India’s Deadliest Coal Power Plants Must Close to Save Lives, Study Reveals

India faces a severe air pollution crisis, with scientists identifying 30 of the country’s power plants as the primary culprits. These plants are responsible for approximately a quarter of the nation’s Pollution-related deaths. With electricity generation consuming nearly 75% of India’s coal, the need for modern air Pollution control systems is critical. Despite regulations established in 2015, fewer than 5% of India’s power plants have adopted these technologies.

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A recent study by Stanford University, led by Kirat Singh, evaluated the performance of Indian power plants. Singh’s team aimed to identify the plants contributing disproportionately to the mortality burden. This extensive study involved simulating the shutdown of each power plant individually, a process repeated 510 times. The team leveraged the university’s computing resources, a task that spanned three months.

The results confirmed their hypothesis: certain power plants have a significantly higher impact on health. The annual death toll linked to these plants ranged from a few to 670. Notably, about 25% of the health burden came from plants producing just 3% of India’s electricity. These high-impact plants typically burn low-quality lignite, emitting large amounts of sulfur Pollution, yet age did not correlate with their harmfulness.

Singh emphasized the importance of targeting the most damaging units for emission reductions. Strategies such as deploying Pollution control technologies or transitioning to zero-emissions electricity could significantly decrease mortality rates.

In 2021, India revised its regulations to focus on power plants near cities with over one million people. However, Singh’s research highlighted that many of the most harmful plants were excluded from this criterion. The most damaging plants are predominantly located in southern India. While implementing Pollution controls is time-consuming and rapid closures could cause power shortages, the study showed that shifting generation from the most to the least harmful plants could prevent approximately 8,000 early deaths annually across the four most affected states.

India plans to increase coal-generated electricity by 50% between 2018 and 2030, potentially preventing 844,000 premature deaths if these new plants are not constructed. Dr. Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, advocates for greater investment in clean energy to meet India’s ambitious targets, enhancing public health and stimulating a green economic transformation. Prof. Drew Shindell of Duke University echoed this sentiment, highlighting the dual benefits of improved air quality and reduced Climate change through decarbonization.

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