INDIA: India will have around 30 Coal mines closing over the next three to four years to pave way for forests or water bodies besides substantial reduction in the quantum of imported coal even as the demand of coal for the thermal power generation in the country will continue to grow till 2040, Amrit Lal Meena, union secretary for coal, said on Monday while speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of the three-day 3rd energy transition working group meeting, part of G20 summit, going on in Mumbai.
Meena said de-coaling or coal-mine-closure will definitely have a good impact on the environment but will have an adverse impact on society and the community at large as livelihood of 50 lakh people who are directly or indirectly engaged in the business will get impacted. “Our focus is to ensure that they and their livelihood do not impact much,” he added.
“The de-coaled lands are being put to environment friendly usage by filling them up with flyash, creating forest cover, agriculture lands, solar plants and water bodies. Of the expected more than 2 lakh hectare of de-coaled lands, around 20000 hectare has been identified and 500 hectares per year of it will be made available for various environmental usages over the next few years.” he said. Coal mines last for average 25 to 30 years.
Meena said the coal india and other govt agencies that are into coal mining business will achieve net zero target of 5200 solar power production by 2026 to offset the carbon emissions due to energy usage required for mining activities.
Pointing out that 75% of the power produced is still thermal, Meena said the present quantum of 892 million tonnes of coal used in financial year 2023 will go up to 1.1 billion by 2024, 1.5 billion by 2030 and sizeably big by 2040. Out of the present 892 million tonnes, around 220 million tonnes of coal is imported. “Out of this import, 90 to100 million tonnes of coal is substitutable with domestic coal eventually helping the country substantially reduce its present Rs 3 lakh crore expenses on the import,” he added.
Meena said country is enhancing its coal production in such a way that by FY 2026 we will have a surplus coal even for export to countries such as Nepal and Bangladesh. According to Meena around 87 mines that have been bid out on commerical lease will add up 1012 million tonnes of coal by 2024. However he said the quantum of coal mining will go down to 31% from present 75% till 2040 with private mining component contributing up to 25% by 2030. Over a period of time private coal component will be handling a supply of 500 million tonnes of peak rated capacity every year out of the present 1100 million tonnes in 2024, he added.
Meena said de-coaling or coal-mine-closure will definitely have a good impact on the environment but will have an adverse impact on society and the community at large as livelihood of 50 lakh people who are directly or indirectly engaged in the business will get impacted. “Our focus is to ensure that they and their livelihood do not impact much,” he added.
“The de-coaled lands are being put to environment friendly usage by filling them up with flyash, creating forest cover, agriculture lands, solar plants and water bodies. Of the expected more than 2 lakh hectare of de-coaled lands, around 20000 hectare has been identified and 500 hectares per year of it will be made available for various environmental usages over the next few years.” he said. Coal mines last for average 25 to 30 years.
Meena said the coal india and other govt agencies that are into coal mining business will achieve net zero target of 5200 solar power production by 2026 to offset the carbon emissions due to energy usage required for mining activities.
Pointing out that 75% of the power produced is still thermal, Meena said the present quantum of 892 million tonnes of coal used in financial year 2023 will go up to 1.1 billion by 2024, 1.5 billion by 2030 and sizeably big by 2040. Out of the present 892 million tonnes, around 220 million tonnes of coal is imported. “Out of this import, 90 to100 million tonnes of coal is substitutable with domestic coal eventually helping the country substantially reduce its present Rs 3 lakh crore expenses on the import,” he added.
Meena said country is enhancing its coal production in such a way that by FY 2026 we will have a surplus coal even for export to countries such as Nepal and Bangladesh. According to Meena around 87 mines that have been bid out on commerical lease will add up 1012 million tonnes of coal by 2024. However he said the quantum of coal mining will go down to 31% from present 75% till 2040 with private mining component contributing up to 25% by 2030. Over a period of time private coal component will be handling a supply of 500 million tonnes of peak rated capacity every year out of the present 1100 million tonnes in 2024, he added.
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