Over the first 100 days of the new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, the Union Ministry of Power has installed 12.8 GW of thermal power capacity in response to the growing demands for energy. With an additional 28.4 GW currently under construction, this expansion is part of a larger drive to upgrade the country’s power infrastructure to meet future requirements. The Union Ministry of Power’s Secretary, Pankaj Agarwal, announced that the Ministry has started contracting for 12.8 GW of additional thermal power capacity, and that the construction phase will shortly begin. The decision to increase the amount of coal-based power generated coincides with an extraordinary three-year surge in power consumption in India. Thermal power is still a vital part of the nation’s energy mix because it is recognised for supplying the base load power required for system stability.
Odisha looks to sell excess coal at discount
According to an auction document, the state government-owned Odisha Coal and Power Ltd (OCPL) is seeking to sell excess coal from its mine in eastern India at a discount, suggesting a decline in the nation’s demand for the fuel, the Reuters reported. The advertisement published in a newspaper said that OCPL will auction off 3 million tonnes of its excess coal via online auctions for power plants on October 4 at a 15% discount to the base price on the national coal index. According to data from the coal ministry, India’s total domestic coal production increased 7.12% from the previous year to 370 million metric tonnes between April 1 and August 25. For the first time since COVID-19, India’s imports of thermal coal are anticipated to decline this year because of increased domestic production and high inventory.
Renewables to cross 50% share in electricity generation globally: RBI
According to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) most recent report, the country will no longer rely primarily on fossil fuels to generate power by the end of the decade. The research also stated that it is anticipated that renewable energy will produce more than 50% of the world’s electricity, the Economic Times reported. The apex body said that the deployment of clean technologies and capital investment have increased to record levels in recent years, signalling an acceleration of the energy transition. “Cleaner power generation can drive bulk of the aggressive emissions cuts that are urgently needed, enabling more time to tackle ‘hard-to-abate’ areas like steelmaking and aviation, where cost competitive low-carbon solutions have yet to scale” stated the RBI.
The analysis said that an average of three dollars must be invested in renewable energy for every dollar spent on fossil fuels. This is a significant rise from the existing ratio, which shows equal investment in both sectors. The RBI emphasised that the predicted cost of a fully decarbonised global energy system by 2050 is estimated to be $215 trillion. It also said that greening the financial industry to accomplish an ambitious energy transformation will require striking the correct mix between market-based competition and state policy measures.
India suggests imposing retaliatory duties on EU’s safeguard measures on steel products
India suggested imposing retaliatory Customs taxes under the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on a certain value of items imported from the EU as the two sides cannot agree on the European Union’s safeguard measures on particular steel exports. India stated in a communication to the WTO that it has suggested suspending concessions, which would result in higher duties on specific goods with EU origins. India notified that between 2018 and 2023, India’s trade losses as a result of the EU’s safeguard measures totaled USD 4.412 billion, of which $ 1.103 billion would have been collected in duties. “Accordingly, India’s proposed suspension of concessions would result in an equivalent amount of duty collected from products originating in the EU,” the letter stated. It further stated that India reserves the right to implement the proposed suspension immediately and to modify the products and the tariff (or customs taxes) rates in order to guarantee the effective exercise of its right to suspend substantially equal concessions.
Oil phase out a ‘fantasy’: OPEC
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) declared that phasing out oil is a “fantasy”. The cartel predicted that demand would continue to rise until at least 2050, a crucial year in the fight against climate change. The International Energy Agency estimated that demand for fossil fuels will peak this decade as people switch to renewable energy sources and electric vehicles, which contradicts the oil cartel’s projection. OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais stated that oil and gas comprise well over half of the energy mix currently “and are expected to do the same in 2050” in the organisation’s annual World Oil Outlook (WOO).
