India's coal production rose by 11.03 per cent to 84.53 million tonnes (MT) in November compared to 76.14 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal. The production of Coal India Ltd (CIL) increased by 8.74 per cent to 65.97 MT in November 2023 over 60.67 MT in November last fiscal, the Coal Ministry said in a statement. CIL accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output. "The cumulative coal production (up to November 2023) has seen a quantum jump to 591.28 MT (provisional) in FY'23-24 as compared to 524.53 MT during the same period in FY' 22-23 with a growth of 12.73 per cent," the ministry said. The country's coal dispatch increased to 81.63 MT (provisional) last month in comparison to 74.87 MT (provisional) recorded in November last fiscal, registering a growth rate of 9.02 per cent. "The cumulative coal dispatch (up to November 2023) has seen a significant jump to 623.04 MT (provisional) in FY'23-24 compared to 557.80 MT during the corresponding period in ...
The future of coal in India is bright as there are technologies available which can help the country extract, use and combust the dry fuel far more sustainably, FutureCoal on Monday said. Coal is considered to be the biggest contributor to climate change with thermal electricity being responsible for nearly 30 per cent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. "The future of coal in India is bright......we believe that there are technologies that are available which can help India extract coal far more sustainably, use it far more sustainably, combust it far more sustainably, and post combustion treatment to coal can reduce Co2 emissions by as much as 99 per cent," FutureCoal Board member Sunil Chaturvedi said. The FutreCoal Global Alliance is an organisation representing the entire value chain and is dedicated to raising awareness on the contribution of the fossil fuel. He further said 70 per cent of electricity generation comes from coal. India has moved from last 15 years to ...
The country spent more than Rs 3.85 lakh crore on coal imports last year, the government said on Thursday. Though the share of coal import in total consumption came down from 26 per cent to 21 per cent in the last five years, India is importing more than 200 million tonnes (MT) of dry fuel every year, incurring huge foreign exchange outflow. "The goal of coal ministry is to enhance coal production to ensure adequate availability of coal for fast growing economy of the country. As a result of efforts of the ministry, the share of imports in total consumption reduced from 26 per cent to to 21 per cent during last 5 years," it said. Meanwhile, the ministry said it is deeply concerned about protecting forests and no coal mine has been auctioned by ignoring suggestions of the environment ministry. For example, it said, the plea of Chhattisgarh to de-notify coal mines falling under Lemru Elephant Corridor has been accepted. Areas beyond Lemru Elephant Corridor have also been considered
About 3.5-4 MT of coal is used to generate 1,000 megawatt (MW) power at 65-75% plant load factor (PLF); with the new plan, total coal usage will increase by 38%
As many as 67 first-mile connectivity (FMC) projects are expected to be completed by 2027, an official statement said on Friday. First-mile connectivity refers to the transportation of coal from pitheads to dispatch points. At a review meeting chaired by M Nagaraju, Additional Secretary, to assess the progress of FMC projects of coal companies, the ministry reviewed 67 FMC projects -- Coal India (59), SCCL (5) and NLCIL (3) -- with a capacity to load 885 MT coal per annum. These projects will be completed by 2027, according to a statement. To ensure efficient and environment-friendly coal evacuation, the government is working on the development of the National Coal Logistic Plan, including first-mile connectivity through railway sidings near coal mines and strengthening of the rail network in coalfields. The coal ministry has set a target to produce 1.31 billion tonnes (BT) of coal by FY25 and 1.5 BT in FY30. In this context, the development of coal transportation that is ...
'It is advised to all power utilities not to retire any thermal units till 2030 and ensure availability of units after carrying out renovation and modernisation activities if required'
State-owned Coal India's subsidiary NCL will soon start production of M-Sand, a material used for construction works. Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL) will start production of M-Sand or Manufactured Sand for its Amlohri project in Madhya Pradesh, according to a coal ministry statement on Tuesday. M-Sand is artificial sand produced from crushing hard stones into small sand-sized angular shaped particles, washed and finely graded to be used as construction aggregate. It is an alternative to river sand for construction works. NCL is all set to start production of M-Sand and the move is aimed at maximising the utilisation of natural resources and minimising the adverse impact of mining. Eyeing business diversification while focusing on the ecological balance, the company has set up a sand manufacturing plant using its over burden as a raw material. This pro-environment move of the company will help in conserving river bed erosion and preserve aquatic ecosystems, as per the ...
