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Coal to remain mainstay of India's power generation through 2035: Global report

London-based WCA is an advocacy group representing the global coal producers. Its members account for 20% of world coal production and 31% of coal exports. Coal-based power as of now accounts for about 60.8% (167.2 giga watt) of India's installed capacity.

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Coal-fuelled power is expected to dominate India's energy mix even after 2030 as it remains the most affordable option, driven by low domestic coal prices and limited gas availability, said a World Coal Association (WCA) report.

London-based WCA is an advocacy group representing the global coal producers. Its members account for 20% of world coal production and 31% of coal exports. Coal-based power as of now accounts for about 60.8% (167.2 giga watt) of India's installed capacity.

WCA's report independently analysed India's future energy demands, costs of carbon emissions and advantages of switching over to more efficient technology. The report has suggested that switching over from subcritical technology to ultra supercritical and supercritical technology to produce energy would be a good bet to reduce emissions and fight climate change.

"India can achieve low-emission growth and this will not only help in reducing pollution, but also help global emission standards. We also think that Green Climate Fund (GCF) and development banks have a role in assisting projects that adopt clean technologies in coal-fired plants", told Benjamin Sporton, chief executive of WCA to dna.

Sporton added that along with renewables, India should continue to invest in clean coal. "India is hungry for energy and this report highlights that coal can be clean and it will provide a bulk of energy. Even India's Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) to fight global warming have enlisted use of clean coal technologies as a way to reduce emissions. Thus, coal will continue to be the backbone of India's energy mix."

India's INDC states, "Government is promoting greater use of renewables in the energy mix mainly through solar and wind power and shifting towards supercritical technologies for coal based power plants."

Making an argument for clean coal technologies as a viable technology to fight global warming, the WCA report said, "Replacing subcritical with supercritical and ultra-supercritical coal technology saves CO2 at a cost of around $10/tonne in 2035. By comparison, abating a tonne of CO2 through the deployment of large-scale solar PV in India can cost up to $40/tonne, even accounting for cost declines expected through 2035." WCA's report goes on to say that the dominance of coal in India's energy mix can be attributed to its affordability and access.

Adani and Tata Power's projects in Mundra and Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station are some of the power plants using supercritical technology in the country as of now. In its climate change action plan submitted to the United Nations, India has stated that it aims to reduce emissions intensity or emissions per unit of gross domestic product by 33-35% by 2030, from 2005 levels. Key to achievement of this target is the plan to scale up share of non-fossil fuel in energy production to 40%. India has set an ambitious target of producing 175 gw of renewable energy by 2022.

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