19-Dec-2022: Coal India Imports 3.58 Lakh Ton Coal from Indonesia
Approximately 3.58 lakh tonne of coal has been imported by Coal India Limited (CIL) from Indonesia through the vendor namely M/s GHV-BDE-DIL (JV) during this year on behalf of Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) of State GENCOs and Independent Power Plant (IPPs). Orders for supply of imported coal were placed by CIL based on the ‘Firm Orders’ and the advance payment by various Power Generating Companies.
As per data provided by Ministry of Power, 86% of the imported coal has been utilized.
Considering the increasing electricity demand and for building up of coal stock at power plants before onset of monsoon, Ministry of Power (MoP) on 28.04.2022 advised power plants to import coal for blending purpose to meet 10% of their coal requirement. Subsequently, after reviewing the coal stock position, MoP on 01.08.2022 decided that the States/IPPs and Ministry of Coal may decide the blending percentage after assessing the availability of domestic coal supplies.
13-Oct-2022: Coal India Ltd (CIL) to set up 1190 MW Solar Power Project in Rajasthan
As part of its diversification programme for clean coal energy, Coal India Limited (CIL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL), for developing a solar power project of 1190 MW today in Jaipur in presence of Shri Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister for Coal, Mines & Parliamentary Affairs and Shri Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister, Rajasthan. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Joshi said that India have sufficient coal reserve to last for up to 50 years. Emphasis now is to produce clean coal and steps are being taken in this direction. He said eight million tonne stocks are available at present and the state government must go for innovative solutions to ease out transport bottlenecks. Shri Joshi said that for transportation of coal now rail cum sea route is preferred so that the transportation time is reduced. The Minister said that steps are being taken to resolve the energy issues of all the states and the Prime Minister’s vision for New India will be realised when energy needs of all states get fulfilled and they get developed.
The proposed project, for which the MoU was inked by Shri Pramod Agrawal, Chairman, CIL and Shri Rajesh Kumar Sharma, CMD, RRVUN, will come up in Rajasthan’s upcoming solar park cleared under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Parks. It would boost CIL’s pursuit of solar power generation as part of its diversification programme for clean coal energy. The project would begin in a phased manner and is expected to be an employment generator in the state apart from providing cleaner power.
Shri Bhanwar Singh Bhati, Minister of State for Power (Independent Charge), Govt. of Rajasthan, Dr A K Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Govt. of India and Smt. Usha Sharma, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan were also present on the occasion.
12-Oct-2022: Coal India Ltd signs MoUs with BHEL, IOCL and GAIL (India) Ltd for Setting up Coal Gasification Projects
Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi said that in next few months India is likely to become Aatmanirbhar in thermal coal production. Forty million ton of coal stock will be available with thermal power plants by March next year and as on 1st October, 2022 the stock with thermal plants comes to 24 million ton. The Minister was addressing a function organized by Coal India Ltd., Ministry of Coal here today to sign MoUs with five leading PSUs for Coal gasification projects.
For setting up four large scale coal-to-chemical projects through surface coal gasification route, Coal India Limited (CIL) signed three separate Memorandums of Understanding (MoU), one each, with three major PSUs of the country Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and GAIL (India) Limited. In addition, NLC India Limited (NLCIL) is signing MoU with BHEL.
To come up at an aggregated estimated cost of Rs.35,000 crores the proposed surface coal gasification (SCG) projects are planned to be set up in West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
The MoU was inked in the presence of Shri. Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Coal, Mines & Parliamentary Affairs and Shri. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises. Dr. V. K. Saraswat, Member(Niti Aayog), Dr. Anil Kumar Jain Secretary (Coal), Shri Arun Goyal, Secretary (Heavy Industries), Shri Pankaj Jain, Secretary (MoPNG), Shri. Pramod Agrawal, Chairman, CIL, Shri M. Nagaraju, Additional Secretary & Nominated Authority, CMDs of PSUs, and officials of Ministries of Coal , MoPNG& Heavy Industries & PSUs were also present.
