Neo-Liberalising Energy Production: The Making and Unmaking of an Ultra Mega Power Project in South India

Abstract This article critiques the increasing neo-liberalisation of energy production through a case study of the coal-based Cheyyur ultra mega power project in Tamil Nadu, India. Recent literature has suggested that the state has facilitated megaproject-based neo-liberalism by exempting such projects from both environmental clearance and land acquisition processes. We argue, to the contrary, that in the case of the Cheyyur thermal power project, the poor implementation of environmental regulations and land acquisition has given space to different local and supralocal actors to legally contest and challenge destructive development. In a context where coal-based energy production is becoming uneconomical and renewable energy is being increasingly promoted, this does not bode well for such energy projects.