India has 361 billion tonnes of coal reserves but domestic coal is 30-45% ash, so a 1,000 MW power plant produces only 800 MW. Imported coal costs four times more but burns cleaner. Ganesh Komma asks whether India should invest in cleaning technology or keep importing.
Why import coal when we already have? We have 100 plus years of reserves yet we are the world's biggest buyers. Now here is the dirty truth. India sits on 361 billion tons of coal. Enough to last over a century. We are the second largest producer in the world mining over 900 million tons annually. It sounds like owning a bakery but buying bred from the neighbor. Indian coal has a dirty secret which is high ash content. Indian coal contains 30 to 45% ash. It burns poorly, damages the equipment and mainly it creates a lot of pollution. Imported coal contains only 5 to 10% ash which is pure fuel. You might think Indian coal is cheaper. Approximately 3,000 rupees per ton versus 12,000 rupees per ton for imported coal. But the math does not work. At the plant level, efficiency drops. For example, a power plant generating 1,000 megawatts on imported coal generates only 800 megawatts on our Indian coal. Machinery damage High hatch destroys turbines. Why risk a 500 crores turbine to save a few lakhs on coal? Steel also needs heat. Giants like Tata Steel and gsw, they have to import coking coal. Because Indian coal simply cannot reach the 1,500 degrees centigrade temperature required to make the steel. Now the final verdict. We are not importing because we are poor. We are importing because our reserves are of low quality. The real question is should we invest heavily in coal washing technology to clean our fuel or accept this dependency on of importing from other countries? What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
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