Through SCG route coal is converted into syngas. This can be subsequently processed for downstream production of value added chemicals which are otherwise produced through imported natural gas or crude oil at enormous cost.
As the country’s four major PSUs huddle together, the move is aimed at reduced forex outgo, promoting self-reliance and capitalization of indigenous resources. Another upside will be employment generation with direct employment of around 1200 personnel and indirect employment to the tune of over 20,000 persons.
With renewables and cleaner energy sources steadily gaining ground alternative use of coal, in future, through diversification assumes greater importance. With the country endowed with 344 Billion Tonnes (BT) of coal resources, with 163 BT, proven coal to chemicals through SCG appears a safe bet subject to commercial viability.
The Coal Ministry on a mission mode is fast tracking utilization of coal and has targeted to achieve 100 million ton (MT) coal gasification by 2030. Coal Ministry has also taken initiatives for allocating Rs. 6,000 crores to support CPSEs by incentivizing implementation of five coal gasification plants.
While CIL the country’s largest energy producer has identified SCG as one of its business diversification avenues, IOCL and GAIL bring to the table their decades of experience in taking up large-scale chemical and process plants.
BHEL has conducted pilot studies with their Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion technology and customized it to suit the requirements of high-ash Indian coal. The initiative of CIL and BHEL will lead to commercialization of home-grown coal gasification technology.
The synergy and partnership of all the four corporate giants will enable a perfect launch of complex SCG projects.
Shri. Debasish Nanda, Director (Business Development) inked the pact on behalf of CIL.
1-Aug-2022: Coal production by CIL
CIL has projected coal production of 840 MT for 2023-24.
In order to ramp up domestic production of coal, several steps have been taken of which the major steps are as under:
- To increase production through MDO model, Coal India Ltd. has identified 15 MDO Projects having combined capacity of 168.6 Million Tonne per year (MTY) of which Six MDO Projects have already been awarded with capacity of 96.74 MTY .
- Capacity addition through Greenfield and Brownfield Projects in CIL. Capacity addition of 289 MTY is being done through approval of new and expansion PRs (Future Projects).
- Advanced Technologies like surface miners, etc. for open cast mining and Power supported Longwall (PSLW), High wall Mining, continuous miner etc. for underground mines are being deployed tor efficiency and higher production of coal.
- CIL has taken steps to upgrade mechanised coal transportation and loading system through CHP/Silo under 'First Mile Connectivity' Projects . This will facilitate faster evacuation of coal.
The production of raw coal in Odisha was 185.07MT in 2021-22.
20-Dec-2021: Diversification of Coal India Ltd into Other Sectors
In 2016, with a view to enhance food security of the nation, CIL Board accorded its approval for formation of Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited (HURL), a JV company with NTPC, IOCL, FCIL and HFCL for revival of three defunct fertilizer plants of FCIL and HFCL. Further in December, 2020, with a view to enhance energy security and raw material security of the nation, the CIL Board accorded its approval for diversification into the following business areas:
- Solar Power Value Chain (Ingot-Wafer-Cell-Module)
- New & Renewable Energy (Non-Conventional)
- Aluminium Value Chain (Mining-Refining-Smelting)
CIL has approved an aggregate investment of Rs. 2,295.96 Cr. as a part of its equity capital towards setting up of total three natural-gas based fertilizer plants at Gorakhpur (UP), Barauni (Bihar) and Sindri (Jharkhand). The diversification proposals into above mentioned 03 areas, are currently under feasibility study stage, as such no separate capital funds have been earmarked.
29-Jun-2021: CIL forges ahead towards Energy Efficiency
In a bid to reduce carbon footprint in its operational area, Coal India Ltd. (CIL) has put special thrust on energy efficiency measures and is forging ahead with a series of measures to offset carbon emission in mining operation in all its coal producing companies. Apart from taking immediate action for efficient use of energy, CIL has also drawn an ambitious 5-year plan of carbon offset in different fields of its operation.
