Why banning new coal-run power plants is a good idea

It seems the government is contemplating a ban on setting up new coal-based power stations. The plants which are already under construction will be allowed to continue, of course.This move, prima facie, is surprising because the government has also said that in order to meet the power demand in 2029-30, an additional capacity of about 16,000 MW of coal-based capacity would be required, which would be over and above the capacity of about 27,000 MW already under construction. The need for additional capacity of 16,900 MW has been cited in the report of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) called Optimal Generation Capacity Mix, which was released recently. In fact, there are two versions of this report. The first was published in January 2.....