[Tanada]

Here is a report from early 2016, the goal of the government of India is to double coal mine output by 2020 and they seem to be making large strides in that direction, though this is more written as a human interest story about the miners. Link below quote, I did not quote the section about the mine fires because the last several posts have already covered that aspect thoroughly IMO.

By Fred Pearce • March 15, 2016

As part of India’s modernization program, Prime Minister Narenda Modi has called for doubling the nation’s coal production by 2020.

Beyond Jharia, the state is peppered with coal mines: giant open pits descending for hundreds of meters, a few old underground shafts, and many drift mines, which are reached down steep slopes from the surface. Close to the village of Kujju, north of the state capital of Ranchi, I met Bhodo, a member of the Oraon tribal group, whose members originally moved there to work on tea estates, but now labor in the mines.

After washing off the grime from his shift at the Kujju mine in a nearby river, Bhodo was walking home along a road made impassable to our car by subsidence from an underground fire in the mine. Though more than 50 years old, he said he continued to work underground operating machinery — a job he inherited from his father.

He went home, put on a shirt, and got in the car, and we headed to the steep sloping entrance of the drift mine. “The mine isn’t safe,” he said as we drove. “There are 10 kilometers of tunnels in there, and you can easily get lost in them.”

At the mine, the hard-hatted manager, who did not give his name, said the 150 miners, working in three shifts, brought around seven tons of coal to the surface every hour. It was a relatively small enterprise of Central Coalfields, another subsidiary of Coal India. Even so, I was shocked to see two children playing unattended amid the heavy machinery. Nobody seemed concerned.

India may fancy itself as the new China, driving toward becoming a 21st-century nation. But in a journey of several days across the coalfields of Jharkhand, it more resembled an industrialized caricature of the old India.

Most astonishingly at odds with the new image were the coal cycle-wallahs. I first came across them on the road north out of Ranchi, pushing specially strengthened bicycles loaded with bags of coal. There were dozens of them — some on their own, and some in groups. Each bike carried about a quarter-ton of coal. Uphill was very hard work, though freewheeling downhill looked fun if you could steer the load.

One group of cycle-wallahs, resting halfway up a steep incline, told me they were taking coal more than 40 miles from mines at Urimari to Ranchi, a journey that took two days. Each load cost them around 600 rupees, or $9, to purchase at the mine and would be sold on arrival to brokers for 1,500 rupees, making a profit on the journey of a paltry $13.

Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, of the Australian National University in Canberra, who has analyzed Jharkhand’s cycle-wallahs, estimates that most of them are members of tribal minorities and that they transport more than 3 million tons of coal each year. Far from diminishing, the volumes they carry may have doubled since Lahiri-Dutt first started investigating a decade ago, and she says more children are now involved in what are often family businesses.

Cycle-wallahs handle only an estimated 1 or 2 percent of all the traded coal. But their continued role in an industry said to be central to India’s economic progress seems to encapsulate both the sheer human endeavour and resourcefulness of those at the bottom of India’s society and the dysfunctional nature of an economy that would rely on them.

Jharkhand today graphically illustrates the huge disparity between Modi’s growth agenda for India, and the stark reality of the social and environment conditions across this country of more than a billion people. If the prime minister’s modernization project — and the role of coal in it — moves forward, India would seem set to create a mounting tide of victims — from the cycle-wallahs and the refugees of Jharia’s coal fires, to the country’s air quality, to the planet’s climate.

LINK

While I enjoy these human interest stories I think they tell us something the authors are not understanding at all. These poor people in India are willing to work hard for two days just to earn $13, which the author sees as devastating poverty. What the author doesn't seem to notice is people who are this poor and working this hard are not going to give up even the meager benefits they now get from coal, let alone the potential benefits they may get of living in a 20th century lifestyle or better. This is one of the reasons I keep saying we are going to burn it all, sooner or later, and fantasies about everyone magically adopting a "green" lifestyle based on expensive wind and solar is a wasted effort. Anyone, and around the world there are about 2 BILLION of them, who works hard to earn a paltry $6.50 a day wage is the least bit interested in buying an off grid solartopia solution. You may sell Germans and Americans on such a plan, but selling that plan in Sub-Saharan Africa, most of Asia and South America is a non-starter from the get go.