Coal companies have several areas for implementing energy efficiency measures such as colonies, buildings, offices, industrial establishments, etc. apart from efficient Power Supply Management. However, the major reduction in carbon emission comes from various mining activities like Heavy Earth Moving Machines (HEMM), Transport, Ventilation, Pumping etc. With the help of its subsidiaries, CIL had been taking various energy conservation and efficiency measures over the years and is now moving ahead with emphasis on activities responsible for more environment pollution.
The major thrust is on replacing the huge fleet of HEMM equipment running either by CIL departmentally or contractually on diesel consumption with LNG. This will be a major breakthrough in not only cutting down cost, but will also reduce carbon emission. CIL has taken initiatives to go for Pilot Project in collaboration with GAIL in some mine sites of CIL before starting bulk use of LNG. GAIL will establish LNG storage & dispensing system, arrange transport of LNG from terminal to mine site & will arrange KIT and retrofitting. BEML will provide all technical assistance. The performance of Dumper and engine will be monitored and studied during the entire pilot period in collaboration with Cummins. One of the Pilot Project at Bharatpur Opencast Mine of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. in Odisha will be completed by the end of this year. A comprehensive model is being devised to convert maximum heavy vehicles on LNG in the coming years.
Another important addition will be the introduction of around 1500 E-Vehicle in all mining areas of CIL over a period of next five years. Around 200 E-Vehicle alone will be put in operation by the end of this year.
Pumping of water in both opencast & underground mines is done on a large scale through orthodox equipment which results in more energy consumption. CIL will be introducing around 1700 energy efficient motors for pumps in all its mining operations.
In its various establishments, CIL will be replacing around 5000 conventional ACs and other appliances by energy efficient Star rated appliances. Similarly, around 2.5 lakh LED lights will be introduced in place of conventional lights to save energy. More than 1 lakh energy efficient super fans will be used in offices by replacing old ones. In colonies, around 2200 street lights will be put on auto timer to save energy.
On implementation of aforementioned energy efficiency measures, CIL has envisaged to create a carbon offset of around 2.5 lakh tonnes in next five years. With active implementation on all the above fronts, CIL is committed to achieve a carbon offset of more than 60000 tonnes by end of this year which will be a major breakthrough.
7-Feb-2020: Coal India Subsidiary NCL (Northern Coalfields Limited)sets up ‘SARAS’ to promote innovation & R&D
Coal India’s flagship subsidiary NCL has set up a centre named “Science and Applied Research Alliance and Support”(SARAS) to promote Innovation, Research & Development and skill development along with improving company’s operational efficiency and utilize resources at optimum level. NCL CMD Shri Prabhat Kumar Sinha announced this pioneering move in Indian coal sector at a National Seminar on Innovation Driving Productivity with Special Focus on Coal, Power, Steel and MSME Sectors organized by World Confederation of Productivity Science in New Delhi.
SARAS will help and enable the company in Integration of Innovation and Research for enhancing coal production, productivity, and safety in mines. The company has set up a dedicated R&D Centre in collaboration with IIT (BHU) and have already commenced 6 varied domain projects worth ₹ 60 Million to facilitate this move..
Besides, the SARAS would also help establish centres of excellence to ensure technical support to R&D along with thrust on quality skill development and employment to local youths in and around company’s operational area. Continuous improvement of the existing technical infrastructure of the company for operational efficiency and integrating all initiatives with common tech platforms for optimum utilization of resources are also the objectives of setting up this centre.
CMD NCL Shri Sinha was also elected as a fellow of the World Academy of Productivity Science in the seminar for his significant and longitudinal contributions to the improvement of productivity, quality of work and other countless contributions to the coal sector.
NCL accounts for 15 per cent of India’s coal production and 10 per cent of thermal power generation of the country is met by the coal produced by this Miniratna Company of Govt. of India. The company produces more than 100 million tonnes of coal every year. It has planned to produce 107 million tonnes of coal in the current fiscal.