Adani to build one of biggest in world solar power plant - India

Abbott's frustrated statement that holding up the Adani coal mine in Queensland is holding up 100,000 people in India from getting electricity, looks even more patheticly false with this interesting little fact.

Adani is to build one of the biggest solar power plants in the world, in India. Predictions are too that solar will become cheaper than coal by 2017. 

It also makes the economic viability of mining the Galilee Basin even more shaky. Why would India want to burn coal when solar is cheaper?  

Adani Group, owned by billionaire Gautam Adani, has signed an agreeement with the Tamil Nadu government for a solar park, which would be among the largest in the world. 

Adani would invest Rs 4,536 crore in the project that would involve setting up of a 648 Mega-Watt solar power plant. Construction is expected to begin in August, and completed by March 2016. 

Jayalalitha's administration has decided to buy 2,000 MW of solar power in an attempt to diversify from sole reliance on coal-powered plants. That also ties in with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's national solar mission which encourages private players to set up solar plants with a goal to produce 100 Giga-watts of power by 2022. Currently, India's installed grid capacity stands at 3,744 MW. Solar power costs have plunged, making them a viable alternative to coal. more