India remains dependent on coal for increasing energy needs, a fact that is in sync with the rest of the world’s quest for greener sources of energy. It has achieved remarkable strides in renewable energy and is one of the few countries where both solar and wind power are flourishing alongside diesel or gas power. Even though the former is erratic in its supply due to its very nature and limited storage solutions, most of India will continue to rely on coal shortly. However, some states are taking alternative sources of energy more seriously. Even as the United Kingdom has formally shut its last coal power plant, India, as a developing nation, shall continue using coal for several decades. This testament to persistence is the difference in global trends and India’s uniquely essential energy needs as it approaches balancing growth with sustainability.
India has a growing share of coal power. Coal-based electricity generation constitutes 75% of the country’s power output in the fiscal year 2023-24, which has grown from 71% in the year 2019-20. This adds more weight to the country’s requirement for stable and adequate energy that will power the country’s industrial growth, wherein the steel and cement industries are the major respondents to this demand for national infrastructure development.
While the UK closed its last coal plant in 2024, thereby emerging as the first G7 nation to complete its journey out of coal, the contrast in India’s energy journey is stark. India’s first major thermal power plant, the Hussain Sagar Thermal Power Station at Hyderabad, began operations in 1920—nearly 40 years after the world’s first coal plant was opened in London. Today, this country remains on its path toward cleaner sources of energy; however, policy experts still recognize that coal will be part of the energy mix for a long time into the future.
The report by the International Energy Agency’s “Net Zero by 2050” asks for “ending coal power across advanced economies no later than 2030.” For emerging economies such as India, the deadline has been slated to be 2040, which essentially means the transition should be gradual in nature and dovetail economic development with environmental considerations. “Unabated coal” generally means electricity generated from coal without the application of carbon capture and storage technologies. These power plants, though being phased out in developed nations, are still being considered in India to meet rising energy needs.
Regional variations are sharp in coal consumption. Coal consumption declined in Europe and the United States in 2023 but increased by 8% in India and 5% in China. This increase in the demand for coal in India and China is associated with the ever-growing industrial and energy requirements of these two markets, yet both countries have been under growing pressure internationally to turn to renewable energy resources instead.
It is part of an OECD country-wide trend: over one-third of nations have closed their doors to coal; the UK’s is one more. On its way to 2030, almost three-quarters of OECD countries will have given up producing coal altogether, aligned with efforts to meet global climate goals set up to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. But, paradoxically, India is a developing nation and stands in a different category, for it started much later with a humongous population that needs stable access to inexpensive energy.
Being a forerunner in embracing solar and wind power, India is still at the helm of renewable energy adoption. The lack of large-scale battery storage remains the main stumbling block to reducing dependence on coal for India. Renewable energy sources remain highly time-dependent and prone to weather, making coal a reliable source of baseload. Its application in the steel and cement industries cannot be overlooked since production entails uninterruptible processes, including electricity generation.
The world continues to push forward in the effort to become coal-free energy, and this aspect remains unabated with the developed world inciting emerging economies to hasten their pace in phasing out coal plans. But then, for India, prospects of energy needs, industrial growth, and lack of financial resources to finance renewable infrastructure mean that coal remains an integral part of the energy mix. As stated by policy experts, India’s pace toward clean energy will be slow-moving relative to the economic priorities of the nation.
Conclusion:
Just as India will be forced to rely on coal even as the world continues to shift progressively toward renewable energy sources, the India story fits well within the trend of where the UK stands in its journey to become coal-free: that is, the rapidly developing country’s path confronting industrialization trends against environmental promises. Coal is critical to the power supply that India will need for many decades to come, meeting global climate goals while securing India’s future. The road to a cleaner energy system for India is longer but is being built with efforts towards renewable sources, with coal as an essential stepping stone to meet its growing demands.
Source: PTI