CEA V Anantha Nageswaran is looking to put his stamp on his first Economic Survey, and to that end, the 2022-23 Survey, which will be released on January 31
National transporter targets FY24 to close critical project pipeline
The furious pace of production has helped prevent the blackouts of last year but there are questions over whether the state-owned miner can sustain the pace
State-owned CIL has earned revenue worth over Rs 1.52 lakh crore from coal sales in financial year 2021-22, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Coal India (CIL) earned revenue by selling 661.89 million tonnes of coal in the last fiscal year. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said the mahartana firm has garnered Rs 29,400 crore by selling 177.59 MT of coal in the April-June period of the ongoing financial year. The revenue figure of the first quarter of FY'23 is provisional, it added. While in FY'21, CIL earned Rs 1,26,786.13 crore from sale of coal, in FY'20 the figure stood at Rs 1,34,979.13 crore. In a bid to increase the revenues of the public sector companies operating in the coal space, the government has given them a go-ahead for diversifying into other sectors including renewable energy. The captive mine owners, other than atomic minerals, can sell up to 50 per cent of their annual mineral, including coal, in the open market after meeting t
The state-owned power utility PSPCL on Saturday said the cancellation of several trains because of the protests against the Centre's Agnipath scheme is impacting movement of coal for thermal plants. Those privy to the developments said the arrival of coal rakes has gone down from around 20 rakes a day to eight rakes per day. Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), Baldev Singh Saran, said, "The cancellation of various trains due to the ongoing protests is definitely impacting the arrival of coal at five thermal power plants within the state." As per an official report, coal stock at the Goindwal thermal power plant is almost finished while it is in critical category at the Talwandi Sabo thermal power plant, which is left with stocks of less than four days. The situation is a little better at the Lehra and Rupnagar plants, which are left with 16 and 17 days of coal, respectively. The Rajpura thermal plant is having coal stock sufficient for
The country's coal production registered a rise of 33.88 per cent to 71.30 million tonnes (MT) in the month of May. Coal output in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal was 53.25 MT, as per provisional data of the Ministry of Coal. Of the top 37 coal producing mines, 23 produced more than 100 per cent, while the performance of 10 mines stood between 80 and 100 per cent, the ministry said. The thermal power generation went up by 26.18 per cent in May over the corresponding month of the previous fiscal. "The overall power generation in May 2022 has been 23.32 per cent higher than in April 2021 and 2.63 per cent higher than the power generated in April 2022," it said. Coal-based power generation dropped by 3.82 per cent to 98,609 million units (MU) in May against 1,02,529 MU in April 2022. However, total power generation increased to 1,40,059 MU in May against 1,36,465 MU in April 2022 on account of hydro and wind energy.
The railways spent more than Rs 150 crore in repairing around 2,000 damaged and dilapidated wagons over the last four months to augment coal movement to power plants, according to official data. It also said that around 9,982 such wagons were listed as damaged in January, the numbers of which reduced to 7,803 by May 2, with the railways managing to repair 2,179 wagons in time for the coal demand to peak in the country. Officials said it cost the national transporter around Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh to repair each wagon. Sources indicate that damage to wagons has become a cause of concern for the ministry since private contractors used by power plants to unload coal began substituting manual unloading with JCBs. "JCBs hit the interior of the wagons and damage them severely. While earlier, this unloading was done manually, now it is being done through JCBs which have resulted in a significant increase in the number of wagons that are damaged. We are repairing them at a fast pace and usi
The government is planning to strengthen the rail infrastructure and has stressed on commissioning 14 critical coal-evacuation rail projects for faster transportation of fuel
India's coal output stood at 75 million tonnes (MT) in January 2020
Coal production from captive mines is expected to reach 120 MT during the next financial year
The new wastewater rule requires power plants to clean coal ash and toxic heavy metals
Lender needs to finance coal projects to electrify more Indian homes, as it works with investors like BlackRock Inc that are keen on renewables.
These projects include coal washeries, coal gasification, first-mile connectivity for building coal silos/mechanised loading, offering mines to private firms under mine developer and operator model