In the report’s foreword, Ghais stated that the outlook underscored that the fantasy of phasing out oil and gas bears no relation to fact. According to the analysis, the demand for oil alone is predicted to increase by 17.5% from 102.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2023 to 120.1 million bpd by 2050. OPEC also increased its 2045 projection to 118.9 million barrels per day from the previous year’s WOO’s 116 million barrels per day, which did not account for 2050. According to Ghais, “there is no peak oil demand on the horizon.”
Study reveals how syndicated bank deals are financing fossil fuels
A study that examined over $7 trillion in syndicated debt related to fossil fuels through a systems lens discovered that the markets for syndicated debt are robust against uncoordinated phase-out scenarios. Around 709 banks issued $7.1 trillion in bonds and loans between 2010 and 2021, the majority of which were syndicated. It discovered that throughout the past ten years, there hasn’t been a consistent drop in lending for fossil fuels. The analysis found that banks gave bonds and loans totaling $592 billion to coal, oil, and gas industries in 2021, down from an average of $584 billion per year between 2010 and 2016. Nonetheless, the top 30 banks control the majority of the market, handling 78% of all loans between 2010 and 2021.
However, if regulation is upheld, things might quickly alter. A tipping point may be reached, and if banks continue to leave the industry or cease funding to fossil fuel corporations, the phase-out will eventually come to pass. According to the study, one’s speed in reaching the tipping point now depends on how strictly the laws are implemented. Naturally, when large, influential banks with regionally extensive networks start the phase-out, the tipping point is reached sooner.
Foreign investments in coal have produced 26bn tonnes of CO2 so far: Study
Coal-fired power plants supported by foreign investment have produced 26 billion tonnes of CO2 (GtCO2) cumulatively, and still produce 0.53GtCO2 per year, according to a new study. The authors analyse investment data from 908 “overseas coal-fired power plants”. They found that “developed nations account for 78% of these cumulative emissions on the basis of investments, while emissions from developing nations have surged from 8% in 1960 to 39% in 2022”. The authors estimate that overseas coal-fired power plants could produce an additional 15-30GtCO2 by 2060. Furthermore, they could “stimulate local coal power growth in emerging economies”, adding 6-45GtCO2 indirectly, study said.
Pakistan finds substantial oil and gas reserves offshore
Pakistan has found significant offshore oil and gas deposits that have the potential to completely change its economy, CNBC reported. Realising the full potential of these resources is difficult, though, because of the nation’s present economic instability and the enormous expense of exploration. Estimates indicate that the substantial petroleum and natural gas deposits found in Pakistan’s territorial seas may rank as the world’s fourth-largest oil and gas reserve. The discovery, confirmed by a three-year study conducted in partnership with a friendly country, has the potential to significantly change Pakistan’s economic situation, a top security official told DawnNewsTV, a prominent news channel in Pakistan. Though actual extraction may take several years, bids and exploration proposals are now being reviewed. Drilling wells and producing oil and gas may be a protracted operation that calls for additional funding and infrastructural development. Muhammad Arif, a former member of Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), sounded a more sobering note, telling stakeholders that although optimistic, there is never a guarantee the reserves would live up to expectations. He clarified that extracting the reserves could take up to five years, and that exploration calls for a significant investment of about $5 billion.
Britain shuts down its last coal power plant
Britain shut down Ratcliffe-on-Soar, its last coal-fired power plant. The plant will be closing after generating electricity for 57 years and after agreeing a “just-transition” plan for its staff. Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho told the Times that the UK’s coal phaseout was made possible by building more offshore windfarms than any other country other than China.
It is the first major economy – and first G7 member – to achieve this milestone. It also opened the world’s first coal-fired power station in 1882, on London’s Holborn Viaduct, reported Carbon Brief adding that from 1882 until Ratcliffe’s closure, the UK’s coal plants will have burned through 4.6bn tonnes of coal and emitted 10.4bn tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) – more than most countries have ever produced from all sources. The outlet said the government’s plan for clean power by 2030 would mean phasing out gas twice as fast as the coal phaseout.
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