Decadal coal stats for India,

1980 127,989,000 tons
1990 248,304,000 tons
2000 370,018,000 tons
2010 628,787,000 tons
2016 692,400,000 tons

[Plantagenet]

India auctioning off land rights to open up 40 new coal mines......the plan is to use the coal to power electrical plants.

india-plans-to-fell-ancient-forest-to-create-40-new-coalfields

This should cause continuing increases in global CO2 production and a further acceleration in global warming.

The really sad thing about it is that its all perfectly "OK" because Obama signed a separate bilateral treaty with China allowing them to produce unlimited amounts of CO2 and then India said "me too?" and Obama said sure and did the same deal with India. Obama did this as a pre-requisite to getting China and India to sign up for the 2015 Paris Climate Accords. Then it was confirmed in the 2015 Paris Accords where the treaty says there are absolutely no limits on Chinese and Indian coal mining and CO2 production.

Personally I don't see the point of a climate treaty like the Paris Accords that authorizes China and India to produce unlimited amounts of CO2. It seems backwards to me----surely it would have been smarter to have spent all those years of negotiation writing up a climate treaty that required REDUCTIONS in the amount of CO2 going into the atmosphere.


Sure, little buddy, you can produce all the CO2 you want...just tell 'em Obama signed a treaty saying it was A-OK...

Cheers!

[Tanada]

Yup, as I repeatedly point out there is no such thing at this point as Peak Coal consumption. We are heading full steam ahead to the climate flip and it is time to quite pretending otherwise.

[Tanada]

Companies like Adani Group, Tata Power ensure responsible coal handling across India

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently said that the future of the growth of energy demand will come from India, and oil and coal will continue to make up a significant portion of the country’s energy basket.

Recent endeavours by private firms such as Adani Group in Goa and Jhajjar Power in NCR, have proven that this is indeed possible. Furthermore, the government has also mandated plants with almost 50 GW thermal power capacity to install emission control systems such as FGD (Flue Gas Desulfurization) by 2022. FGD technology removes gaseous sulphur dioxide released from coal burning.

The initiative by Jhajjar Power Limited, a subsidiary of CLP India, is a clear example of the positive impact of such clean technology. The company was the first in the NCR region to install an FGD and since then, it has reduced its emission of sulphur dioxide by a whopping 85 per cent, approximately. Other technologies that the company adopted reduces Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM).
Adani Group’s efforts

When it comes to responsible coal handling, leading port operator Adani Group — which boasts of an extensive port portfolio across Goa, Gujarat and other coastal regions — has also been among the frontrunners.

For instance, it uses recycled and reused water at its plants in Mundra and Udupi for the suppression of coal dust and removal of bottom ash generated in the boilers.

Similarly, the Adani Group’s Goa project in the Mormugao Terminal, where it holds a minor 10 per cent stake at the coal handling facility, uses spray that has proven to control coal dust emission by around a whopping 80 per cent.

LINK

For those paying attention the percentage of the electric grid of India powered by Coal was 49% in 1971 and 75% by 2015. During the period of 1985-2015 electricity generation in India climbed five fold from 190 TWh to over 1000 TWh annually. This makes India second only to the PRC for building and operating new coal fired power plants year in and year out, each with a 40-60 year lifetime of consumption.

[Subjectivist]

Seems like for every gigawatt of wind power the USA installs the rest of the world installs 5 gigawatts of coal and another 4 of natural gas.

[Tanada]

In India, Tamil Nadu eyes coal power reboot despite local fears
October 29, 20215:00 AM EDTLast Updated 19 hours ago

UPPUR, India, Oct 29 (Reuters) - India's southern Tamil Nadu state is considering restarting a shelved 1.6 gigawatts (GW) coal-fired power project in Uppur, two state government officials said, as its debt-ridden utility seeks to expand its coal fleet to address rising power demand.

