Thermal power is going to stay until energy storage becomes cost-effective for round-the-clock supply through renewable energy, he added. "The country absolutely needs at least 80,000 MW (80 GW) of capacity addition from today till 2031-32, which is essential to meet our base load requirements," Singh said while interacting with stakeholders in the power sector on Tuesday. Non-solar hours are going to be a serious challenge, considering growing power demand and weather events like in August this year, he said.
