Green energy transition can unlock Rs5.4L cr investment for Vidarbha: Report
Such a saving will be equivalent to removing 12.5 million or 1.25 crore polluting cars from the roads, which is equal to one-third of total vehicles (3.77 crores) in Maharashtra, an environmental think-tank has said.
A green transition in Chandrapur-Nagpur-Yavatmal (CNY), Maharashtra's coal energy hub, can potentially unlock Rs5.4 lakh crore investment, 3.4 lakh jobs and 4% regional GDP growth by 2035, finds a report by iFOREST, an international forum for environment, sustainability and technology.
The CNY region, responsible for 100% of Maharashtra's coal production and half its coal-based thermal power capacity, is the state's energy backbone. With resource exhaustion triggering coal decline by 50% in the next decade, the repurposing of closed and retiring coal mines can propel CNY into Maharashtra's green industry and energy hub, the report said.
According to Dr Chandra Bhushan, CEO of iFOREST, saving 25 million tonnes of carbon emissions would have a long-lasting effect as it would mean removing 1.25 crore cars from roads permanently.
In a move to secure India's clean energy future, iFOREST, in collaboration with Maharashtra govt's Department of Environment and Climate Change, released the first-ever Regional Just Transition Investment Plan recently, focused on the CNY region.
The 10-year blueprint identifies three Economic Development Nodes — Bhadrawati–Wani, Rajura–Chandrapur, and Umred—which can together repurpose 6,000 hectares of coal mine land into green energy and industrial hubs.
Highest solar potential found in the CNY region is expected to generate 37 GW of solar energy opportunities.
According to a report, Rs33,400 crore from public investments, coal companies and power utilities can fund land reclamation and repurposing.
Maharashtra chief secretary Sujata Saunik, said, "Our focus should be to attract investment for development of renewable energy projects and green industrial clusters.
We also need to expand electrification from personal vehicles to commercial transportation. This transition will be driven by policy frameworks that unlock green finance and support innovation. Maharashtra has consistently led from the front in adopting progressive policies for climate resilience and sustainability.
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Praveen Pardeshi, the chief economic advisor to the chief minister, and CEO, MITRA said, "Forty percent of Maharashtra's energy is used by farmers to pump water for irrigation. Moving them to solar pumps is our biggest ongoing success story. We need innovative nudge policies and behaviour change incentives to support a transition of this scale from traditional energy sources."
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