COAL- SURVEY 2 LAST

27 Mar 2017

The survey said that after a decade of unprecedented expansion, the amount of coal power capacity under development worldwide saw a dramatic drop in 2016, mainly due to shifting policies and economic conditions in China and India.

“From being one of the country’s most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, India is now in a position to assume leadership in fighting both climate change and rising air pollution crises.”Our ambition for massive up scaling of renewable energy is definitely a big step in the right direction, but we need to go the full mile by rationalising further investments on new coal but focus on reducing emissions from existing plants,” said Dahiya.

Lauri Myllyvirta, senior global campaigner on Coal and Air Pollution at Greenpeace said that in China and in other parts of the world, 2016 marked a veritable turning point.

“China has stopped new coal projects after the astonishing growth of clean energy has made new coal-fired power plants redundant, with all additional power needs ably covered from non-fossil sources since 2013.

“Closures of old coal plants drove major emission reductions especially in the US and UK, while Belgium and Ontario became entirely coal-free and three G8 countries announced deadlines for coal phase-outs,” Myllyvirta said.

The survey said India experienced a slowdown in coal plant development, driven primarily by the reluctance of banks and other financiers to provide further funds.”Since China and India together accounted for 86 per cent of coal power built globally from 2006 through 2016, the slowdown in these two countries carries global implications. “An end to the coal plant construction boom brings the possibility of a global phase-out of coal over the coming decades, a prerequisite to reining in climate change,” the survey said.

In India, the Ministry of Power in June, 2016 said that the country had enough coal-fired plants to meet demand through 2019, and recommended that developers curtail their plans accordingly, the survey said.

The draft National Energy Plan, released in December, 2016, states that no further coal power capacity beyond that currently under construction will be needed until at least 2027.

India is currently in the midst of a solar power revolution, with bids as low as Rs 2.97 (USD 0.044) per kilowatt-hour and government plans to install 215 GW of renewables (biomass, small hydro, wind, distributed solar PV, and utility scale solar PV) by 2027, the survey said. “The combination of excessive coal power capacity and declining cost of renewables has caused many financial backers of coal projects to withdraw support.

“According to the Ministry of Powers December, 2016 Broad Status Report as well as additional reports from plant operators and photographic evidence, construction activity is now on hold for 31 coal plant units at 13 sites totalling 12,725 MW of capacity, mainly due to frozen financing,” it said. PTI TDS KUN

Source  – PTI