The state, India's second most-industrialized, epitomises the country's approach to balancing energy security and tackling climate change as Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares to head to Glasgow for the U.N. COP26 summit: the energy-hungry nation may build more new coal-fired plants as they generate the cheapest power, despite calls to deter use of the dirty fuel.

The project was shelved in March after the National Green Tribunal temporarily suspended an environmental permit granted to the project, citing concerns from local farmers and fishermen over land acquisition, the height of a bridge carrying effluents and the coal being used.

After the order, the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corp Ltd (TANGEDCO) had decided to shift the project to Udangudi, about 200 kilometres away from Uppur, where a 1.3 GW coal-fired plant is already being built.

However, the new state government, which came into office in May, is now working on restarting the power plant in Uppur. More than 30% of the work is complete and at least 10 billion rupees ($134 million) has already been invested, two officials from project operator, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corp Ltd's (TANGEDCO), told Reuters.

"The previous (shifting) decision was taken in haste. So much money has been invested. We are now trying to complete all formalities and restart the project," one of the officials said. The declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media on the issue.

While Tamil Nadu is among India's top renewable energy producers, it is also constructing the most number of coal-fired plants nationwide, according to London-based environmental think tank Carbon Tracker.

"New coal projects are also essential because many of our power plants are old, and need to be phased out in a few years," said one of the TANGEDCO officials.

Unlike many parts of Europe or the Americas, India does not have access to cheap domestic gas, which can be used to generate reliable electricity supplies when renewable energy generation drops after sunset or when wind power output goes down.

'FAIR COMPENSATION'

The officials said TANGEDCO has allayed fishermen's concerns at the Uppur plant by offering to increase the height of a bridge carrying effluents, so that fishing boats can pass under it, and is working on fixing land acquisition issues.

Local administrative officials in Uppur have already begun compensating residents for taking over their land for the project. Reuters reviewed three such notices.

P Thivakaran, a local political leader who has organised protests against the power plant, said the project affected the flow of water into reservoirs, adding that livelihoods of hundreds of area residents were at stake as adequate compensation was not given.

"We understand electricity is important, but those affected need to be compensated fairly," he said. The project could displace 300-400 families in the region, locals say.

The officials expect the first of the two units of the Uppur project to be completed in late 2025 or early 2026, while the first unit at Udangudi is estimated to be ready by 2024. Both plants will meet 70% of their coal needs through imports.

Indonesia, Australia and South Africa are the biggest suppliers of coal to the world's second largest importer.

($1 = 74.7650 Indian rupees)

Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell

[ROCKMAN]

T - "... as I repeatedly point out there is no such thing at this point as Peak Coal consumption." Couldn't agree more. A waste of time debating if GW exists or not. Fact: it does. Another Fact 2: the primary producers of GHG won't change (i.e. damage) their economies to change.. Their populations won't allow Fact 2 to be changed SIGNIFICANTLY. And no govm on the planet can force the to change. The focus should be on preparing for the true future. Pretending all the talk about a damaged future changes nothing. Even worse: in some quarters it generates false hope for a change in our path.

[Tanada]

Mining India's troubled history of coal and politics

The Indian delegation won many plaudits in Glasgow – demanding sufficient climate finance for developing countries, updating its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) for the first time in six years, and setting its first ever net-zero target for 2070, a date with ample room to be brought forward.

But, in the final moments when the text of the agreement was thought to have been agreed, India revised it with Chinese backing and the pledge to ‘phase out’ coal became one to only ‘phase down’ its use instead. Many countries – especially island states such as the Maldives facing existential threat – were palpably furious at this late move.

Many justifications were given for India’s move to water down moves to curb the use of coal, such as its earlier proposal that ‘developed country parties must take the lead in phasing out all fossil fuels’, its historic and per capita carbon emissions being vastly lower than more developed countries, and that it still needs access to some coal-fired power to lift hundreds of millions out of poverty. India also called for greater clarity regarding climate finance for transition.

Those arguing against India’s position focused on the domestic impact of its continued coal usage, most notably pollution which reportedly killed 1.7 million people in the country in 2019 and shortened the lives of millions more.

