India plans to reopen more than 100 coal mines that were considered economically unsustainable, a government official said today, as the energy crisis forces the country with the world’s third-highest greenhouse gas emissions to stick to polluting fuels.
Demand for electricity in the country reached record levels in April as nearly three in four of the country’s 1.35 billion people lived in the hottest months for decades before the summer.
The sharp rise in air conditioner use last month triggered the worst energy crisis in more than six years and, as temperatures have plummeted in recent days, are projected to skyrocket again soon.
“We used to be labeled ‘bad’ because we promote fossil fuels and now we’re in the news because we do not get enough of it,” Anil Kumar Jain, a senior Coal ministry official, told a news conference. “Given this context, it is a very bold move by the ministry and Coal India to deliver large coal supplies very quickly.”
India, the world’s second-largest producer, importer and consumer of coal after China, now expects to produce an additional 75-100 million tonnes of fuel in the next two to three years from the reopening of the mines, he said. Jane.
India produced 777.2 million tonnes of fuel for the year ended March 31 and consumed more than 1 billion tonnes.
India’s energy minister last month urged states to continue importing coal for the next three years, citing domestic coal shortages and higher demand in the country. His ministry also cited an emergency law in a bid to resume production on some dormant power plants that were not operating for economic reasons.
International coal prices have fallen from very high levels this week, but remain high compared to 2021 due to fears of a power crisis following the European Union’s decision to ban coal imports from Russia after the invasion. in Ukraine.
State-owned Coal India, the world’s largest coal mining company, accounts for 80% of India’s production and wants to increase its annual production by 60% to 1 billion tonnes by 2024.
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Source: Capital
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