Coal will remain major source of energy in foreseeable future: Pralhad Joshi

Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi (File Image)

Union coal minister Pralhad Joshi informed the Lok Sabha on December 21 that the fossil fuel - coal - will remain the mainstay of the country’s electricity generation in the “foreseeable future”. The minister added that its demand is likely to peak in the country between 2030-2035.

“Being an affordable source of energy with substantial reserve, coal is going to stay as a major source of energy in the foreseeable future. The country will require base load capacity of coal-based generation for stability and also for energy security,” Joshi said in a written statement to the Parliament.

In 2022-23 (April 2022 to October 2022), the coal consumption in coal-based power plants increased to 447.6 million tonnes (MT) as compared to 398.2 MT during the same period of last year with a growth of 12 %, he stated.

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Senior officials in the ministry said that the government is working on a “comprehensive mine closure framework” for which it is using the expertise of agencies such as the World Bank and GIZ (a German Development Agency). The plan also includes creating 30 new eco-parks and the expansion of nine such existing parks in five years on closed mining sites, the land of which will be reclaimed.

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The proposal aims at creating a mine closure framework on a pilot basis for mines in Jharkhand and Chattisgarh that have previously been closed, abandoned, or are about to close due to resource exhaustion and develop a few closed mines as pilot projects.

“The envisaged coal mine closure framework will provide support to the livelihood of impacted local people and community on Just Transition Principles along with repurposing of the reclaimed land and infrastructure assets for economic diversification of coal regions. The framework will be backed by strong policy support, strong institutional arrangement, sustainable funding mechanism and tool for stakeholder consultations,” the coal ministry later said in a statement.

“Just Transition” simply means transition which is just, fair and equitable for all stakeholders where the livelihoods of each impacted person are secured, and no one is left behind.

With the passage of time, old mines are shut down due to exhaustion of reserves, viability issues, safety reasons and so on. This requires proper closure addressing the social, physical and environmental aspects of closure to ensure the sustenance of the livelihood of people and communities dependent on the mines.

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“Due to the closing of mines, a vast amount of land will become available, which has a huge potential for regional transformation and economic diversification. In the process of economic transition of the coal region, the reclaimed land and mine asset will be repurposed by engaging public / private firms to create avenues for employment and revenue generation such as solar parks, eco-parks, fish-farming, warehouses, resorts, museums, picnic spots, golf course, pumped hydro using OC/UG voids and other energy-related infrastructure,” read the ministry’s statement.

So far, coal/lignite PSUs have developed eight eco-parks in the last three years on reclaimed land by undertaking sustainable mine closure practices.