The ministry of coal plans to produce 1,404 million tonnes (MT) of coal by 2027 and increase it to 1,577 MT by 2030, at the current level of production of about one billion tonne per annum.
The coal supplied to domestic coal-based power plants is around 821 MT for the current year, the ministry said.
The ministry said it has taken note of the additional coal requirement of 80 GW thermal capacity to be added in the country by 2030.
“The coal requirement for additional thermal capacity would be around 400 MT at 85 per cent PLF, and the actual requirement may be lower depending on the generation requirements in the coming times due to contributions from renewable sources.”
The ministry also intends to produce additional quantity of coal and will ensure adequate availability of domestic coal to thermal power plants, it said.
Production plan includes opening of new mines, expansion of mines capacity, and production from captive/commercial mines. The production plans for 2027 and 2030 will far exceed the likely domestic requirement of thermal power plants in the country, including that for likely additional capacity, the ministry said.
The ministry said it is working in close collaboration with ministries of power and railways to ensure a smooth supply of coal.
“The growth in power generation for domestic coal based plant is 8.99 per cent while the growth in coal production is 13.02 per cent on yearly basis (till date),” the ministry said, adding that the demand for thermal power has grown over 20 per cent of last year.