A Study on Clean Coal Technology in the Indian Context

Coal was, is, and will continue to be the backbone of global electricity generation. This is because coal as a fuel is one of the most cost-effective ways to provide affordable, safe, and reliable electricity at the scale that is needed to achieve genuine access to modern electricity services world-wide. However, the conventional processes involved inmining are associated with quite few accidents rendering injuries to the workers. In addition, a huge amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) is also emitted during the process. Thus, the process of mining coal must undergo a paradigm shift in terms of the machinery and equipment employed which will not only bring about a safe working environment for the workers, but also an efficient, economic, and eco-friendly method. In this regard, the present article analyses the initiatives adopted by an Indian coal mining organization located in Odisha to promote workplace safety, environment conservation, and economic viability which are also the three major aspects of sustainable development. A comparative study between the conventional coal mining process and the cleaner way of coal mining expressed in the form of the energy consumption has also been presented by deploying the surface miner technology. The subsequent savings in the form of energy, cost, and reduction of carbon emissions have been highlighted.