DENATIONALISATION OF COAL
Coal is one of the
biggest naturally occurring nonrenewable source of energy and power. 70% of
India’s power is generated from this valuable cluster of carbon. The amount of
coal reserve that a country has , plays a vital role in its development. The
total volume of coal reserves in India is about 300 billion tonnes where
Jharkhand being the highest contributor. Though coal yields higher amount of
power, the optimum use of it is a biggest challenge. Some of ways buy which it
can be utilized efficiently could be
·
Using high degree purification techniques:
chemical looping is one of the technique in which
coal doesn’t react with air. Instead, it is exposed to oxygen-bearing materials
such as iron oxide. The coal reacts with these materials and the energy bound
up in coal breaks the bond between the oxygen and the iron. The reaction
produces nearly pure carbon dioxide gas and iron metal (along with the mineral
wüstite). Electricity is generated when the iron is moved out of the reaction
chamber and is essentially burned—that is, allowed to react with oxygen in air.
This releases heat to produce steam.
·
Cutting edge technologies can be used
while mining which reduces the level of degradation caused to the environment.
·
The mining activities can be leased by
bidding or auction in a transparent manner so that the companies follow
standard procedures in land acquisition process and pollution control methods.
·
Effective usage of byproducts and
reducing wastage increases the yield .
Biggest
challenges in coal mining are as follows:
·
High level of soil degradation and over
exploitation of water resources.
·
Safety issues like fire accidents are
high
·
Because of corruption in allocation of
contracts there can be labour problems and land problems
Various
types of coal
·
Lignite:
It is a soft brown combustible sedimentary rock formed from
naturally compressed peat. It is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat content. It has carbon content
around 25-35%.Because of its low energy density and typically high moisture
content, brown coal is inefficient to transport and is not traded extensively
on the world market compared with higher coal grades. It is often burned in
power stations near the mines, such as in Australia's Latrobe
Valley and Luminant's Monticello plant in Texas. Primarily because of latent high moisture content
and low energy density of brown coal, carbon dioxide emissions from traditional
brown-coal-fired plants are generally much higher per megawatt generated than
for comparable black-coal plants, with the world's highest-emitting plant being Hazelwood Power
Station, Victoria.
·
Coke:
Coke is a fuel with few
impurities and a high carbon content, usually made from coal. It is the solid carbonaceous material derived fromdestructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous
coal.
Jharia mines is one of the biggest coke
mining place in India
Porters model analysis:
1.
Rivalry among firms:
In India Coal India Limited is the largest producer
of coal. Its biggest competitor is Singerani Collieries Company.
2.
Threat from potential entrants:
Adani group and Vedanta are some of the
new competitors in this industry.
3.
The threat of substitute:
Nuclear energy and solar energy are
biggest substitute for coal.
4.
Bargaining power of suppliers:
The supply of coal in India is limited and hence coal players are in
dominant position.
5.
Bargaining power of Buyers:
The bargaining power of buyers is Medium.
