Mint Explainer: Coal is here to stay, but India needs to make its use cleaner

As a nation dependent on coal for meeting more than half of its energy needs and about 72% of its electricity needs, India has a challenging task ahead to reduce carbon emissions to meet its net zero commitment by 2070. Given its vast domestic reserves and rising demand for power, coal will continue to be one of the key sources of energy.

India’s estimated coal reserves of 361 billion tonne, the fourth largest in the world, are enough to last more than a century. However, India’s coal is not top grade – it has high ash content and relatively low calorific value. To make the best use of coal reserves and yet reduce emissions, the government is finalising a blueprint for greener use of fossil fuel under its Vision 2047.

This entails coal gasification and increased emphasis on underground mining among various measures. How dependent is India on coal for its energy needs? Many of the biggest power generation plants in the country are based on coal. These include power plants of state owned NTPC, , and . India’s installed power capacity as of May 2023 was about 418 GW.

Of this, the overall capacity of fossil based power plants was about 237 GW, with the share of coal at 205 GW. Thus, 49% of the total installed power generation capacity is based on coal. Given India’s growth potential and rising demand for power, the demand for coal is projected to rise from the current requirement of nearly one billion tonnes to 1.5 billion tonnes by 2029 30.

Domestic production is less than demand, necessitating imports. With ramping up production in the past year, import of thermal coal for blending at power plants fell 44% in April November 2023, government data show. Coal is also used for non power uses such as in the manufacture of steel and cement.

Steel plants use coking coal in blast furnaces, a bulk of which is imported from countries such as Australia and Russia. As a signatory of the 2016 Paris Agreement, India has committed to reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% from the 2005 levels by 2030 and limiting its cumulative installed power capacity from non fossil fuel sources to 50%.

As the second largest user of coal, measures adopted by India to reduce emissions can contribute to global efforts to mitigate the effect of climate change. However, as a developing nation with rapidly rising energy demand, India has to find ways to balance development with coal usage. What has India been doing to make its coal use cleaner? Gasification of coal is seen as a way forward for the sustainable use of fossil fuels.

India has a National Coal Gasification Mission in place and intends to achieve 100 million tonnes of gasification by 2030. The government has announced incentives such as a 50% rebate for sharing of revenues for future commercial block auctions of coal used for gasification. There are plans to set aside 6,000 crore to be used as viability gap funding for gasification projects.

Additionally, the government is considering measures to encourage the underground mining of coal as nearly 90% of the production comes from open cast mines. Underground mining is less disruptive as it does not involve clearing forests or displacing habitation. However, open cast mining will continue to dominate for years.

Other measures include exploration and development of coal bed methane blocks and beneficiation of coking coal. Is coal gasification the way forward in India? Gasification is a process where coal is converted into synthesis gas or syngas when it is oxidised at very high temperatures. Syngas is composed of carbon monoxide and hydrogen and can be put to a variety of uses such as the generation of electricity and the production of ammonia, fertilisers and petrochemicals.

After various contaminants are removed from syngas, it can be used as a substitute for natural gas. Several countries have attempted coal gasification, with mixed results. China has been aggressively pushing coal gasification but the US has not been successful. China currently produces most of its ammonia through coal gasification.

In India, Coal India has signed MoUs with BHEL, GAIL and IOC to take up coal gasification projects in the country. Talcher Fertilizer is setting up of an integrated urea plant based on coal gasification to produce 1.27 million metric tonnes per annum of neem coated urea. Pre feasibility reports have been prepared to set up coal gasification projects in Eastern Coalfields, Mahanadi Coalfields and NLC India.

There are a few other coal gasification projects and pilots underway, including a few in the private sector, but some are facing operational issues due to the quality of coal. The challenge for coal gasification for India is the quality of its coal. The more successful gasification technologies require relatively low ash coal.

India will need to find and adopt the technology most suited for the quality of coal found in the country if gasification has to be successful. The cost of gasification will be another challenge that India will need to deal with. Will coal usage fall with the rise of renewable energy sources such as solar? India’s coal reserves are too huge to be ignored even though it has high ash content, more so given the country’s dependence on imports for crude petroleum and natural gas.

Besides thermal power plants are built to last for decades, and they will need coal to generate electricity. As the country’s power demand will only rise with greater development and urbanisation, India will need to keep every efficient coal based plant running. The older polluting ones will need to be scrapped.

Over the years, as the share of power generated from renewable sources rises, the share of coal in total power generated will come down but the quantum of power generated using coal will rise for years. India’s commitment to reducing emissions will make it necessary for it to find sustainable ways to use its coal reserves..