India’s Power Minister Piyush Goyal has told politicians the country has identified 5.5 gigawatts (GW) of inefficient coal-fired power plants to be retired, as the country looks to cut emissions and make better use of its coal reserves.

The Central Electrical Authority (CEA) has identified coal-fired plants, which are more than 25 years old, for retirement in a phased manner on the basis of their “inefficiency and un-economic operation,” Mr Goyal said.

Reuters newsagency reports he did not provide details on the timeframe over which they would be phased out.

Around 78 per cent of generated power in India still comes from coal-fired plants, making it one of the biggest users in the world of the dirty and cheap fuel.

Coal-fired plants account for about 195GW of India’s 330GW of installed power capacity, data on the CEA’s website shows.

India, which is also undergoing a program to retrofit several coal-fired plants to reduce emissions, has retired about 4.0GW of coal-fired power plants over the past two years.

However, state-run power utility NTPC plans to invest US$10 billion in new coal-fired power stations over the next five years.

This is despite the electricity regulator’s assessment that thermal plants now under construction will be able to meet demand until 2027, Reuters reported