Coal Projects

Coal India floats tender seeking bids from private players for e-auction

Despite having switched to its internal e-auction platform in January this year, Coal India Ltd (CIL) has floated a tender seeking bids from private service providers to conduct e-auctions of the dry fuel for its subsidiaries over the next two years, officials said on Monday. This move has left external e-auction service providers, such as MSTC and mjunction, who have managed CIL's auctions through electronic platforms for nearly two decades, confused and they were seeking more clarity before deciding whether to participate in the tender, stakeholders said. The deadline for submission of bids is November 27. CIL had engaged its subsidiary CMPDI to develop an internal coal e-auction system in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), the officials said. The internal platform was successfully transitioned in January 2024 after conducting successful trials in 2023. "However, there have been complaints about the system's performance, prompting Coal India to seek extern

Coal production from captive, blocks rises 32% to 79.72 mn MT in H1

The coal production from both captive and commercial coal blocks rose by 32 per cent to 79.72 Million Tonne (MT) in the April-September period of the ongoing fiscal. The coal output from both captive and commercial coal blocks was 60.52 MT in the first half of the previous fiscal. The coal dispatch rose by 34 per cent year-over-year, from 65.37 MT in H1 of FY'24 to 87.86 MT in H1 of FY'25. There has been "a significant rise in coal production and dispatch from both captive and commercial coal blocks during the first half of FY 2024-25, from April 1, 2024, to September 30, 2024, compared to the same period last year," the coal ministry said in a statement. The coal production in September rose by 32 per cent to 13.74 MT from 10.40 MT. Likewise, dispatch in the month of September has grown by 47 per cent year-over-year, from 9.68 MT in FY'24 to 14.27 MT in FY'25. The coal ministry said that it applauds the efforts of all stakeholders, including coal companies and industry partners,

Critical minerals emerged as drivers of modern economy: Coal minister

Coal and mines minister G Kishan Reddy on Thursday said that critical minerals have emerged as drivers of the modern economy and the Centre has ensured the country taps into this global opportunity through the launch of the National Critical Mineral Mission. Union Budget 2024-25 has proposed launching Critical Mineral Mission for domestic production, recycling of critical minerals, and overseas acquisition of critical mineral assets. Its mandate will include technology development, skilled workforce, extended producer responsibility framework, and a suitable financing mechanism. Addressing the national seminar on challenges and opportunities in the mines and minerals sector organised by the Mining, Geological, Metallurgical Institute of India, Reddy said that the government has brought about a paradigm change in the coal and minerals sector, making it transparent and competitive. He elaborated on the government's extensive efforts over the past decade to harness this potential throu

Indian imports of Russian coal decline, US shipments surge in May

Russia's exports of all types of coal to India over the period fell 22.4 per cent from a year earlier

India's coal import surges 8% to 268 MT in FY24 due to rise in power demand

India's coal import rose by 7.7 per cent to 268.24 million tonne (MT) in FY24 driven by softness in seaborne prices and likelihood of increase in power demand during summer. The country's coal import was 249.06 MT in FY23, according to data compiled by B2B e-commerce company mjunction services. Coal import in March FY24 also rose to 23.96 MT, over 21.12 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal. Of the total volume recorded in March 2024, non-coking coal import stood at 15.33 MT, against 13.88 MT in March FY23. Coking coal import in March 2024 was 5.34 MT against 3.96 MT a year ago. During FY24, non-coking coal import was at 175.96 MT, higher than 162.46 MT imported during FY23. Coking coal import was at 57.22 MT in 2023-24, against 54.46 MT in 2022-23. "There was an increase in coal import volumes due to the continued softness in seaborne prices and expectation of a demand uptick during the summer season. However, as there is ample availability of domestic coal in the

