CCD Editor’s Note: Another reason President Trump was wise to leave the Paris Climate Accord. Two of the largest CO2 emitters, China and India, get a free pass while the US would be stuck in an onerous accord hammered out by Obama and John Kerry. India’s coal demand also increased by nearly 10% in 2018, making this forecast seem suspiciously low. Individual U.S. states that are still carrying out the Paris Accord are seeing their power rates skyrocket and landscapes blighted by unreliable wind and solar.
India expects coal-fired power capacity to grow by 22% in three years.
That’s according to the Chief Engineer at the country’s Federal Power Ministry, Ghanshyam Prasad, who Reuters reported as stating coal capacity is likely to reach 238GW by 2022.
India’s Coal Minister, Pralhad Joshi previously said annual coal demand rose by 9.1% during the year ending March 2019, noting the figure hit 991.35 million tonnes, driven primarily by utilities, which accounted for three-quarters of total demand.
The anticipated growth is likely to affect efforts to cut emissions and could risk worsening already poor air quality.
India’s electricity demand rose by 36% in the seven years up to April 2019, while coal-fired generation capacity during the period rose by three-quarters to 194.44GW.
Pralhad Joshi said despite the growth rate in thermal capacity outpacing electricity consumption in the last few years, more coal-fired plants will still be needed in the future to meet growth.
He added: “If we have to meet demand and address the intermittencies we have with solar and wind, we have no choice but to keep depending on coal-based generation in the near future.”
Read more at Energy Live News
Well of course India’s coal consumption is growing. They are trying to end energy poverty in their country in the most cost effective manner possible. Coal — the cheap source of power (except in U.S. where cheap Natural Gas is in abundance).
Consider this article in the light that every Democratic candidate for president except one seems to think that if the US reduces CO2, the entire world will have emissions reduced. It is incredible that those in position to seriously run for president are so stupid.
If climate change were not a fraud, our only option would be adaption.