India has always taken a difficult place on coal, arguing that it is important for its energy security and developmental needs.

But energy experts and environmental campaigners are rapidly saying that it should try to emit or curtle at least coal -powered power plants, if it cannot be fully phased out.

“You can’t overcome coal,” Ashok Lavasa, a former secretary of the Sangh, and former Secretary of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said at an event on 1 July.

“The question is, if the coal is king, can it be a philanthropic king?”

This indicates the fact that, in real speaking, coal – although cleaner coal – can create a primary power source of energy in India, despite years of international climate dialogue, excessive pollution fossil fuels can be asked to be fully phased out.

But why is India – the third largest carbon emitter in the world – decided to stick to coal in the first place? After all, the country has international obligations to cut its carbon emissions significantly, as well as with its own target to bring its own target into pure zero by 2070.

A part of the answer lies in the increasing power demands of the country.

India’s power demand between 2021 and 2025 has increased by more than 9%, which crosses the previous prediction of 6.6% – and now it has doubled by 2030.

From the early 2000s every year, more than 70% of the total power supply power plants – a figure that remains unchanged.

But the environmental cost of this dependence on coal is very large.

Estimates suggest that India’s power generation alone is responsible for more than 40% of the annual carbon emissions-and about three-fourths of that electricity comes from burning coal.

The country has progressed in meeting its renewable energy goals – it contributes 46% to India’s total established capacity – but has limitations of renewable sources. When the sun is up, they produce electricity and the wind is flowing.

Even during the day, experts say, renewal can lead to ups and downs, while thermal plants remain a continuous source of electricity and are able to meet extreme demand in the evening and night.

What is more, India’s energy storage capacity – or the ability to store additional electricity from renewal during the day – is not able to keep pace with the expansion of resources.

“This means that there is no other option [other than thermal energy for constant supply] Until and until we have large -scale storage amounts in the system, “Rajiv Porwal, director of Grid India, said, India’s Grid Controller, speaking at the 1 July event under the Ministry of Power, was organized by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE).

Experts say that continuous supply from thermal plants is important for the stability of the grid, or the network of towers and transmission lines that carry electricity from power plants to consumers.

Anjan Kumar Sinha, an expert in an independent power sector, says, “Any large mismatch of demand and supply will destabilize the grid and it can mean power-cuts and blackouts, as we had recently seen in Spain.”

With all these factors of playing, India wants to reduce emissions from coal -powered power plants, rather than completely out of coal.

A recent CSE report stated that decarbones from coal-based thermal plants alone may reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30%.

It is particularly important that under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by 2030, by 2030, given the intensity of emissions of up to 45% (carbon emissions of the country’s economic production) to reduce the country’s commitment to reduce the carbon emissions).

But there are challenges.

Common problem thermal plants have to face that they should also walk at least 55% capacity a day, despite that to rely on alternative renewable sources such as air and solar energy.

This is because operators cannot take capacity to perfection on short notice, especially during the extreme hours of the evening when the supply from the renewable is below.

Experts say that there is an urgent need to make thermal plants more efficient so that they can run at low capacity.

“How low can we go [to bring down the minimum running level threshold] This is the question, “Ramesh Virwally, a member of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission of India, said, speaking in the incident.” Technically this is possible. ,

Another way to improve plants’ efficiency is to customize technologies that capture carbon dioxide emissions to protect them from running into the atmosphere

But some people say that it has produced limited results, with an estimate by the World Resources Institute, it is said that the technology is currently only 0.1% of global emissions.

A third suggestion is to burn agricultural residues in place of coal in thermal plants.

Partha Kumar, a CSE program manager, said, “The idea has reduced the use of coal in thermal power plants in Delhi and surrounding cities.”

He said, “But other parts of the country have yet to adopt it seriously, even if regulation is required,” he said.

Experts say that reducing emissions from coal -powered power plants will require large systemic changes to include large costs.

But how much this cost will be reduced – and who will tolerate it – without any immediate answer there are difficult questions.

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