Coal India committed to achieving carbon offset of 60k tonnes by year-end

State-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) is committed to achieving a carbon offset of over 60,000 tonnes by the end of this year, according to a statement issued by the coal ministry on Tuesday.

Apart from taking immediate action for efficient use of energy, CIL, which accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output, has also drawn an ambitious five-year plan of carbon offset in different fields of its operation.

"...CIL is committed to achieve a carbon offset of more than 60,000 tonnes by the end of this year which will be a major breakthrough," the coal ministry said in the statement.

To reduce carbon footprint in its operational area, CIL has put a special thrust on energy efficiency measures and is forging ahead with a series of measures to offset carbon emission in mining operation in all its coal producing companies.

Coal companies have several areas for implementing energy efficiency measures such as colonies, buildings, offices and industrial establishments apart from efficient power supply management.

However, the major reduction in carbon emission comes from various mining activities like heavy earth moving machines (HEMM), transport, ventilation and pumping.

With the help of its subsidiaries, CIL had been taking various energy conservation and efficiency measures over the years.

The company's major thrust is on replacing the huge fleet of HEMM equipment running either by CIL departmentally or contractually on diesel consumption with liquefied natural gas (LNG).

This will be a major breakthrough in not only cutting down cost but also in reducing carbon emissions.

CIL, which comes under the coal ministry, has taken initiatives to go for a pilot project in collaboration with GAIL in some mine sites of CIL before starting the bulk use of LNG.

GAIL will establish an LNG storage and dispensing system, and arrange transport of LNG from terminal to mine site, among others.

BEML will provide all technical assistance. The performance of dumper and engine will be monitored and studied during the entire pilot period in collaboration with Cummins. One of the pilot project at Bharatpur Opencast Mine of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, a CIL arm, in Odisha will be completed by the end of this year.

A comprehensive model is being devised to convert maximum heavy vehicles on LNG in the coming years.

Another important addition will be the introduction of around 1,500 e-vehicles in all mining areas of CIL over a period of the next five years. Around 200 e-vehicles alone will be put in operation by the end of this year.

Pumping of water in both opencast and underground mines is done on a large scale through orthodox equipment which results in more energy consumption. CIL will introduce around 1,700 energy-efficient motors for pumps in all its mining operations.

In its various establishments, CIL will replace around 5,000 conventional airconditioners and other appliances by energy-efficient star-rated appliances. Similarly, around 2.5 lakh LED lights will be introduced in place of conventional lights to save energy.

More than 1 lakh energy-efficient super fans will be used in offices by replacing old ones. In colonies, around 2,200 street lights will be put on auto timer to save energy.

"On implementation of aforementioned energy efficiency measures, CIL has envisaged to create a carbon offset of around 2.5 lakh tonnes in the next five years," it said.