Coal’s relationship with politics

But India’s relationship with coal – a mineral it has in abundance – is not based on the same foundation as the historic and ongoing relationship in the US and elsewhere between governments and ‘big oil’. The debate over India’s latest move only paints half the picture as the coal sector is intricately linked to the country’s politics.

Although India does have numerous hydro projects and nuclear plants under construction, renewable sources must play a much greater role than currently envisaged

Coal has been mined in India since the 18th century and India is currently the world’s second largest producer and consumer of coal behind China. Following independence in 1947 the industry was small-scale with poor working practices and working conditions, and the rather piecemeal nature of the sector led to a mismatch between supply and demand, mainly from the power, cement, and steel industries.

India’s semi-planned economy led the prime minister Indira Gandhi to nationalize its coal industry in stages between 1971 and 1973, giving state-owned Coal India Limited and its subsidiaries a monopoly on coal mining until 1993 when the Nationalization Act was amended to allow private companies to undertake coalmining for their own use in steel, power, and cement, as well as gasification.

Initial interest was low with only 41 ‘blocks’ allotted between 1993 and 2005 by a high-powered committee chaired by the secretary of the coal ministry, while Coal India continued to monopolize commercial coal mining. But then an increased interest in political fundraising – due to a rise in coalition politics and the end of near continuous rule by Congress since independence – changed everything.

Being nationalized, the coal industry was already on the radar of India’s political class and, as the price of coal almost doubled from 2005-08, private sector interest in getting access to coal mining increased significantly, creating multiple bidders for the blocks which were being allocated in a rather arbitrary way. This provided copious opportunities for manipulation by both bureaucrats and politicians lobbying for their favoured companies.

Competitive bidding was introduced in 2010 to end the ad hoc system and, two years later, India’s comptroller and auditor-general claimed the prior process of allocating blocks had been both untransparent and unobjective because the criteria were so vague, any award could be justified. It was estimated the ‘windfall gain’ to those getting coal mines access since 1993 was £18.6bn and India’s Central Bureau of Investigation began to investigate blocks allocation in what became known as ‘Coalgate’.

Public interest litigation was also launched and in 2014 the Supreme Court declared the allocation of 214 from 218 captive coal mines between 1993 and 2010 had been illegal – an indictment of several governments as the windfall funds were assumed to have benefitted both businesses and their political allies.

But corruption in India’s coal sector is not confined to the allocation of licences, as it is also riddled with red tape, notably the requirement for various clearances at both state and central government level which enables profiteering. Under-reporting of production is reportedly a common practice by both private sector companies and Coal India with the surplus then sold on the open market at a profit. When it was listed in 2010 as India’s largest initial public offering, Coal India and its subsidiaries faced serious questions about governance and transparency, with potential investors at the time reportedly concerned about corruption.

Although India has substantial coal deposits it is not self-sufficient and relies on imports to top up domestic production. In 2015 the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence began investigating claims numerous large corporates routinely over-invoiced for coal imports from Indonesia to the tune of Rs50,000 crore (around £5 billion), as well as charging higher rates from consumers.

India’s relationship with coal – a mineral it has in abundance – is not based on the same foundation as the historic and ongoing relationship in the US and elsewhere between governments and ‘big oil’

Over-invoicing is popular because it circumvents capital controls and converts rupees into alternative currencies, as well as providing additional hidden funding – known as ‘black money’ – for political parties to spend in election campaigns. Official spending limits are low which leads political parties to seek out non-bankable funds to supplement legitimate spending.

The Adani Group, one of the companies alleged to be over-invoicing, is also currently developing the Carmichael coalmine in Australia, heavily criticized for environmental impacts such as the use of water, potential impact on the Great Barrier Reef, carbon emissions, and financial viability. Numerous banks have refused to lend to the project.
Reasons for optimism do exist

Despite India’s political class remaining addicted to coal, there are reasons for optimism as attitudes towards pollution – for a long time widely seen as a sign of progress or at least a necessary outcome of ‘development’ – are changing.

Off-the-scale pollution levels have become an annual occurrence as winter approaches in large parts of north India, and recently schools in Delhi were closed to guard against its effects, the state government considered imposing lockdown restrictions, and some neighbouring states ordered people to work from home.

