plants will also improve capacity use of the thermal fleet, currently saddled by under-utilization.