During the recent sessions, Union Minister of Coal, Mines, and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi stated that the demand for coal in India will continue and is expected to peak between 2030 and 2035.
Coal is India’s primary energy source. In 2022-23 (April-October), coal consumption in coal-fired power plants climbed by 12% to 447.6 million tonnes (MT) from 398.2 million tonnes in the same period last year, according to the minister in a written response.
“Coal will continue to be a key source of energy in the foreseeable future since it is an economical source of energy with significant reserves. For stability and energy security, the country would require base load capacity of coal-based generating “Joshi stated.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy intends to reach around 50% cumulative installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
As of October, the government had built a total of 172.72 GW of capacity from non-fossil fuel sources, including 119.09 GW RE (Solar 61.63 GW, Wind 41.84 GW, SHP 4.92 GW, and Bio-Power 10.70 GW), 46.85 GW Large Hydro, and 6.78 GW Nuclear Power capacity.
