Coal Power

Over 24,000 megawatt of coal and lignite-based power generation capacity is at various stages of planning in the country, Parliament was informed on Monday. A total of 39,545 MW of thermal capacity (including 4,845 MW of stressed thermal power projects) is currently under various stages of construction, Union Minister Shripad Naik said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. While contracts of 22,920 MW have been awarded and is due for construction, another 24,020 MW of coal and lignite-based candidate capacity has been identified, which is at various stages of planning in the country, the Minister of State said. He said the projected thermal (coal and lignite) capacity requirement by the year 2034-35 is estimated at approximately 3,07,000 MW as against the 2,11,855 MW installed capacity as on March 31, 2023. To meet this requirement, the Ministry of Power has envisaged to set up an additional minimum 97,000 MW coal- and lignite-based thermal capacity, Naik said. The minister also said

The country's coal demand, which had remained weak earlier in the current financial year, is poised for a boost in the coming days on the back of a sharp turnaround in electricity consumption, an industry expert said on Sunday. Vinaya Varma, Managing Director of mjunction services ltd -- a B2B e-commerce platform and joint venture of SAIL and Tata Steel -- said after successive months of negative growth in October and November, power demand staged a strong recovery in December with a 6.3 per cent growth. "The tempo has been maintained with power consumption continuing to rise in January as well, due to a harsh winter and general improvement in economic activities," Varma said. "This, we believe, will boost coal demand in the coming days," he added. The country's coal sector, after hitting a record one-billion-tonne production milestone, is staring at a surprise demand slowdown, forcing major public firms and new commercial miners to rethink expansion plans amid rising ...

China's coal-fired generation fell 1.6% last year while India's declined 3%, according to Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air writing for Carbon Brief

Expanding renewable energy must go hand in hand with growth in storage capacity

The share of coal in India's energy mix will shrink to 30-35 per cent by 2047, and responsible use of the fossil fuel is key to future development, experts said. The coal's share in India's electricity mix is currently at 70 per cent. India achieved over one billion tonnes of coal production in FY25, with coal-based power contributing 72 per cent to total electricity generation. Former chairman and managing director of Coal India Ltd, P M Prasad, said that over the coming three to four decades, the priority must be slashing emissions and rolling out best practices wherever feasible. "By 2047, coal's share is expected to come down from the current levels to around 30-35 per cent. We understand that. But as long as that 35 per cent remains, we must develop responsibly," said Prasad, currently the Chairman of the India Chapter of FutureCoal - the global alliance for sustainable coal. The India Chapter, launched with Coal India Limited and Gainwell Engineering as founding members, ...

The proposal, currently under discussion between the power ministry and the government's policy making agency NITI Aayog, marks a major shift

The Resource Adequacy Plan estimates Rajasthan will require only 1,905 MW of additional coal capacity by 2035-36, far less than the 3,200 MW sought

Coal still meets about two-thirds of India's electricity demand, and the government has announced plans to add nearly 90 gigawatts of additional capacity through 2032

Indian policymakers are drawing up an updated climate change pledge to be presented to the UN by early November. The world's watching closely

In 2021, India's Ministry of Power mandated the use of homemade equipment under its "Make in India" initiative, which sought to bolster local manufacturing

Today's Opinion Page is dominated by the issue of US tariffs, and what India can do to mitigate its effects. How will it impact India's GDP, and is turning to China really a wise call. Read on.

India must cut emissions from coal power with efficiency upgrades, biomass co-firing, and policy reforms while scaling up clean energy

These alarming figures underscore the urgent need for stronger environmental policies

The mandate to install FGD for another 11% of the plants near populated cities would be taken on a case-to-case basis

The China Nuclear Energy Association report highlights Beijing's aim to reach 200GW installed nuclear capacity by 2040, shifting away from coal and stabilising its energy mix

The world's most populous country plans to spend nearly $80 billion on water-hungry coal plants by 2031 to power growing industries like data center operations

India's coal-fired power generation fell 9.5 per cent in May on an annual basis to 113.3 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh)

An early monsoon, subdued heat, and tepid power demand have left coal miners with large pithead stocks, prompting a rethink of coal evacuation plans and long-term supply linkages

India has seen a dramatic boom in renewable energy installations - but that's not been enough to supply increasing power needs, prompting the government to also double down on coal power

While coal and gas-based power generation experienced reductions of 5% and 15%, respectively, hydro, nuclear, and renewable energy sources saw a rise