India’s commitment to greater renewable energy production is increasing, with the government announcing plans to bring online 500GW of electricity capacity from non-fossil fuels, with half of this being renewables, by 2030.

Although India does have numerous hydro projects and nuclear plants under construction, renewable sources must play a much greater role than currently envisaged if it is to even come close to this target and funding for coal projects is likely to fall.

With solar power projected to substantially undercut coal-produced electricity in the near-future – even Coal India is moving into solar – India’s under-construction coal-fired power stations are likely to become stranded assets. So despite the much-criticized moves at COP26, on many levels the status quo is clearly not going to be sustainable.

COP26 India

[Outcast_Searcher]

T - "... as I repeatedly point out there is no such thing at this point as Peak Coal consumption." Couldn't agree more. A waste of time debating if GW exists or not. Fact: it does. Another Fact 2: the primary producers of GHG won't change (i.e. damage) their economies to change.. Their populations won't allow Fact 2 to be changed SIGNIFICANTLY. And no govm on the planet can force the to change. The focus should be on preparing for the true future. Pretending all the talk about a damaged future changes nothing. Even worse: in some quarters it generates false hope for a change in our path.

You're right, IF your assumption that burning all the fossil fuels we can will ALWAYS be the most economic thing to do for the next (pick a number) 3 to 5 or more decades, or so.

OTOH, for utility scale energy in the first world, wind and solar are often cheaper per kWh of energy produced over time, than conventional burning of FF's like coal. And that's without the substantial fines/penalties that should be imposed for, burning dirty coal, for example.

Over time, clearly economic forces will play a HUGE role in whether (and now soon) the world moves toward far more green energy. Given that at utility scale, the green energy sources are often ALREADY winning re net cost per unit kWh of energy produced, though your claim is certainly possible, I'm NOT AT ALL convinced that over the next, say, 5 decades, it's at all probable.

Though I'll freely admit, the scales will tip far more slowly (say by 2 or 3 decades is my best guess (and yes, it is a SWAG (scientific wild-assed guess)) in the third world, over time), economic forces WILL carry a lot of weight when the cost differential is significant.

[Doly]

You're right, IF your assumption that burning all the fossil fuels we can will ALWAYS be the most economic thing to do for the next (pick a number) 3 to 5 or more decades, or so.

Actually, when I tried to model worldwide changes in energy source use, what matched the data best was the assumption that people won't choose the cheapest energy source available, because of sunk infrastructure, but instead gradually abandon the most expensive energy sources. Which is why moving to renewables happens slowly. It is happening now, though. When I did my modelling, my conclusion was that without strong policy measures, renewables wouldn't ramp up fast enough. They're doing a better than the "business as usual" scenario I worked out, but not lots better. My conclusion is still that, unless policies get stronger, we're in for a lot of trouble. And even if they do get stronger, there is plenty of trouble already baked in the cake.

[Plantagenet]

My conclusion is still that, unless policies get stronger, we're in for a lot of trouble. And even if they do get stronger, there is plenty of trouble already baked in the cake.

Exactly right.

And you can't even count on promises of "strong policies."

Look at Biden and the Ds in the USA. Biden and the Ds claim to be anti-fossil fuel, but here we are one year into the Biden administration and what do see?

We see coal use in the US going UP!!! Even Donald Trump didn't do that.

We see Biden begging Saudi Arabia and Russia to produce more oil!!!!

We see the Biden administration taking oil out of the strategic Petroleum reserve for the sole purpose of keeping gas prices low in the USA. The SPR is supposed to be for emergency use only, but when Biden considers his low poll numbers to be a national emergency, the climate be damned!

And the message that all sends is Biden and the Ds are working hard to maximize oil production and oil consumption by keeping prices low.

So kiss the planet goodbye. The Rs aren't going to do anything to reduce fossil fuel use......and neither are the Ds.


Biden and the Ds say they are against fossil fuels, but in actuality they taking steps to INCREASE coal consumption, to INCREASE oil production by Saudi and Russia, and to DECREASE fossil fuel prices here in the USA.

SHEEESH!