Coal Demand

Downpour allows power plants to stock coal for upcoming summer months

Unusually high temperatures for this time of year are fueling predictions that electricity demand might rise to a record this summer

Demand for coal is estimated to reach 1,087 million tonne in the ongoing financial year, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. As against the increased coal demand, domestic production of the fossil fuel has also increased. "For the current year 2022-23, coal demand has been assessed by the Ministry (coal) to reach 1,087 MT," Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. The actual demand for coal increased to 1,027.92 million tonne (MT) in FY22 from 906.13 MT in FY21. In FY22, the domestic coal production increased 8.67 per cent to 778.19 MT from 716.08 MT in FY21, the minister said. Several steps have been taken by the government to increase the production of coal in the country. These include identification and development of new coal blocks, including through captive and commercial route and single window clearance portal for the coal sector to speed up the operationalisation of coal mines. Being an affordable source of energy with substantial reserve

Coal India, companies with captive coal mines in steel, power and other sectors will be at an advantage

Coal is dirty -- it makes up for 40 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, its mining wreaks havoc on the environment and burning it produces pollutants like mercury which are linked to acid rain and particulate matter that causes respiratory illnesses. But the war in Ukraine has caused a mini-energy crisis globally, pushing its use to record levels this year. And India, the world's third largest energy consumer, was at the forefront of the global rise in coal usage as it fell back on the easiest available fossil fuel in the face of a surge in oil and gas prices that threatened to derail the economic recovery from the pandemic. The trends of coal consumption and production this year indicate that the dirty fuel is here to stay despite the nation's ambitious target of meeting 50 per cent of energy requirements from renewable energy and non-fossil fuel capacity of 500 GW by 2030. India's coal consumption has doubled since 2007 at an annual growth rate of 6 per cent an

CIL has set a target of 700 million tonnes (MT) for FY23

'Both domestic exploration and buying stake in overseas mineral mines is on the agenda'

Countries within OECD policy forum and European Union on track to close more than 75% of their coal power capacity from 2010 to 2030

The war in Ukraine has forced India to review its plans to scale back the fuel in the overall energy mix

The Centre on Wednesday said that the demand for coal in India is still to reach its peak and the dry fuel will continue to play a key role in the energy mix till 2040 and beyond. Therefore, shift from coal will not happen in foreseeable future in the country, according to coal minister Pralhad Joshi. Joshi in his opening remarks, while chairing a meeting of Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the coal ministry, said that there is a push towards energy transition away from coal in the global world. "However, for India, coal, being an affordable source of energy, holds prime importance for meeting its energy needs being fuelled by rising economy," he said. Coal accounts for more than 51 per cent of India's primary energy requirement and around 73 per cent of power generation. During the meeting it was also informed by the coal ministry that although there are no immediate challenges of coal phase down, companies involved in coal mining will have to manage the closure of already

Given the global energy crisis, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that coal is going to be back again as gas has become unaffordable. Sitharaman, who attended the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, said the western world has seen countries moving to coal. The Western world has seen countries moving to coal. Austria has already said, and todaythey are going back to coal, Sitharaman told a group of reporters from India during an interaction on Saturday. Russia has sharply curtailed natural gas shipments to Europe in retaliation for sanctions that the West put in place after its invasion of Ukraine. In late April, Russia cut off gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland after they refused Moscow's demand to pay for the deliveries in rubles, Russia's currency. Also, apart from that many countries in the West are moving away from coal to generate electricity as it contributes to climate change and air pollution. Responding to a question on her

The domestic market has also seen a sharp correction in steel prices from peak levels

The Union coal ministry is confident that till September-end, there will be 9-10 days of coal stock at the power units

There has also been an increase of 7 per cent in freight leads, or the distance travelled for transportation of goods, which is a source of higher revenue for the railways

In the past one year, the non-power sector has seen coal dispatch fall by 33 per cent

In addition, about 4.5 MT coal stock is available at various goods shed sidings, private washeries and ports and is awaiting to be transported to the power plants

Government data shows buying May 27-June 15 was up 6-fold; US says it does not want to see a 'rapid acceleration'.

This is the 21st consecutive month of the national transporter topping its own freight loading record

Coal supplies at power plants are shrinking amid a grueling heat wave that's pushed electricity demand to a record in recent weeks

The hottest March in more than a century has heralded an early start to summer, increasing power consumption by air conditioners and refrigerators.