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Coal India, the world’s largest coal-producing firm, is reopening greater than 30 mines and launching as much as 5 extra on greenfield websites this yr, saying the nation’s renewables sector is but unable to satisfy its rising vitality demand.
“By the point renewable technology and battery storage programs turn out to be larger, higher and extra environment friendly, then the share of coal can come down,” PM Prasad, chair of state-owned Coal India, informed the Monetary Occasions in an interview.
Prasad mentioned he was reopening 32 defunct coal mines on a revenue-sharing foundation with privately owned native companions, with half a dozen scheduled to begin manufacturing in fiscal 2025-26.
The mines have been beforehand shut down as a result of they have been uneconomical, owing to reliance on “guide mining” and “small machines”, he mentioned. In December, India’s coal ministry introduced plans to convey closed mines again on line to extend manufacturing and scale back imports.
“That is now occurring,” Prasad mentioned. The federal government had already awarded tenders for 27 of such mines this yr and the remaining 5 have been “within the pipeline” and can be granted quickly.
Most demand for coal on this planet’s fifth-largest financial system is met by native manufacturing, primarily by Coal India. The corporate has 310 mines working throughout the nation, supplying about three-quarters of nationwide coal demand.
Regardless of huge investments in photo voltaic and wind farms by native conglomerates akin to Tata Group, India nonetheless depends on coal for 74 per cent of its electrical energy technology. The federal government forecasts that share will fall to 55 per cent by 2030 and to 27 per cent by 2047.
Funding in renewable vitality in India totalled greater than $13bn final yr, far in need of the $68bn wanted yearly to realize the federal government’s objective of manufacturing 500 gigawatts of energy from inexperienced sources by 2030, based on vitality think-tank Ember.
Prasad mentioned the state-run miner was sticking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dedication for the nation to achieve web zero carbon emissions in lower than 5 a long time.
“We are going to attain peak coal by 2035, then it should flatten, then it should positively come down by 2047 and be phased down by 2070,” he mentioned, explaining {that a} small quantity of coal manufacturing would nonetheless be wanted even then.
India holds the world’s fifth-largest coal reserves and the authorities has mentioned the gas “stays essential”.
The nation, which is the world’s fastest-growing main financial system, has been resisting worldwide stress to maneuver extra rapidly to cut back the usage of the polluting fossil gas. India is specializing in making an attempt to turn out to be a producing hub.
In March, mining minister G Kishan Reddy mentioned India had “achieved a historic milestone” by producing greater than 1bn tonnes of coal within the fiscal yr 2024-25, with output up 5 per cent in contrast with the earlier yr.
Prasad forecast that Coal India alone would high 1bn tonnes in output by 2029 after producing 781mn tonnes final yr. The federal government expects general home coal manufacturing to develop by 6-7 per cent yearly to achieve 1.5bn tonnes by 2030.
The Coal India chair mentioned the vitality wants of the nation of 1.4bn folks have been “very excessive due to the rising aspirations” and efforts to attach extra properties to {the electrical} grid. To satisfy such demand, the corporate was making ready to divulge heart’s contents to 5 new opencast mines on greenfield websites, he mentioned.
Coal India produces most of its coal from opencast mines, which is extra polluting than underground mining, however Prasad insisted it mined “in a sustainable method”. To diversify away from coal forward of 2070, the corporate is investing in photo voltaic and wind vitality tasks.
India opened industrial coal mining to the non-public sector in solely 2018 and personal conglomerates, together with the highly effective Adani Group, now personal and function mines, however at small scale in contrast with Coal India.
“India must mine coal for the approaching a long time, and Coal India is the one firm which may do that at scale,” mentioned Rohit Chandra, a coal knowledgeable on the Indian Institute of Know-how Delhi.
