Coal ministry prioritises turning Coal India into a 'clean' company

Environmentalists have long been saying that thermal power generation process greatly adds to pollution levels

In its quest to make Coal India a cleaner company, the coal ministry has prioritised development and adoption of clean coal technologies like coal to liquid, coal to polychemicals among other initiatives.

A statement issued by Coal India, quoted Coal Secretary Susheel Kumar, as stating that the ministry has emphasised on environmental management and responsible mining, quality of the product and safety of the labourers working in the mines as the other priority areas for the company.

The official was in the city to attend the 43rd Foundation Day of Coal India.

The statement issued noted that the grade slippage between promised quality and delivered quality, which has been one of the key concerns of the coal consumers across segments, will be dealt with while the company will also ensure that environmental norms and workers' safety procedures are followed diligently.

Optimistic about Coal India generating better profits in the future as coal demand goes up, Kumar said that Coal India has to do everything possible to reduce specific coal consumption - that is the amount of coal burned to produce one unit of power - so that there is less burning of coal and less carbon emission.

A Coal India official said that at a time when the world is adapting itself to reduce emission and carbon footprint, the company also needs to fall in line.

"We need to reduce emissions and control pollution for posterity", the official said.

Environmentalists have been saying for long that thermal power generation process greatly adds to pollution levels on account of burning coal, and have been asking governments across the globe to switch over and prioritise greener technologies like solar and wind power.

Even as India is striving to up its solar and wind power generation capacity, Gopal Singh, the company's chairman said that the energy sector in the country is on the cusp of transformation and coal-based power generation shall go up. Currently, 73 per cent of the power generation of the country is coal-based and the planned new coal-based thermal capacity is likely to put pressure on coal resources. Coal-based power generation capacity of 125 GW in 2012 is likely to go up to more than 330-441 GW by 2040. Last year, it stood at 192 GW.

As per Singh, the demand for these plants is likely to be first met by domestic coal, which will require quick exploitation of the reserves, calling for resource assessment, optimum mining and efficient use.

Coal India officials are of the view that the share of coal in India's commercial primary energy supply was 55 per cent in 2015-16 and is expected to remain high at 48-54 per cent in 2040.