Why India is Turning to Coal

1
Why India is Turning to Coal

• Frank Clemente Ph.D.
• Senior Professor of Social Science Energy
  Policy
• Penn State University
• fac226_at_psu.edu

2
The Power of Coal If India Did Not Use More Coal
To meet projected demand, and replace projected
incremental coal based electricity generation,
India would have to obtain more than 13 Tcf of
NG, build 210 nuclear power plants or construct
the equivalent of 400 Hoover Dams
1,770
1,736
1,586
1,509
3
The Logic of Indias Continuing Reliance on Coal
There are no alternatives to hydrocarbons in the
foreseeable future M.Economides, Professor of
Engineering, University of Houston, 2008
Access to electricity is strongly correlated
with every measurable indicator of human
development -Berkeley Science Review, 2008
India has more people without adequate access to
energy than any country in the world -National
Resources Forum, 2008
Removal of poverty is the greater immediate
imperative than global warming P. Ghosh,
Secretary of the Environment, India,2007
Clean coal technology is one of the most
promising routes for mitigating emissionsIndia
will benefit IEA, 2007
4
The World Bank Agrees

• India needs much more power in a short time
  frame to continue its economic development.
• India still must rely on (coal) to meet growing
  demand
• Gas-based power is not a viable alternative not
  enough natural gas is available and the power it
  generates is too expensive
• Wind power still has limited reliability and its
  higher cost makes it unsustainable for meeting
  large scale demand
• July,2008

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India Faces Rampant Growth
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The Context and Scale of Growth
By 2030
Growth
Current
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Coal is Indias only Energy Advantage
Coal is expected to be the mainstay of power
generation in the years to come Indias 11th
Five Year Plan (2007-2012)
Indias Share of the Worlds Energy Reserves
7
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What Coal Conversion Will Do For India

• Electricity consumption will nearly triple by
  2030 to almost 2,800 terawatt hours (TWh).
• Liquid fuels India will have over 150 million
  vehicles in 20 years.
• Natural Gas demand will increase 170.
• Dimethyl Ether (DME) a completely sootless
  fuel that can greatly reduce dependence on wood
  and dung in household cooking.
• Petrochemicals ammonia, formaldehyde,
  ethylene, propylene, methanol production will add
  significant value to Indian economy.
• Manufacturing Energy sources to make iron and
  steel as well as non-metallic goods, including
  cement and soda ash.

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Coal is the Cornerstone of Energy in India
By 2030, the 1.5 billion people in India will
depend more on coal for energy than any country
in the world except for the 1.5 billion people
in China.

2005
2030
Other fuel 52
Other fuel 61
Coal 39
Coal 48
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10
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Coals Track Record in India

• Access to Electricity Increased 30
• GDP Increased 124
• Food Production Increased 27
• Primary Grade Completion
• Increased 31
• U.N. Human Development Index
• Increased 19

Enhancing the Quality of Life
Coal accounted for 70 of Indias increase in
electric power generation from 1990-2005
Reducing Despair

• Abject Poverty Decreased 10
• Fertility Rate Declined 26
• Undernourishment Fell 20
• Malaria cases declined 12
• Number of Illiterate Adults
• reduced by 25

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The Scale of Latent Demand for Electricity
in India
Removal of poverty is the greater immediate
imperative than global warming P. Ghosh,
Secretary of the Environment, India
Millions of People in India Toil in An Bleak World
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We are at the beginning of the road Indias
Electricity Consumption per Capita Compared to
Other Nations
Source United Nations
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India Will Increasingly Rely Upon Coal for
Electricity Generation
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Using Dimethyl Ether (DME) from Coal as a
household cooking fuel will save millions of
lives

• DME derived from coal is a highly efficient fuel
  for cleaner household cooking
• DME is soot free gas, with reduced Nox and Sox
  emissions
• DME from coal could replace harmful dung and
  wood cooking, reducing both morbidity and
  mortality rates
• DME from coal could replace LPG, a common
  cooking fuel which fluctuates with world oil
  prices

See Larson and Young, Energy for Sustainable
Development, 2004 and Goldberg et.al, Energy for
Sustainable Development, 2004
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Why Indian families need more DME from coal

1. 668 million Indians still rely on wood or dung
   for cooking
2. The concentration of particulate matter in
   household air is 2,000 microgrammes per m3 -
   compared to 150 in U.S.
3. Women and children are especially impacted and
   account for 400,000 premature deaths per year
4. Household use of biofuels accounts for about one
   fifth of the blindness in India

2.5 million women and children in developing
countries die prematurely from breathing the
fumes from biomass stoves (World Health
Organization, 2007)
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The Search for a Better Life Indias Five Year
Plans Goals Confront Stark Reality
Goal in the Five Year Plan Current Situation
Reduce poverty by 10 360 Million people earn less than a dollar per day
Lower the gender gap in literacy 52 of Women cannot read
Reduce infant mortality rate Infant mortality rate of 56 Compared to 4 in Germany
Provide clean drinking water 140 Million people have no improved water supply
Ensure electricity connection to all villages 380 Million rural residents lack electricity