Indian coal producer plans to develop 1 GW of solar power to reduce carbon footprint

Ref. THE ECONOMIC TIMES: Coal India (BSE) will shortly call a tender for setting up 800 MW of solar power generation capacity at an estimated investment of about Rs 4,800 crore. The state owned mining company recently invited bids to set up 200 MW of capacity in consultation with the Solar Energy Corporation of India and intends to start work on the proposed 800 MW capacity at about the same time.

The world’s largest coal producer plans to generate 1,000 MW of solar power to help reduce its carbon footprint. India is among the top 10 countries in emissions of coal mine methane, which is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Power generated from the solar units will be sold to state utilities.

Solar and greener coal options

Coal India’s decision to invest in solar power is a good move. India is among the top 10 producers of coal mining methane, a greenhouse gas. In 2012, the US Environmental Agency estimated that India will have produced 1,397 million cubic metres of coal mining methane in 2015. This is bound to rise as coal production increases. So if the coal major should get really serious about reducing its carbon footprint. This it can do not just by investing in renewable energy but also by adopting better mining practices, greater use of technology to reduce the rate of forest-clearing, better land reclamation, and steps to reduce water contamination.

Mining to Renewables (M2R)

This is a clear example of Mining to Renewables (M2R) market in difference with Renewables for Mining (R4M) focusing in development renewables to mining power self consumption. Mining will become a great marketplace for renewables developers not only in reduce energy costs but to reduce carbon footprint and in doing so diversify in power generation business.