Coal NEWS

Hong Kong received its first ever shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) amid a wider push to reduce reliance on coal.

With thermal coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices holding close to record highs in Asia, it would be logical to expect demand destruction, especially in developing nations said to be price sensitive. But it isn't happening yet.India, the world's second-biggest coal importer, behind China, saw record arrivals in June of thermal coal, used mainly to generate electricity, according to data compiled by commodity analysts Kpler.

France's energy-intensive companies are speeding up contingency plans and converting their gas boilers to run on oil as they seek to avoid disruption in the event any further reduction in Russian gas supplies leads to power outages. Gathered over the weekend at a business and economics conference in southern France, several top executives said they were preparing for possible blackouts. "What we've done is we've converted our boilers, so they're capable of running on gas or oil, and we can even switch to coal if we need to," said Florent Menegaux, the boss of Michelin, one of the world's leading tyre-makers.

Australia's new energy minister said on Wednesday the push for clean energy is more important than ever, even as G7 leaders water down climate protection commitments to shore up oil, gas and power supply due to the Ukraine conflict. "I'm not worried about a backsliding of ambition, because I think serious leaders around the world get it that actually the transformation is more important than before," Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen told reporters in Canberra. "If you're going to be reliant on gas, it's more important to be increasing your renewables," he said in a televised address.

New Delhi: State-owned CIL is looking at green mining options by leveraging a slew of eco-friendly technologies in both underground and opencast mines, a move that would help in augmenting the production and reduce the adverse impact on environment. With land turning out to be a major pain point for expansion of coal mining operations, these technologies bypass land acquisition and avoid its degradation. "Coal India Ltd (CIL) is taking a close look on green mining options in a bid to minimize adverse environmental impact by leveraging a slew of eco-friendly technologies in its underground and opencast mines," the maharatna firm said.

Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani are profiting from a surge in global commodity prices triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, burnishing their fossil-fuel credentials even as Asia’s richest men publicly push their pivots toward greener energy. With coal prices skyrocketing to a record, Adani’s conglomerate is expanding a controversial mine in Australia to meet demand.

While natural gas makes up just a small portion of India's power mix, a scarcity of coal and hot weather has triggered scheduled blackouts, threatening to upend the economy

According to the report, pre-construction coal power capacity between 2015 to 2021 decreased nearly 90 per cent in India. From approximately 238.6 gigawatt (GW) in 2015,

"The coal ban is significant because it breaks the taboo on severing energy ties with Russia."

India has asked utilities to step up coal imports to address a domestic shortfall. However, expensive imports could add to the financial woes of state government-owned, debt-laden power distributors, which have overdue payments of nearly $15 billion to power generators.

On March 12, 2022, the company produced 7.62 lakh tonne of dry fuel which is the highest in a day during the current financial year reaching 157.7 MT with a growth of around 16 per cent over the last financial year, the company released said.

Any invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops could trigger sanctions and reprisals that would disrupt the movement of fuels and impact energy security affecting buyers even thousands of miles away, analysts warned.

China will help run its coal-fired power plants at full capacity in a bid to ensure energy security, despite the climate goals of the world's largest polluter. The Chinese government will support industrial sectors in "special difficulty," state news agency Xinhua reported this week, noting that "Food and energy security must be safeguarded."

Coal India's second interim dividend will make the government richer by Rs 2,037.8 crore as it is holding a 66.1 percent stake in the Maharatna PSU. The company on Monday announced a dividend of Rs 5 per share of Rs 10 each and the total payout will be Rs 3,087 crore.

"The government is continuing all efforts to further enhance the coal production in the country as availability of additional coal will aid in import-substitution of coal," the coal ministry said in a statement.

Union Coal Minister Prahlad Joshi said in Rajya Sabha on Monday that during 2020-21, 34 mines in Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) had incurred losses.

U.S. coal stockpiles fell in September 2021 to the lowest level of total monthly coal stocks at the electric power sector since at least 2001, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in an Electricity Monthly Update of its November report this week. High natural gas prices have been driving increased use of coal for power generation at utilities in recent months, while the supply response has been muted due to closures of coal mines in recent years. So in September, total U.S. coal stockpiles saw a month-over-month decrease of 4.8 percent, reaching 80 million tons, the EIA said.

According to a new report published on Thursday, Maharashtra could save as much as ₹75,000 crore in the next decade by implementing three steps in its energy sector: shutting down old coal power plants by 2022, halting the construction of a new unit at the Bhusawal thermal power plant (which is in surplus to the state’s requirements) and replacing coal contracts with cleaner alternatives over the next 10 years.