Coal India Ramps Up Solar Capex, Surpasses FY26 Target With Rs 961 Cr Spend

Coal India Limited (CIL) has recently shifted focus to scaling up its solar power capacity addition, as an alternative green energy source. After falling well behind the targets it set itself in 2020-21, the new shift is a welcome move from the largest coal miner in the world. This can be reflected in the scaling up of the company’s capital expenditure on solar initiatives, which, according to a press release shared by CIL, shot up to Rs. 961 Crores ending January FY 2026.  

CIL says this is 132% target satisfaction against the progressive target of Rs. 729 Crores till January 2026. In the process, it had also surpassed FY 2026, the capex target under solar projects, which was pegged at Rs. 957 Crores. On a year-on-year (YoY) comparison, CIL capex on solar till January 2026 surged ahead by more than double to 2.33 times against Rs. 412 Crores.

Currently, the cost of setting up 1 MW of solar capacity hovers around Rs. 4 Crores to Rs. 4.5 Crores, which is a slide down from earlier Rs. 5.5 Crores to Rs. 6 Crores/MW.  Coal India had also planned to, and then dropped the idea of getting into solar manufacturing earlier in 2023.

A senior executive of the company said, "Solar power lists high on CIL’s diversification portfolio.  Among the cleaner energy sources, solar will play a pivotal role in the future and we are laying the groundwork to remain relevant in the country’s energy sector. We are actively participating in solar auctions, as well.” 

CIL Aims To Install 3 GW Of Renewable Solar By FY 2028 

Currently, CIL is targeting to install 3,000 MW of renewable solar capacity by FY 2028 to be a Net-Zero entity. Till December 2025, CIL and its subsidiaries set up renewable energy capacity installation of around 247 MW, which is expected to go up to 675 MW by the current fiscal year’s closure. The upcoming capacity addition includes two major solar power projects in Gujarat, 100 MW in Patan and 300 MW in Khavda. 

Beyond these projects, CIL is also actively scouting for 2,000 MW of RE capacity in the near term through its subsidiaries and joint ventures. One is a 875 MW plant with Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRUVNL), and the other is a 500 MW capacity plant through Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited ina phased manner. Further bids have been invited for a 20 MW floating solar plant in Gorakhpur. 

Additionally, CIL is taking part in Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) tenders for solar power development across multiple states. Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is also on the company’s radar. For instance, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), a Coal India Limited (CIL) subsidiary, issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) in December 2025 to set up a 60 MWh BESS facility within Odisha.