India's coal output reaches 881 MT in Apr-Feb, likely to hit target

India produced 880.72 million tonne (MT) of coal in April-February this fiscal and is now just 119.28 MT away from its 1 billion tonne coal production target for FY24. In 2022-23, India's total coal output was 893 million tonnes (MT). For the ongoing 2023-24 fiscal, the government has a target to produce 1 billion tonne (BT) of coal. The cumulative coal production in April-February 2024 grew over 12 per cent to 880.72 MT (provisional) compared to 785.39 MT during the same period of FY23, the Ministry of Coal said in a statement on Tuesday. The country's coal produced rose 12 per cent to 96.60 million tonne (MT) in February against 86.38 MT a year ago. In February, the production of state-owned giant Coal India Ltd (CIL) rose 8 per cent to 74.76 MT (provisional) from 68.78 MT in February 2023, the ministry said. The cumulative coal dispatch up to February 2024 increased over 11 per cent to 882.44 MT compared to 794.41 MT in the year-ago period. The coal dispatch grew 13.63 per cen

Govt extends mandate for power producers to import 6% of coal needs

Coal accounts for about 75% of India's power generation, with coal-fired plants accounting for more than three quarters of India's use of the polluting fuel

Coal India output rises 11% to 685 mn tonnes during Apr-Feb FY24

State-owned Coal India Ltd on Friday reported a 10.5 per cent rise in production at 685.1 million tonnes (MT) during the April-February period of the ongoing fiscal. The public sector coal producer had registered an output of 619.7 MT in the year-ago period, Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in a filing to BSE. In February, the production increased to 74.8 MT from 68.8 MT recorded in the year-ago month, the filing said. According to the company, the figures are provisional. The tota offtake of coal during the April-February period went up to 684.7 MT from 630.5 MT witnessed in the year-ago period. Coal offtake is the amount of fossil fuel supplied from the pitheads. CIL's offtake in February also increased to 65.3 MT from 58.3 MT in the corresponding month of previous fiscal. Coal India accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output in the country.

Govt to increase coal-fired capacity in 2024 by 14 GW: Power Ministry

The south Asian nation failed to achieve a target to add 175 GW of renewable power capacity by 2022. The planned coal-fired capacity increase in 2024 will exceed its 2023 renewables increase of 13 GW

Union Cabinet approves Rs 8,500 cr incentive for coal gasification projects

At least one project will be bid out on a tariff-based bidding process and its criteria will be designed in consultation with NITI Aayog, a government statement said

JSW Energy proposes to top Adani's bid for coal-power plant: Report

In a letter, JSW Energy has asked India's insolvency court to allow it to participate in an auction for the Amarkantak project

Govt to focus on coal-fired power generation in 2024 for energy security

India will focus on setting up more coal-fired power projects as well as keep adding renewable generation capacity to achieve 24x7 electricity supply for all in 2024 amid economic expansion and the need to ensure energy security in these times of rising geopolitical uncertainties. In a reflection of ambitious plans, the Union power ministry has planned a whooping 91 GW of coal-based thermal power generation capacity entailing an investment of Rs 7.28 lakh crore over the next few years. Talking to PTI, Union Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh said, "24X7 supply of power is right of the consumer. Similarly, energy security is of paramount importance for us. You have seen what happened in Europe due to the Russia-Ukraine war." At present, average power supply across India is 23.50 hours in urban areas and 22 hours in rural areas, he said. Singh also said that the coal-based thermal power capacity will insulate the country from any geopolitical disruption and ensure ..

Govt plans to expand coal power fleet to meet soaring demand: Report

Coal is likely to account for the lion's share of this expansion, as gas-fired electricity generation is currently unviable due to the high costs of the fuel

India's coal production to cross 1 bn tonnes in FY24: Pralhad Joshi

Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday expressed confidence that the country's coal production will cross one billion tonnes in the ongoing financial year. The country's production target of the fossil fuel for 2023-24 is 1,012.14 MT. Speaking during the launch of the ninth round of commercial coal mine auction, the minister said, "This year we are going to cross one billion tonnes production." The estimated demand of coal in the current fiscal is 1,196.60 million tonne (MT). The demand of electricity by 2030 is going to double and to cater to the need the country needs coal, the minister said. With the completion of the ninth round of auction, the sale of 100 coal blocks would be completed. A total of 31 coal mines are being offered in the ninth round of commercial coal mine auctions. The mines being auctioned are spread across coal, lignite-bearing states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana.

