A clearing house for methane related projects was commissioned by the Central Mines Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited (CIL), recently. The new unit would support organizations involved in coal bed and coal mine methane extraction or related global climate change prevention projects, and thereby facilitate project development for utilisation of India’s methane resources trapped in its coal mines and coal beds. It was also expected to encourage foreign investments in this sector.
Besides, it would also induce Indian mines to become environmentally friendly, as methane was a green house gas that depleted atmospheric ozone layer and caused global warming unless tapped and burnt in a scientific fashion. The clearing house was expected to encourage collaboration between governmental and commercial organizations through development and implementation of projects.
It could contribute towards training and information dissemination concerning environmental protection issues as well. The clearing house was created following a MoU signed between the Government of India and United States Environment Protection Agency (USEPA) in November 2006.
According to USEPA estimates, India ranked sixth in the world in coalmine methane emission with annual methane emission of about one billion cubic metres. The clearing house would be helpful in mitigating this emission and promoting cost effective recovery of methane for proper use. This would in tune with CIL’s corporate objective of environment friendly use of coal and pursuing clean coal technology.
Coal bed methane and coal mine methane extraction projects were currently in operation in many countries across the world like China, US, Australia and Ukraine, experts at CMPDIL pointed out. Methane could also be used as a compressed natural gas and as fuel for vehicles, he added. Experts said said that a project for trapping coal mine methane for a thermal power plant was under commissioning in Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh.
