Clean energy: India does not wish coal far

India has always taken a difficult situation on coal, on the pretext that it is very important to energy security and its development needs.

But energy and environmental youth experts say that at least should at least try to remove carbon or reduce the emissions of coal -powered power plants, if it is not completely eliminated.

“You cannot wish far away from coal,” said Ashok Lavasa, Secretary of Finance, Environment and Climate, at an event on July 1.

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

This indicates the fact that coal – realistically, may remain coal – despite the cleaner of coal – the primary energy source of energy in India, despite the years of international climatic talks that require the gradual disposal of very full fossil fuels.

But why did India – the third largest emitter in the world – decide to adhere to coal in the first place? After all, the country has international obligations to significantly reduce carbon emissions, as well as its own goal to reduce levels to zero by 2070.

Part of the answer lies in the increasing requirements of the country.

The demand for electricity in India grew by more than 9 % between 2021 and 2025, exceeding a previous prediction of 6.6 % – and is now expected to double by 2030.

Coal power plants have been born with more than 70 % of the total electricity supply every year since the early first decade of the twentieth century – a number that is still unchanged.

But the environmental cost of this dependence on coal is huge.

It is estimated that the generation of electricity in India alone represents more than 40 % of the annual carbon emissions-or nearly three quarters of that electricity comes from burning coal.

The country has made progress in achieving renewable energy goals – it contributes to 46 % of the total capacity installed in India – but renewable sources have restrictions. It generates electricity when the sun rises and the wind is blowing.

Experts say that even during the day, experts can fluctuate from renewable energy sources, while thermal plants remain a constant source of electricity and are able to meet the peak of demand in the evening and at night.

Moreover, the capacity of energy storage in India – or the ability to store excess electricity from renewable energy sources in the day – has not been able to keep pace with the expansion of resources.

“This means that there is no other option (unlike the thermal energy for continuous supply) unless we have and even we have large -scale storage quantities in the system,” said Rajif Bourwal, the network director in India, the network observer in India under the Ministry of Authority, speaking at the 1july event, organized by the Science and Environment Center (CSE).

Experts say the constant supply of thermal plants is very important for the stability of the network, or the network of horoscopes and transportation lines that carry electricity from power stations to consumers.

“Any significant congruence of demand and supply will enhance the stability of the network and this can mean cutting energy and power outages, similar to what we have recently seen in Spain,” says Angan Kumar Sinha, an independent energy sector expert.

With all these factors that play its role, India looks forward to reducing emissions from coal power stations, instead of completely eliminating charcoal.

A recent report issued by CSE said that the removal of carbon from coal -based thermal plants can reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 %.

This is particularly important given the country’s commitment to reduce the severity of emissions (carbon emissions produced for each unit of the country’s economic product) by 45 % by 2030 under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change.

But there are challenges.

The common problem faced by thermal plants is that they should continue to run at least 55 % even during the day, although there is renewable alternative sources such as wind and solar energy to rely on it.

This is because operators cannot increase the capacity to the maximum limit in a short notice, especially during peak hours in the evening when the width decreases from renewable energy sources.

Experts say an urgent need to make thermal plants more efficient so that they can run with a lower capacity.

“To what extent we can decrease (to reduce the minimum level of running) is the question,” said Ramish Ferravali, a member of the Central Electricity Regulatory Committee in India. “Technically is possible.”

Another way to improve plant efficiency is to adapt technologies that pick up carbon dioxide emissions to prevent them from escaping to the atmosphere

But some say that this has achieved limited results, with one estimate by the World Resources Institute says that technology at the present time captures only about 0.1 % of global emissions.

A third proposal is to burn agricultural residue in the place of coal in thermal plants.

“This idea has led a significant decrease in the use of coal in the thermal power plants in Delhi and the surrounding cities,” said Barth Kumar, the director of the Cse program, who suggested ways to reduce emissions in its latest report.

“But other parts of the country have not been seriously adopted, although the organization requires them,” he added.

Experts say that reducing emissions from coal power plants will need greater systemic changes, which involve huge costs.

But how much this cost will come – and who will carry them – are difficult questions without immediate answers.

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