Coal production increases 11% to to 84.53 million tonnes in November

India's coal production rose by 11.03 per cent to 84.53 million tonnes (MT) in November compared to 76.14 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal. The production of Coal India Ltd (CIL) increased by 8.74 per cent to 65.97 MT in November 2023 over 60.67 MT in November last fiscal, the Coal Ministry said in a statement. CIL accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output. "The cumulative coal production (up to November 2023) has seen a quantum jump to 591.28 MT (provisional) in FY'23-24 as compared to 524.53 MT during the same period in FY' 22-23 with a growth of 12.73 per cent," the ministry said. The country's coal dispatch increased to 81.63 MT (provisional) last month in comparison to 74.87 MT (provisional) recorded in November last fiscal, registering a growth rate of 9.02 per cent. "The cumulative coal dispatch (up to November 2023) has seen a significant jump to 623.04 MT (provisional) in FY'23-24 compared to 557.80 MT during the corresponding period in ...

Future of coal bright in India with right tech support, says FutureCoal

The future of coal in India is bright as there are technologies available which can help the country extract, use and combust the dry fuel far more sustainably, FutureCoal on Monday said. Coal is considered to be the biggest contributor to climate change with thermal electricity being responsible for nearly 30 per cent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. "The future of coal in India is bright......we believe that there are technologies that are available which can help India extract coal far more sustainably, use it far more sustainably, combust it far more sustainably, and post combustion treatment to coal can reduce Co2 emissions by as much as 99 per cent," FutureCoal Board member Sunil Chaturvedi said. The FutreCoal Global Alliance is an organisation representing the entire value chain and is dedicated to raising awareness on the contribution of the fossil fuel. He further said 70 per cent of electricity generation comes from coal. India has moved from last 15 years to ...

More than Rs 3.85 trillion spent on coal imports last year: Govt data

The country spent more than Rs 3.85 lakh crore on coal imports last year, the government said on Thursday. Though the share of coal import in total consumption came down from 26 per cent to 21 per cent in the last five years, India is importing more than 200 million tonnes (MT) of dry fuel every year, incurring huge foreign exchange outflow. "The goal of coal ministry is to enhance coal production to ensure adequate availability of coal for fast growing economy of the country. As a result of efforts of the ministry, the share of imports in total consumption reduced from 26 per cent to to 21 per cent during last 5 years," it said. Meanwhile, the ministry said it is deeply concerned about protecting forests and no coal mine has been auctioned by ignoring suggestions of the environment ministry. For example, it said, the plea of Chhattisgarh to de-notify coal mines falling under Lemru Elephant Corridor has been accepted. Areas beyond Lemru Elephant Corridor have also been considered

India to burn 38% more coal every year with new plans for thermal power

About 3.5-4 MT of coal is used to generate 1,000 megawatt (MW) power at 65-75% plant load factor (PLF); with the new plan, total coal usage will increase by 38%

67 first mile connectivity projects may complete by 2027: Coal Ministry

As many as 67 first-mile connectivity (FMC) projects are expected to be completed by 2027, an official statement said on Friday. First-mile connectivity refers to the transportation of coal from pitheads to dispatch points. At a review meeting chaired by M Nagaraju, Additional Secretary, to assess the progress of FMC projects of coal companies, the ministry reviewed 67 FMC projects -- Coal India (59), SCCL (5) and NLCIL (3) -- with a capacity to load 885 MT coal per annum. These projects will be completed by 2027, according to a statement. To ensure efficient and environment-friendly coal evacuation, the government is working on the development of the National Coal Logistic Plan, including first-mile connectivity through railway sidings near coal mines and strengthening of the rail network in coalfields. The coal ministry has set a target to produce 1.31 billion tonnes (BT) of coal by FY25 and 1.5 BT in FY30. In this context, the development of coal transportation that is ...

Govt asks utilities to not retire coal-fired power plants till 2030

'It is advised to all power utilities not to retire any thermal units till 2030 and ensure availability of units after carrying out renovation and modernisation activities if required'