Coal plants fail on pollution norms, may cost 4,800 lives every year: Study

Research by independent group warns against rise in respiratory diseases and economic loss if air pollution increases.

India is racing to install solar capacity and shift its energy mix to renewables, but a study says it has not complied with norms set in 2015 to fix pollution caused by coal-based power plants.

The study said that if India operates 55 per cent plant load factor capacity (PLF) at 2018 levels, it could lose 4,828 lives every year in 19 states and union territories. If coal-based plants operate at 100 per cent capacity, the number of deaths due to air pollution will increase by 70 per cent to 8,200 deaths every year.

If plants run full steam, there would be