Era of coal shortage is over: Piyush Goyal
Shortage of coal in the country is a thing of the past, Minister for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal, said on Monday, adding that India would not need to import coal by 2017, except to meet requirements of power plants located near the coastal area.
“I have been on record to say that by 2017, India should not need to import coal except for those coastal plants where it is very difficult to transmit coal. I am fairly confident that the era of shortages is over,” the Minister said at an event here.
In October, coal imports fell for the fourth consecutive month by 5.1 per cent to 14.52 million tonnes over the same month, a year ago, mainly due to an increase in domestic production. India, which is the third-largest producer of coal after China and the US, had imported 212.103 million tonnes of coal worth over Rs.1 lakh crore last fiscal. Meanwhile, Mr. Goyal, along with Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, on Monday, released a KPMG India report titled ‘The Rising Sun – Disruption on the Horizon’.
The report highlights that solar could scale up substantially to be a significant energy source by 2025, with the market penetration of solar power expected to be 5.7 per cent (54 GW) by 2020 and 12.5 per cent (166 GW) by 2025.
The reports added that solar power was likely to contribute 4 per cent towards India’s target to reduce emission intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from 2005 levels. Mr. Goyal said India’s renewable energy capacity target of 175 GW by 2022 is not only doable but necessary also in view of the energy security of the country. He further added that the government was working with the NITI Aayog to draw a blueprint for energy policy in the country.
Read full article: The Hindu
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