Coal India goes hot for solar

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The company plans to set up a total 1,000MW green energy plants between 2014 and 2019.

State-run Coal India is diversifying its business with a plan to install 600MW of solar power in four states, including West Bengal and Maharashtra.

The announcement is part of the second phase of the mining major's plan to set up a total 1,000MW green energy plants between 2014 and 2019, the Economic Times reported. The first phase involves installing two 100MW solar power plants in Madhya Pradesh.

"In the second phase CIL is going to develop a capacity of 600MW in the solar parks of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Maharashtra,” the coal major said in its annual report, according to the news outlet.

The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has already floated tenders for the second phase of Coal India's project.

Coal India has already installed a 2MW solar power plant in Mahanadi Coalfields in Burla, a 0.19MW solar power plant in CMPDIL in Ranchi, and 0.14MW solar power plant at the CIL headquarters in Kolkata.