Sustainable Energy Development for India
India is currently the world’s third largest energy consumer; this position will be consolidated in the coming decades driven by economic development, urbanisation, improved electricity access and an expanding manufacturing base.
The country’s economic growth will be fuelled primarily by coal together with an exponential growth in renewable energy. India currently has 205 gigawatts (GW) of coal fired electricity generation satisfying a large proportion of its electricity needs. A further 113 GW of new coal-fired capacity is under construction.
Bettercoal joined an international panel of experts at the World Coal Association’s Conference entitled Sustainable Energy Development: Opportunities and Innovation for Indian Coal. “While the focus remained on high efficiency, low emission power generation and the opportunities for carbon-capture usage and storage, there was a strong interest in considering how to bring leading practices to bear on the entire value-chain,” said Martin Christie, Executive Director of Bettercoal.
He added, “I was able to share Bettercoal’s experience in supporting the continuous improvement of social and environmental performance at coal mines and to demonstrate how Bettercoal could be a valuable partner for Indian power generators, Coal India and those financing the growing coal fleet. There is a major opportunity to embed responsible mining into the supply chain whilst coal remains such an important fuel in the country’s development.”
