A 12 GW coal-fired plant is being planned by India’s Reliance Energy. At a cost of $11 billion, the world’s largest coal-fired plant is planned for the eastern state of Orissa and will be located on a single site near a mine mouth.

Reliance Energy chairman Anil Ambani reportedly told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting that the plant “will be the world’s largest pit-head coal-based power plant.”

Although shares in the group rose at the news, some are sceptical that the project, which if built will meet more than a third of the annual power capacity expansion demanded by India’s current five-year plan, will come to pass, particularly given existing environmental concerns.

Reliance Energy has apparently already started work on a 3,740 MW gas-fired plant in the state of Uttar Pradesh at an estimated cost of $2.4 billion in addition to a second 1,000 MW gas-fired plant also in Uttar Pradesh. The company is also reportedly considering a 4,000 MW gas-fired plant in Maharashtra.